Published
4 years agoon
As fate would have it, California’s coronavirus battle flag was hoisted just as CalMatters was vacating its temporary offices and moving into permanent new quarters near the Capitol.
Our physical trappings — files, equipment and so forth — made the move, but our managers decided, prudently, that we staffers should more or less isolate ourselves in our abodes. For more than a week, therefore, we writers have been working remotely while our new offices remain virtually and indefinitely empty.
Last week, the University of California published an on-line article that explored the underlying uncertainty about how workplace disruptions will play out in the longer run.
Edward Lempinen, a writer for UC-Berkeley’s media office, interviewed UC scholars about the issue and wrote:
“The workplace is a defining focus for many Americans, a place where working people spend much of their lives earning an income, exercising creativity and connecting with colleagues and customers. This health emergency is sending shock waves across the working world, an impact with no precedent in modern times and no quick end in sight.”
Lempinen focused on “a jarring new perspective on the gap between the working poor and workers in more secure positions.”
Saru Jayaraman, director of Berkeley’s Food Labor Research Center, told Lempinen that millions of workers are “not making enough money to stay home, even if they got minimum wage for every hour that they’re off sick. It’s not enough to pay rent and bills.”
Clark Kellogg, a lecturer at the Haas School of Business, said, “For white-collar workers, orders to work from home will raise a host of questions about motivation, productivity and the impact of isolation. But it may also inspire workplace innovation.”
Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He has written more than 9,000 columns about the state and its politics and is the founding editor of the “California Political Almanac.” Dan has also been a frequent guest on national television news shows, commenting on California issues and policies.
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