Pandemic Log: Monday, 16th March 2020
On Friday the 13th I was a contract employee at a global agency,
finishing up a new business pitch. We had just been informed that
everyone was being asked to work from home, starting that day.
That evening before I left the office I was told that I was being put on
a new project. It was to start the following week. I ventured into the
weekend grateful that my gig was being extended and that I would have a
paycheque a while longer, during this uncertain and turbulent period.
Cut to Monday morning, I emailed my boss to discuss the new project and
asked about my new contract. He suggested I speak with the HR head as
they were responsible for sending my contract.
I contacted HR and they told me they would need to get final sign-off
from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and would then get the renewed
contract back to me.
All good.
About twenty minutes later I got an email from the head of HR saying the
CFO said that because numerous clients had cancelled or postponed
ongoing projects, the company was suddenly stuck with excess staff
capacity and would be unable to take on an external resource.
Not good.
The world was still pretty calm when I left the office on Friday evening.
Yes, people were preparing to work from home and getting used to a
strange new normal, but as the weekend progressed things got dire.
The number of cases in New York State continued to rise. Panic started
to set in among state and city officials, as the Federal government
woke up to the fact that they needed to deal with this crisis on a war
footing. It could not be business as unusual.
The stock market crashed; again.
Oil prices plummeted; again.
States started mandating that all restaurants, cafes and bars close.
Gatherings of 500 people or less, allowed on Friday, became no more than 10 by Monday.
Primary elections in a number of states were postponed.
Lines at grocery stores continued to grow; even as their shelves continued to empty.
I had a gig on Friday. Everything changed the following Monday.
