Spring Banter

[TalcottWx]

33 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

We maskless?

Walked into work today without one. I'm 30, pretty much anyone at my age and older has the mask off. Anyone younger seems to be unsure of the rules. HR didn't release anything regarding masks in the station, so it's truly individual choice so far. Someone should probably clarify though.

[HoarfrostHubb]

I have to wear one at work until at least at the end of the school year.  We don’t once the students leave for the day though.  Hopefully we don’t get any more 90F days before then

[HoarfrostHubb]

My son is working as a paid intern at a huge construction firm (office stuff) and starting Tuesday they don’t need them 

[WhitinsvilleWX]

8 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

I have to wear one at work until at least at the end of the school year.  We don’t once the students leave for the day though.  Hopefully we don’t get any more 90F days before then

We still have to wear it at work. We’re all hoping it comes off soon. The truth is once we get into the building and up to our floor, we all pretty much kinda pull them down a little. At this point its pretty much for show. My department of 10 are the only ones on the floor and we’re all fully vaxed.

[TalcottWx]

25 minutes ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

We still have to wear it at work. We’re all hoping it comes off soon. The truth is once we get into the building and up to our floor, we all pretty much kinda pull them down a little. At this point its pretty much for show. My department of 10 are the only ones on the floor and we’re all fully vaxed.

That's ridiculous and stupid lol

[WhitinsvilleWX]

9 minutes ago, DotRat_Wx said:

That's ridiculous and stupid lol

Yes. And especially so since we are all supposed learned biologists. 
At this point it has zero to do with science and everything to do with appearances. 
The positivity rate in Massachusetts is below 1%. We’ll hit 70% fully vaxed in another month or so. Like I said, once we get past security and do the health attestations we basically ditch them. The only people on the floors are lab people. The rest of the office people have been told to expect to work from home until fall. And for our building it will most likely be spring. Our 7 floor building is having the offices on 2-5 renovated to open concept that won’t be done till March. The lab folks from those floors have to hotel on 6 and 7 since those are renovated already. We still have distancing requirements.

[HoarfrostHubb]

13 minutes ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

Yes. And especially so since we are all supposed learned biologists. 
At this point it has zero to do with science and everything to do with appearances. 
The positivity rate in Massachusetts is below 1%. We’ll hit 70% fully vaxed in another month or so. Like I said, once we get past security and do the health attestations we basically ditch them. The only people on the floors are lab people. The rest of the office people have been told to expect to work from home until fall. And for our building it will most likely be spring. Our 7 floor building is having the offices on 2-5 renovated to open concept that won’t be done till March. The lab folks from those floors have to hotel on 6 and 7 since those are renovated already. We still have distancing requirements.

I think the positivity rate is at like 0.74% in Mass (7 day avg?).  Lowest since the start of the whole thing.    So good to watch this go poof.  Any reason that the office staff is expected to WFH  other than the renovations? 

[WhitinsvilleWX]

9 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

Any reason that the office staff is expected to WFH  other than the renovations? 

I dunno really. I guess people are used to it and are reluctant to come back. The message from corporate is a hybrid model in the fall. 2-3 days in office and 2-3 days at home.

They’re going to desk hoteling too. We all get these little 2 drawer cabinets on wheels where we keep our stuff and you will roll those to an alcove every night and sign up for a desk space. 
That won’t work for my group since we have oversized 32” monitors for sone specialized software and analysis. I’m trying to get assigned seating for my group. It’s not like we work in legal or accounting and can plug in anywhere.

Faceless corporate crap with no personalized workspace.

[radarman]

In Home Depot, I'd estimate about 75% of customers are masked up and 25% of employees

[HoarfrostHubb]

Just now, WhitinsvilleWX said:

I dunno really. I guess people are used to it and are reluctant to come back. The message from corporate is a hybrid model in the fall. 2-3 days in office and 2-3 days at home.

They’re going to desk hoteling too. We all get these little 2 drawer cabinets on wheels where we keep our stuff and you will roll those to an alcove every night and sign up for a desk space. 
That won’t work for my group since we have oversized 32” monitors for sone specialized software and analysis. I’m trying to get assigned seating for my group. It’s not like we work in legal or accounting and can plug in anywhere.

Faceless corporate crap with no personalized workspace.

Way back when I used to do a lot of work with members of the Mass Biotechnology Council (is that still a thing?) and I was always in Millenium, Novartis, Alkermes, Biogen, etc.  But I was almost always just in the lab spaces.   The hoteling seems like it was happening back then though... that must kinda suck

[WhitinsvilleWX]

2 minutes ago, radarman said:

In Home Depot, I'd estimate about 75% of customers are masked up and 25% of employees

I need to go today to the one in Oxford. I’ll report back

[WhitinsvilleWX]

3 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

Way back when I used to do a lot of work with members of the Mass Biotechnology Council (is that still a thing?) and I was always in Millenium, Novartis, Alkermes, Biogen, etc.  But I was almost always just in the lab spaces.   The hoteling seems like it was happening back then though... that must kinda suck

I worked for Millennium back in the day. We never hoteled. It’s a pretty newer thing at least in pharma. Although Astra Zeneca has been doing it for a few years.

The open concept sux. Nobody likes it. They build “huddle rooms” on each floor. Maybe 10 -15 that have a big tv to plug into for power points etc and to have 1:1 conversations that you would normally have in an office. They’re even getting rid of all our office desk phones. 

[HoarfrostHubb]

Just now, WhitinsvilleWX said:

I worked for Millennium back in the day. We never hoteled. It’s a pretty newer thing at least in pharma. Although Astra Zeneca has been doing it for a few years.

I seem to recall it at a few places, or at least a version... some locations had people working in the same spaces during 3 shifts, so they would share cubicle spaces with 2 others and have places they could store personal stuff... I think.  Can't recall where.

I almost worked for Millennium in the health and safety dept but didn't want to work in Cambridge full time.   2 people I am friends with here in the Hubb work at Astra in Waltham. I don't think they do the hotel thing but I never asked.  

[PhineasC]

Hoteling and open floor plans suck so bad. 

[WhitinsvilleWX]

5 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Hoteling and open floor plans suck so bad. 

Yup

They tout open floor plans as “ more conducive to collaboration”.  Bullshyte. They can put double the number of people into the same square footage. 

[mreaves]

Pretty much all mask and social distance requirements were dropped for vaccinated people in VT State office buildings last week. Went in 3 days this week. Was the first time I met 3 people we had hired since November in person.  

[TalcottWx]

Why would any sane human being still wear a mask? If its legal, its legal

[mreaves]

Just now, DotRat_Wx said:

Why would any sane human being still wear a mask? If its legal, its legal

Since the rule here is no masks for vaccinated people, it makes me wonder if the people still wearing are unvaccinated but we are near 80% with at least one shot up hers so it’s likely an over abundance of caution, I guess. 

[WhitinsvilleWX]

1 minute ago, DotRat_Wx said:

Why would any sane human being still wear a mask? If its legal, its legal

It’s called conditioning. It’s really powerful. It’s really easy to condition a whole society to do things they normally wouldn’t even dream of doing. And this didn’t take long. Maybe now you younger folks see why us old boomers were and still are a little worried. 

[powderfreak]

2 minutes ago, WhitinsvilleWX said:

It’s called conditioning. It’s really powerful. It’s really easy to condition a whole society to do things they normally wouldn’t even dream of doing. And this didn’t take long. Maybe now you younger folks see why us old boomers were and still are a little worried. 

I have to consciously remember *not* to put a mask on.  It's totally conditioning.  Like putting a seatbelt on when I pull out of the driveway.

It would be like if for a year everyone was told they NEED to wear a red shirt on Tuesdays... it takes 6+ months but finally every human is in a red shirt on Tuesday.  Then they tell you that you don't need to wear a red shirt on Tuesday after another 6 months.  Go out in public after and I bet 75% still wear a red shirt on Tuesdays, haha.  Not because they care, but just because it was muscle memory.

[radarman]

I think a lot of it is just that folks want to see others not wearing the masks so they aren't that guy.  It is only day 1 here.

[PhineasC]

The masks will start to drop fast. Takes about a week. Some areas are going to take longer for various reasons, depending on the kind of people living there, TBH. 

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

Went to Starbucks and target this morning, and everyone, including employees were still masked up.

These are two companies that said they would no longer require vaccinated customers or employees to wear masks in store if the local laws didn’t call for it.

Hopefully it’s just first day feeling it out stuff 

[radarman]

Downtown Amherst mask wearing is damn near 100% and the even the outdoor farmers market is requiring it.   (  ) I definitely think it's a you go first thing.  

[WhitinsvilleWX]

6 minutes ago, radarman said:

I think a lot of it is just that folks want to see others not wearing the masks so they aren't that guy.  It is only day 1 here.

Well, I took a vacation day yesterday and went to Providence Place Mall.  Rhode Island has been mask free indoors for nearly 2 weeks. I bet I saw less than 20 people in my 2 hours there that were maskless (other than seated at the food court). It’ll take at least 6 months to see a majority without them. I still see 80% wearing them outdoors in Boston and Cambridge. 

[Bostonseminole]

Went to Starbucks and target this morning, and everyone, including employees were still masked up.
These are two companies that said they would no longer require vaccinated customers or employees to wear masks in store if the local laws didn’t call for it.
Hopefully it’s just first day feeling it out stuff 

Just did target and a few others stores and 95% masked. I was in the minority, even heard some guy calling his wife to bring him a mask cause he felt like a ahole.. I told don’t worry he was not alone with the no masks.


.

[WhitinsvilleWX]

4 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

The masks will start to drop fast. Takes about a week. Some areas are going to take longer for various reasons, depending on the kind of people living there, TBH. 

Maybe in Maryland. Here in southern New England they’ll be some masked up this time next year. 

[PhineasC]

Just now, WhitinsvilleWX said:

Well, I took a vacation day yesterday and went to Providence Place Mall.  Rhode Island has been mask free indoors for nearly 2 weeks. I bet I saw less than 20 people in my 2 hours there that were maskless (other than seated at the food court). It’ll take at least 6 months to see a majority without them. I still see 80% wearing them outdoors in Boston and Cambridge. 

Might just be an uptight SNE thing I guess. Very few masks in NH or MD. Took about a week in MD. 

[PhineasC]

When I see someone still masked up, I assume they are vaccinated. Seems to fit the pattern. 

[TalcottWx]

I think masks will be gone in a matter of days