Item
JA Oral History, 2022/05/11
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
JA Oral History, 2022/05/11
Description (Dublin Core)
A student describes their experience working during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
Event Identifier (Dublin Core)
Partner (Dublin Core)
Type (Dublin Core)
Oral History
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
English
Education--Universities
Collection (Dublin Core)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
05/11/2022
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
05/11/2022
05/16/2022
05/17/2022
Date Created (Dublin Core)
05/10/2022
Interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
HW
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
JA
Location (Omeka Classic)
Buffalo
New York
United States of America
Format (Dublin Core)
Audio
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:04:56
abstract (Bibliographic Ontology)
This oral history is an anonymous interview regarding a student describing their experience working during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
HW: 0:00
Hey, what's up, guys? I’m with JA and now it is currently May 10th, 2022 at 6:41 pm. Before we start our interview, I just want to ask for verbal consent to be interviewed and uploaded and published to the JOTPY Website.
JA: 0:15
Yes, I confirm.
HW: 0:16
Alright, so to start off, where your working hours affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 at all?
JA: 0:22
Yes, actually, I was able to perceive more hours due to other co workers calling out for COVID-19 So I was able to work more actually.
HW: 0:35
Has your transportation method changed since the outbreak happened?
JA: 0:38
No, I've never owned a car. I've always used public transportation and used to throw.
HW: 0:43
Next did your employer reduce the amount of workers present at the workplace at one time?
JA: 0:49
Yes, I was a doorman and usually I worked with one co worker, but during the outbreak, we only had one person on shift at all times.
HW: 1:01
Did you have any strict cleaning procedures such as wiping down camera countertops, or anything else?
JA: 1:06
Yeah. In addition to the regular cleaning that we already had to do for the building, in addition, we had to wipe down all the door handles the elevator buttons, basically sanitize everything that could possibly be touched.
HW: 1:22
Did you see an increase in sanitary awareness among your co workers with this?
JA: 1:26
Absolutely. Coworkers always had hand sanitizer at the desk and it just became a habit throughout the day, once every hour, two hours to just sanitize.
HW: 1:36
So besides cleans any other tasks changed because of the pandemic?
JA: 1:41
Um, no, I would say how I did the test changed. Like I had to wear a mask and I had to be more distance while I did my test.
HW: 1:52
Did you notice any co workers leaving or new workers joining after the outbreak?
JA: 1:57
Yeah, I noticed workers leaving due to not wanting to get the vaccine and new workers joining after the outbreak to replace them.
HW: 2:08
So next up where your wages affected at all because of the pandemic?
JA: 2:12
No.
HW: 2:13
Did it become more difficult to juggle both personal and professional life because of the quarantining mandates?
JA: 2:21
Absolutely. You're always on edge if you were any sort of sick, or if you had any illness. You're always on edge and always had to be aware of if other people had COVID, or not.
HW: 2:37
Did you receive any government subsidies, such as unemployment relief.
JA: 2:42
No.
HW: 2:45
Did your work become more difficult due to social distancing and mask use?
JA: 2:48
Yes, as the weather got warmer, the mask made it uncomfortable to breathe. So yeah, it got harder.
HW: 2:56
So in your opinion, with the mask, use the word viral become more or less friendly? Just like a little less interactive? People not talking as much to each other?
JA: 3:04
Yeah, um, I would say like less interactive, just because like, you were always like, worried about how many feet away from someone you were so it wasn't as friendly.
HW: 3:19
Did you experience any sort of increase in stress while working during the pandemic?
JA: 3:24
No, I actually kind of felt the opposite. Because I didn't really have anything to do at home. So I kind of wanted to work more and just get my mind off everything going on.
HW: 3:37
Did you experience any sort of lack of motivation at work or even keep your job during the early months of the outbreak?
JA: 3:42
No, I actually currently wanted to work more as a result. I
just like to get out of the house a little more. Yeah.
HW: 3:52
Did you feel the mass mandate and vaccine mandates were handled well, and should they have been used to determine employment eligibility?
JA: 4:00
Yeah. Because in our buildings, specifically, it was implemented by the tenants and the tenants wanted everyone to be vaccinated unmask the workers. And since they've paid everyone salaries, then yeah, it was handled well.
HW: 4:17
And then lastly, did your family experienced any sort of hardships as a result of job loss or other complications because of the outbreak?
JA: 4:24
Yeah, my mom lost her job during the pandemic and my dad's salary was cut in half. So basically, our income was fourth. It was really hard to make it work at the early beginning months, but.
HW: 4:43
All right, well, that's all the questions I got for you. Just wondering, do you have to ask me anything or?
JA:
Nope.
HW:
Gotcha. All right. Well, I thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate it.
JA:
Thank you.
Hey, what's up, guys? I’m with JA and now it is currently May 10th, 2022 at 6:41 pm. Before we start our interview, I just want to ask for verbal consent to be interviewed and uploaded and published to the JOTPY Website.
JA: 0:15
Yes, I confirm.
HW: 0:16
Alright, so to start off, where your working hours affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 at all?
JA: 0:22
Yes, actually, I was able to perceive more hours due to other co workers calling out for COVID-19 So I was able to work more actually.
HW: 0:35
Has your transportation method changed since the outbreak happened?
JA: 0:38
No, I've never owned a car. I've always used public transportation and used to throw.
HW: 0:43
Next did your employer reduce the amount of workers present at the workplace at one time?
JA: 0:49
Yes, I was a doorman and usually I worked with one co worker, but during the outbreak, we only had one person on shift at all times.
HW: 1:01
Did you have any strict cleaning procedures such as wiping down camera countertops, or anything else?
JA: 1:06
Yeah. In addition to the regular cleaning that we already had to do for the building, in addition, we had to wipe down all the door handles the elevator buttons, basically sanitize everything that could possibly be touched.
HW: 1:22
Did you see an increase in sanitary awareness among your co workers with this?
JA: 1:26
Absolutely. Coworkers always had hand sanitizer at the desk and it just became a habit throughout the day, once every hour, two hours to just sanitize.
HW: 1:36
So besides cleans any other tasks changed because of the pandemic?
JA: 1:41
Um, no, I would say how I did the test changed. Like I had to wear a mask and I had to be more distance while I did my test.
HW: 1:52
Did you notice any co workers leaving or new workers joining after the outbreak?
JA: 1:57
Yeah, I noticed workers leaving due to not wanting to get the vaccine and new workers joining after the outbreak to replace them.
HW: 2:08
So next up where your wages affected at all because of the pandemic?
JA: 2:12
No.
HW: 2:13
Did it become more difficult to juggle both personal and professional life because of the quarantining mandates?
JA: 2:21
Absolutely. You're always on edge if you were any sort of sick, or if you had any illness. You're always on edge and always had to be aware of if other people had COVID, or not.
HW: 2:37
Did you receive any government subsidies, such as unemployment relief.
JA: 2:42
No.
HW: 2:45
Did your work become more difficult due to social distancing and mask use?
JA: 2:48
Yes, as the weather got warmer, the mask made it uncomfortable to breathe. So yeah, it got harder.
HW: 2:56
So in your opinion, with the mask, use the word viral become more or less friendly? Just like a little less interactive? People not talking as much to each other?
JA: 3:04
Yeah, um, I would say like less interactive, just because like, you were always like, worried about how many feet away from someone you were so it wasn't as friendly.
HW: 3:19
Did you experience any sort of increase in stress while working during the pandemic?
JA: 3:24
No, I actually kind of felt the opposite. Because I didn't really have anything to do at home. So I kind of wanted to work more and just get my mind off everything going on.
HW: 3:37
Did you experience any sort of lack of motivation at work or even keep your job during the early months of the outbreak?
JA: 3:42
No, I actually currently wanted to work more as a result. I
just like to get out of the house a little more. Yeah.
HW: 3:52
Did you feel the mass mandate and vaccine mandates were handled well, and should they have been used to determine employment eligibility?
JA: 4:00
Yeah. Because in our buildings, specifically, it was implemented by the tenants and the tenants wanted everyone to be vaccinated unmask the workers. And since they've paid everyone salaries, then yeah, it was handled well.
HW: 4:17
And then lastly, did your family experienced any sort of hardships as a result of job loss or other complications because of the outbreak?
JA: 4:24
Yeah, my mom lost her job during the pandemic and my dad's salary was cut in half. So basically, our income was fourth. It was really hard to make it work at the early beginning months, but.
HW: 4:43
All right, well, that's all the questions I got for you. Just wondering, do you have to ask me anything or?
JA:
Nope.
HW:
Gotcha. All right. Well, I thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate it.
JA:
Thank you.
Item sets
This item was submitted on May 11, 2022 by [anonymous user] using the form “Share Your Story” on the site “A Journal of the Plague Year”: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive
Click here to view the collected data.