Item
The Life of an Essential Worker
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Title (Dublin Core)
The Life of an Essential Worker
Description (Dublin Core)
A personal allegory about my experiences working as an assistant manger at Jamba Juice. This talks about the rapid change in the workforce and how lit changed as I became an essential worker.
My name is Bryanna Payden, a second year Biology major at California
State University Sacramento with aspirations to attend medical school and specialize in
Psychiatry. If being a Biology major wasn't challenging enough, I am a full-time Assistant
Manager at Jamba Juice. Additionally, I serve as the Logistics Coordinator for the Honors
College Committee. I like to keep myself fairly busy and during this crisis I had to find a new
way to continue my responsibilities.
In the early stages of the COVID-19, our community was very confused, scared, and
unsure of what to expect next. Little by little as a virus spread in different areas of the world, all
colleges began to transfer online. I remember when CSU Sac State’s President Nelson sent the
email that the remaining academic sessions will be held online. While sitting in my honors US
history class, I read the email on my phone with disbelief. Initially I was super excited, assuming
what all college students thought, online classes would be easier…. boy I was naive. Shortly
after, our Governor Newson addressed the state of California with the decision of a one month
quarantine. During this stay at home quarantine, it is advised no one is able leave their homes
unless for essential businesses such as grocery shopping or hospital visits. Once again I was
super excited to finally stop working and become solely invested in my school work. I assumed
that Jamba Juice was not an essential business, however, the economy thought of me
differently... Jamba Juice was considered essential as it is a part of the food industry.
As a manager my first priority is always the safety of my team. Even with a well known
company such as Jamba Juice, our franchise was not prepared for or equipped to handle this
unprecedented pandemic. There were no prior documents to refer to for any prior training we had
to address any of these circumstances. At that moment, Jamba had nothing prepared; no hazard
pay, no paid time off, no protection, or any guidance that I could have referred to. I remember
feeling worried about the safety and financial stability of those employees who couldn't work
due to elderly family members being more at risk. With the addition of this new stress, life
continued to move on.
During the first month of the stay home quarantine, March through April, we continued
to work as “normal”. We still had our lobby and tables set out and our team had no personal
protections of gloves or face masks. It was honestly as if you went to work any other day. The
major difference was that our store was not grossing in sales as much as it used to. I work at a
location that typically brings in $3,000 to $4,000 a day, our sales drastically dropped to $500.
We went from seeing about 300 people a day to only 50. At first it felt unreal. It felt as if I was
living in a parallel universe where the streets were empty, no people out walking, just vast empty
parking lots. It felt as if life just clicked the pause button.
In the following month, things began to drastically change. At my job there were new
orders and regulations almost every week. The first new task was a rigorous sanitization
checklist where every 15 minutes, we have to sanitize and wipe down all of the door handles,
looby tables, counters, the pens, the scoops, the doors, etc. Then we would have to take that sheet
and send a picture to our district manager every hour. Still no face mask or gloves were required
for us to wear. The following week we had to remove our tables from the lobby as no guests
were allowed to dine in at our store anymore and we had pre-assigned standing spots for our
guest to wait six feet apart. We could not have more than six people in our lobby or we would be
shut down mandated by Sacramento County. Jamba also created a new document where
employees who felt uncomfortable to work were allowed to leave for up to 30 days unpaid.
Some of my employees decided to opt out as working was too much of a risk to bring home to
their families. To this day, some of those workers have not returned. Also another strict
regulation was that due to the decrease in sales, we were only allowed minimum staffing. During
this time, we went from scheduling about 45 hours a day to only 25.Regardless of how busy we
were throughout the day, we were only allowed to run two people. This meant less hours for my
co-workers and a drastic cut on everyone's incomes. We encourage our employees to apply for
unemployment to collect extra money to make up for the lack of income. We were all reassured
by the fact that the quarantine would only last a month, but clearly that was not the case.
The stay-at-home quarantine was extended from the end of April to the end of May. I am
certain that even after we begin to reopen many of these practices will remain in place. Recently,
Jamba Juice issued stricter regulations to ensure employees and customers are taking the
precautionary measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. There is a sanitization checklist that is
checked every 15 minutes and is heavily enforced. Also, new protection for employees such as
splash guards protect the registers and our POS system. In the beginning of May we received a
three dollar raise and additional paid sick leave.Now, all workers are required to wear face masks
and gloves. In the beginning, it was frustrating working in conditions that took so long to address
the virus but my experience goes to prove how unprepared we were. My store is still adjusting to
this new normal and I appreciate how patient our customers have been.
This whole experience has honestly been hard to describe. The only word that comes to
mind is unreal, I am in disbelief that these circumstances are now my everyday life. The crazy
thing is the added anxiety and stress surrounding COVID-19 added to my already busy life. After
work, I came home and attended all of my classes, completed assignments, and prepared for
major tests. The next day I woke up at 6 a.m. to continue this exhausting cycle. COVID-19 not
only disrupted my routine but it affected everyone. This is a crazy world to be living in,
especially those of essential workers who worry about contracting the virus every time they
clock in. I never thought I would have to choose between my safety and supporting myself.
Nevertheless, I recognize this predicament and as Assistant Manager I ensure my staff feels
protected and supported.
State University Sacramento with aspirations to attend medical school and specialize in
Psychiatry. If being a Biology major wasn't challenging enough, I am a full-time Assistant
Manager at Jamba Juice. Additionally, I serve as the Logistics Coordinator for the Honors
College Committee. I like to keep myself fairly busy and during this crisis I had to find a new
way to continue my responsibilities.
In the early stages of the COVID-19, our community was very confused, scared, and
unsure of what to expect next. Little by little as a virus spread in different areas of the world, all
colleges began to transfer online. I remember when CSU Sac State’s President Nelson sent the
email that the remaining academic sessions will be held online. While sitting in my honors US
history class, I read the email on my phone with disbelief. Initially I was super excited, assuming
what all college students thought, online classes would be easier…. boy I was naive. Shortly
after, our Governor Newson addressed the state of California with the decision of a one month
quarantine. During this stay at home quarantine, it is advised no one is able leave their homes
unless for essential businesses such as grocery shopping or hospital visits. Once again I was
super excited to finally stop working and become solely invested in my school work. I assumed
that Jamba Juice was not an essential business, however, the economy thought of me
differently... Jamba Juice was considered essential as it is a part of the food industry.
As a manager my first priority is always the safety of my team. Even with a well known
company such as Jamba Juice, our franchise was not prepared for or equipped to handle this
unprecedented pandemic. There were no prior documents to refer to for any prior training we had
to address any of these circumstances. At that moment, Jamba had nothing prepared; no hazard
pay, no paid time off, no protection, or any guidance that I could have referred to. I remember
feeling worried about the safety and financial stability of those employees who couldn't work
due to elderly family members being more at risk. With the addition of this new stress, life
continued to move on.
During the first month of the stay home quarantine, March through April, we continued
to work as “normal”. We still had our lobby and tables set out and our team had no personal
protections of gloves or face masks. It was honestly as if you went to work any other day. The
major difference was that our store was not grossing in sales as much as it used to. I work at a
location that typically brings in $3,000 to $4,000 a day, our sales drastically dropped to $500.
We went from seeing about 300 people a day to only 50. At first it felt unreal. It felt as if I was
living in a parallel universe where the streets were empty, no people out walking, just vast empty
parking lots. It felt as if life just clicked the pause button.
In the following month, things began to drastically change. At my job there were new
orders and regulations almost every week. The first new task was a rigorous sanitization
checklist where every 15 minutes, we have to sanitize and wipe down all of the door handles,
looby tables, counters, the pens, the scoops, the doors, etc. Then we would have to take that sheet
and send a picture to our district manager every hour. Still no face mask or gloves were required
for us to wear. The following week we had to remove our tables from the lobby as no guests
were allowed to dine in at our store anymore and we had pre-assigned standing spots for our
guest to wait six feet apart. We could not have more than six people in our lobby or we would be
shut down mandated by Sacramento County. Jamba also created a new document where
employees who felt uncomfortable to work were allowed to leave for up to 30 days unpaid.
Some of my employees decided to opt out as working was too much of a risk to bring home to
their families. To this day, some of those workers have not returned. Also another strict
regulation was that due to the decrease in sales, we were only allowed minimum staffing. During
this time, we went from scheduling about 45 hours a day to only 25.Regardless of how busy we
were throughout the day, we were only allowed to run two people. This meant less hours for my
co-workers and a drastic cut on everyone's incomes. We encourage our employees to apply for
unemployment to collect extra money to make up for the lack of income. We were all reassured
by the fact that the quarantine would only last a month, but clearly that was not the case.
The stay-at-home quarantine was extended from the end of April to the end of May. I am
certain that even after we begin to reopen many of these practices will remain in place. Recently,
Jamba Juice issued stricter regulations to ensure employees and customers are taking the
precautionary measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. There is a sanitization checklist that is
checked every 15 minutes and is heavily enforced. Also, new protection for employees such as
splash guards protect the registers and our POS system. In the beginning of May we received a
three dollar raise and additional paid sick leave.Now, all workers are required to wear face masks
and gloves. In the beginning, it was frustrating working in conditions that took so long to address
the virus but my experience goes to prove how unprepared we were. My store is still adjusting to
this new normal and I appreciate how patient our customers have been.
This whole experience has honestly been hard to describe. The only word that comes to
mind is unreal, I am in disbelief that these circumstances are now my everyday life. The crazy
thing is the added anxiety and stress surrounding COVID-19 added to my already busy life. After
work, I came home and attended all of my classes, completed assignments, and prepared for
major tests. The next day I woke up at 6 a.m. to continue this exhausting cycle. COVID-19 not
only disrupted my routine but it affected everyone. This is a crazy world to be living in,
especially those of essential workers who worry about contracting the virus every time they
clock in. I never thought I would have to choose between my safety and supporting myself.
Nevertheless, I recognize this predicament and as Assistant Manager I ensure my staff feels
protected and supported.
Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Contributor (Dublin Core)
Type (Dublin Core)
Text
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
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Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
05/13/2020
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
05/14/2020
12/08/2020
Date Created (Dublin Core)
05/13/2020
Accrual Method (Dublin Core)
4110
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|---|---|---|
 Appendix A Social Distancing Protocol |
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