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(Photo: Carl Heyerdahl/Unsplash)
(Photo: Carl Heyerdahl/Unsplash)

OPINIONSocietyApril 9, 2020

Ignore the pandemic productivity guilt trap – it’s bullshit anyway

(Photo: Carl Heyerdahl/Unsplash)
(Photo: Carl Heyerdahl/Unsplash)

It’s OK if you don’t come out of lockdown with abs.

We are living through the worst global pandemic since the Spanish Flu in 1918 and the beginning of an economic calamity that has already claimed the jobs of millions of workers the world over. Hospitals are full, schools are closed and many countries are in full lockdown. We’re practising physical distancing at the cost of losing contact with our friends, family and other loved ones. People have given birth alone. People have died alone. This is a dark, uncertain, and scary time.

And yet somehow, posts like this are going viral.

There seems to be a pervasive thought that now that we’re working from home, we have several more hours of free time in the day; as if remote work is some kind of collective holiday. This is reinforced by the preexisting misconception that flexible working is somehow not “real” work.

It’s not clear to me why work meetings conducted via Zoom aren’t considered as meaningful or time-consuming as normal meetings, or why access to the kitchen fridge turns a typical workday into a day off. But I’m even more confused by the notion that a shift to remote work opens up the time we are evidently meant to use to develop new skills or start a side hustle. I mean, by this kind of vexed logic, why aren’t we all using our bus rides to learn Spanish with Duolingo? Why are we not doing reverse crunches in the elevator ride up to the office?

This focus on incessant productivity is even more unwise when emphasised during a time of lockdown. It’s misguided to say that all we’re doing is just “working from home” and ignore everything else going on for households during this time. Consider that a lockdown includes not just transitioning to working from home, but also:

– Managing the serious and severe stress of a global pandemic, with a stream of alarming updates from the media

– Caring for children at home, often trying to continue their schooling and manage their own pandemic anxieties

– Keeping track of elderly relatives and others who are vulnerable, making sure they are safe and have enough supplies

– Valiantly trying to keep up our social connections with friends and family through online videos, chats and games

– Adjusting to living our whole lives from home, with all the disruptions to routine and convenience that entails

My best friend has a daily call through the lockdown with extended family. This is a fantastic way to stay connected with loved ones and make sure everyone is doing OK, but it’s rubbish to pretend that this kind of constant social contact doesn’t take a toll (not to mention time).

Also remember that countless people are facing a serious strain on their personal finances. Millions worldwide are already unemployed; millions more are facing pay cuts or fewer shifts. This palpable economic uncertainty would make anyone worried about their ability to keep putting food on the table.

It’s stressful to live through a pandemic! Pretending this additional burden doesn’t exist is unrealistic and unsustainable. It’s wrong to make out that we all have a huge amount of extra time and that we should feel ashamed if we do not use it “productively”.

Why does access to the kitchen fridge turn a typical workday into a day off? (Photo: Getty Images)

It’s in vogue to compare the battle to contain Covid-19 to the 20th century’s world wars. Can you imagine if we asked someone who lived through, say, the Blitz, whether they emerged from the bombing campaign with a six-pack? Similarly, nobody will care how much you weighed through this pandemic or whether you hit a personal best for lockdown crunches.

This is the other side of the productivity guilt trap: the influencer-driven message that we should all be using this time to eat clean and get ripped. Of course, if you’re a true fitness bunny and are finding some solace in the chaos through home workouts, that’s great. There are more online options than ever and it’s great to see people find new ways of doing what makes them happy. Take this committed hula hooper from the UK, for example.

Yes it’s called Live Love Hoop.

Where people go too far is in projecting their own personal fitness goals and aspirations on others. Nobody should be putting pressure on others to drop treats and eat perfectly during a lockdown. At a time of heightened stress and anxiety, it’s not a big deal to have dessert. If you’re going to smash out 800 reps a day, that’s great. But you really don’t need to share it on your feed and “challenge” your friends to match you. I’ve seen countless attempts at the Instagram press-up challenge and it doesn’t exactly get more inspiring each time.

Let’s take some time to spell out what should be common sense. It’s okay to take a break from the gym, and you shouldn’t feel the need to commit to a 30-day plan to “leave lockdown with abs” (this is a real thing). It’s also okay if you want to eat sweet treats, don’t feel like cutting carbs from your diet, and want to cook less time-intensive meals for your (now house-bound) family.

I’m far from the first to point out that contemporary society revolves around an unattainable quest for perfection, especially for younger people exposed to unrealistic images and ideas of what success looks like. One byproduct of this is the slavish cult of productivity, which instructs disciples to maximise every minute of every day and optimise every part of the human experience.

This is a really important context to bear in mind for the next time you see an image on Instagram exhorting you to do a 30-day workout plan, a 30-day plan to develop a side hustle or, worst of all, a 30-day plan to clean every part of your house.

Instead, you should watch Netflix with your kids, have a doughnut if you like, and give yourself a break. We all deserve it.

Keep going!
(Photo: Getty Images)
(Photo: Getty Images)

SocietyApril 9, 2020

Dispatch from the frontline: A bus driver on working in lockdown NZ

(Photo: Getty Images)
(Photo: Getty Images)

An Auckland bus driver tells Leonie Hayden what it’s like to operate under alert level four, and the struggle to secure a safer work environment.

Mike moved to New Zealand in 2001. “I’m a Kiwi now,” he says, “and a die-hard unionist.” He’s employed by a large New Zealand bus company and as union delegate he says he’s ready to fight to protect his colleagues.

Mike (not his real name) has been a bus driver on and off for different companies since 2004. Now he and his fellow drivers are classified as essential workers included under the Covid-19 alert level four restrictions. Since the lockdown was announced, Auckland’s buses have been running on a Saturday timetable and people have been asked to use them only for essential travel. “In a five-hour shift, there might be only 10 or 12 people on the bus now,” Mike says.

He’s not working on the day we talk. “I’m sitting at home today but since 8 o’clock in the morning I’m on my phone with the drivers, with the union, sending off emails, posting relevant stuff about Covid. It feels like I’m working more than I used to,” he says, laughing. His role as delegate means that his colleagues bring any concerns to him and he relays them to the union. “We’ve got a lot of WhatsApp groups. Current situations, concerns, all are discussed and put forward to the company and the union.”

He says the issues they’re most concerned about are Personal Protection Equipment and bus hygiene. The guidelines released by the Ministry of Health for essential workers includes the same advice for all, and has been echoed by Auckland Transport for their drivers – physical distancing, good hand hygiene, cough etiquette, regular cleaning of surfaces and frequently touched items, and avoiding touching face, eyes, mouth and nose. But advice on who should wear PPE (including gloves, masks and eye protection) varies from service to service. A chart issued by the Ministry of Health showing the PPE requirements for essential non-health workers makes no mention of bus drivers,  although the recommendation for supermarket workers, for example, is that no PPE is required at all.

Guidelines for use of PPE can be found at the Ministry of Health website. Unless you’re a bus driver.

Mike and his colleagues are still concerned, and list hand sanitiser and wipes among the supplies that they feel have not been provided to an acceptable level.

“[There’s] a lack of PPE. A huge shortage, across the board. We have not received the kind of PPE we should have as essential workers – face masks, sanitisers, gloves or even anti-bacterial wipes.”

Some supplies have been delivered he says, but they run out quickly, or some depots don’t receive any at all. “They told us they would be putting sanitisers on the buses last week. Unfortunately, they didn’t do anything of that sort. AT [Auckland Transport] provided the company with a 20-litre container but the sanitiser didn’t reach all the depots.

“AT are blaming that on not getting enough supplies, that they are going to healthcare workers. We understand that, they’re really important, they’re on the frontline, but we are essential workers as well and we need to be safe.”

A spokesperson for Auckland Transport acknowledged that there had been issues as suppliers are prioritising government orders. “To support operators Auckland Transport sent hand sanitiser to operators last weekend to replenish stock while more sanitiser and face masks are being sourced through the NZTA National Emergency Response Team.”

The company employs around 1000 drivers. Mike says while measures such as rear entry only, cashless fares and extra cleaning services were announced at the beginning of lockdown, their implementation has been piecemeal. “The cleaning was not up to standards at all. It has been specifically stated by AT and the government that all the buses have to be properly cleaned and sanitised so that everybody is safe, not just the driver but also the passengers. Previously, before the coronavirus and all that, the buses come back at night, the cleaner comes in, they hardly take one minute to clean the bus. Pick up the rubbish, that’s it. Now what’s happening – the same thing!”

He describes the driver control console on some buses as “horrible”.

“Our brakes, our buttons, our RT [radio transmitter], our steering wheel. It’s full of dirt because they haven’t been cleaned properly since ages. If only we could get the antibacterial wipes and the gloves. It’s not our job to clean it, but we can at least clean the steering wheel and the console.”

Drivers began taking things into their own hands, says Mike, when a two-metre cordon separating passengers from the driver’s seat failed to eventuate. “For the first three or four days it wasn’t done. So the drivers were taking the ticket roll and doing it themselves. They were taping the ticket roll across the bus so passengers couldn’t get within that two metres’ distance.”

Like many essential workers, bus drivers are among the lowest paid. Mike says it’s a struggle at the best of times, which is why he’s appalled that their safety isn’t more of a priority. His usual shift is what’s known as a “broken shift” ­– a morning commute shift then an unpaid break of four hours and another shift during the afternoon peak. Eight or nine hours work in total but he’s often required to be at the depot for 12 or 13. “As per our deal with the company we have a meal allowance to be paid to “broken” drivers. And that, off the top of my head, is about $5.60. And so you can imagine sitting there for four hours. If you calculate the 12 to 13 hours we’re at the depot doing a broken shift, we don’t even get paid $15 an hour.”

He says that as per Land Transport rules there only has to be 10 hours between shifts, so some drivers only get five hours sleep a night as a matter of course. “Getting ready for work, transport to and from work. Having dinner, having a shower. Spending some time with your family… that is included in the 10 hours between shifts.”

Things are starting to improve on the cleaning front “because of some of the pressure we’ve put on the company”, he says hopefully.

“Since the beginning of this week, the cleaning has improved a bit. They have stepped up the cleaning process. That’s the feedback I’ve got from my members.”

Auckland Transport says it’s doing its best to support the drivers at this difficult time. “They’re doing a great job and are the unsung heroes out there on the road helping get essential workers to their jobs.”

Mike says the company he works for has also told him they’re trying their best but some things are in high demand. “At the end of the day, trying is not good enough. Will trying keep us safe? I don’t think so.”

“We are essential workers as well. We are on the frontline and we are transporting other people who are essential workers. The only thing we expect is also to be kept safe so that our families are safe as well.”

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