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Morning Folks. I work in a small Dr's office and the main secretary is a single mom. She has a 13 y.o. Downs child. The school is currently closed due to Covid outbreaks and she cannot find childcare. Her daughter sits in the front office beside Mom, and will not wear a mask. Mom explains that it's a sensory thing. She fights the face shield as well. I've mostly been working remotely, but there are times I need to go into the office, and as much as I like her daughter, I don't feel safe going in because she won't wear PPE. One of the reasons I need to go in during the day is to contact insurance companies. I live in an area where cell phone service is not the best, so don't suggest that I call from home. Tried it...doesn't work well! I know this is so frustrating for parents, kids and I'm trying to find a sensitive way to approach this issue. Any thoughts? We are a very small office and the Mom is the main contact working at the front window with the patients.
This is a single mom (no husb or support system) who works as a secretary in a small doctors office (low pay) and has a child with Down's syndrome (heartbreak initially and having to rise above and see the value in her child and embrace the value she sees). Imagine the challenges this mother deals with.
Think of a time when you have been in an extremely overwhelming situation. I would approach this with compassion rather than judgement (and I have hard core beliefs about work ethics).
This is a small office situation, not some corporation with policies and practices to adhere to.
I applaud this mother. She has a hard place in life. How wonderful it would be if someone could be a support for her.
If you have to go into the office, wear plastic gloves and mask and use lots of sanitizer and keep your distance.
Maybe you or someone can map out a re arrangement of the secretarial space to minimize contact and risk.
I think this is something your boss should address since it will drive away patients, but that is up to your boss. We're in difficult times right now and can only control the precautions you take.
I had been indirectly exposed to COVID and had to quarantine back in March before any shutdowns. The way I handled work that couldn't be handled remotely was I just set up an office in my car. If I needed any documents from files, I emailed a list and had our secretary photo copy them for me. I could connect to the company's wifi from their parking lot so I could print anything I needed. I also could call from the digital phone on my laptop or use my cell. I had a box I would place on my hood and then get back into my car. I would then call our secretary and she would drop anything I had printed or she had scanned into the box. Once she was back inside, I'd retrieve them from the box. My company requires all copies of documents to be shredded, so one I was done with them. I'd place them back in the box on the hood and call her to come out and collect them for shredding. It wasn't an ideal work situation, but it did work.
It sounds like she's in a very tough situation given that she's a single mother with a down syndrome child. I would still be annoyed though that not only is she bringing the child to work but is allowing the child to be there without a mask...in a dr's office of all places. I certainly empathize with her but it just seems wrong. If she is going to bring the child to work they should be wearing a mask.
It sounds like she's in a very tough situation given that she's a single mother with a down syndrome child. I would still be annoyed though that not only is she bringing the child to work but is allowing the child to be there without a mask...in a dr's office of all places. I certainly empathize with her but it just seems wrong. If she is going to bring the child to work they should be wearing a mask.
That is hard isn't it. Mother in a bad situation and a doctors office with patients coming in and the child is not wearing a mask. Mother is the front line person that meets with patients.
We have what is called COAs. Courses of Action. You map out alternatives.
COA1: Refuse to let the mother work, send her home until the child's school re opens. Result: Need a replacement, need to train the replacement, or get temporary help. Temp will still need to be trained. Mother does not get paid.
COA2: Terminate the mother. Hire replacement and train replacement. Mother collects unemployment. Result: The office no longer has a "situation."
COA3: Meet, plan and find an alternate way to do a work around for this to help the mother in her situation. Place the mother and child in a different seating arrangement or maybe the child can dress as a holiday elf or something with a face covering as part of the costume. Result: You retain the resource and do not have to spend time and money training. Builds loyalty in the resource.
It seems a little hard to believe the mother cannot find childcare even for a child with down syndrome. There are many people looking to pick up jobs here and there to earn money. My thinking is that the mother just doesn't want to get childcare for the kid and finds it easier to bring her to work. Hopefully the school opens up again soon.
It seems a little hard to believe the mother cannot find childcare even for a child with down syndrome. There are many people looking to pick up jobs here and there to earn money. My thinking is that the mother just doesn't want to get childcare for the kid and finds it easier to bring her to work. Hopefully the school opens up again soon.
It is probably much more likely that a single person in a low paying job simply cannot afford to pay some stranger to watch her kid.
It is probably much more likely that a single person in a low paying job simply cannot afford to pay some stranger to watch her kid.
unfortunately that is life. It doesnt mean you can bring kids to work especially if theyre not following the mask rules.
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