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8/28 Thread (General):
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What happened with the reopening of Zimmerman today?
Chief
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I live in Chicago (hey! Welcome!) and this city is not fully opening in June. Maybe some additional businesses will open, but office buildings downtown? No way. We might hit peak this month, we might not. With most events cancelled for the summer, it's going to be slow-going. Look to your agency and ask what their take will be. A lot of companies are following the CDC and WHO guidelines on opening, local governments be damned. The risk of litigation is too high, and no one will force you back in.
That’s my take. Sure, we can circle June 1 on the calendar, but for those of us who CAN work from home - the city’s not gonna want us crowding into transit just yet. And our jobs don’t wanna be on the hook for forcing us into the office and making us sick. My agency is too big to ask any of the real decision makers. But my direct boss is talking about hunkering down for the rest of the year. He likely doesn’t know more than I do...but even if it’s like, August/September, that’s a lot of time to be sitting in an apartment by yourself. And also, that commitment to a lease. The industry is shaky enough in normal times. Ugh, I’ll see what the landlord says about short term.
wait it out, we ain’t going back anytime soon.
I wouldn’t sign a 1 year lease right now. You definitely have cause for concern. Tell your landlord that you will only do month to month. He/She should be happy to have someone paying the rent right now. Many are not due to lost of employment.
I’m in Chicago and this is my advice as well. Do not commit long term right now. Ask the landlord for month to month, then see what happens. It’s possible they’ll say no, but if they have any brains, they’ll take month to month over the possibility of no rent at all.
Given your uncertainty, make sure you’re currently not stressing more than needed. Meaning it sounds like your best bet is to go back to your hometown, maybe even live at home, do the work remotely. And be honest with HR that you’re currently working from “home home” and when the decision is made to return, you might need an additional week or so to be in the office to square away things at home. This way you can be generic without lying since your financial security could be about family. Just don’t BS nor stress where you’re desperate.
If I were you, I’d save the money and go work from home-home. If things open up figure out the apartment situation then.
CCO: I don’t know if you work at a giant agency or a small one, in a big city or a smaller market, but if you were to send an email to your entire department and tell them it’s OK to work from any place you need to and nothing will be held against you, that would do a lot for your people. A lot of people are in the same position as OP: putting themselves through stress because they are afraid of the perception that they’re not ready to go and doing exactly what the boss wants. some powerful people at agencies definitely let the people underneath them know that if we leave town, or move back home, it’s noted. Set the tone. That would do a lot of good.
Alas, this would only affect my agency. YMMV.
If your leadership hasn’t shared any info, that’s problematic. Going back to the office will be so much harder than when we asked people to work from home. There’s the agency side and how many people we ask to be back at the office on any given day. Then there’s the building manager (remember that most agencies don’t own their own buildings) and their rules for all tenants then there’s your mayor and governor laying out their plans. Plus mass transit if it’s applicable. Too many outside factors just to determine if you’re safe to be back at the office. And even if we get there, if you were the cleaning staff, would you feel safe? So other services need to return as well. Why it’s not so simple and why every situation will be unique.
I live in Chicago. All indications are the city will open up for work on June 1. I would expect that agencies will ask employees to be back that day or at least have a rotating schedule that has you in an out.Then you’ll get to meet more people and feel more comfortable. Your landlord should be OK with going month to month for the time being. Who else are they going to get to rent an apartment nobody is moving to Chicago or any place else right now. You can negotiate you actually have the stronger position. If you leave they will get nothing. So just explain your situation and say you would like to go month to month for the next few months. If they say no, there are plenty of landlords that will let you do that right now
Chicago agencies are being hit pretty hard. Another thread mentioned R/GA Chicago shut down completely.
I’m in a similar position. 👊
Struggling on two fronts: isolation of not knowing anyone in my new city, and the fear my job will go away, leaving me stuck on a lease in a place where I know no one.