The year of 2020 has not been kind to people at all. Many notable people passed away, election tensions are high, and most of all, there is a worldwide pandemic that has been an issue since the beginning of the year. Things have been made easier through new guidelines that allow people to continue their lives without fear. But, those first few months were a really mess. No one wore masks, there was a rush on toilet paper, and cases of COVID-19 spread like wildfire. Through the work of healthcare workers and essential employees, it all came to a slow pace. However, it was extremely difficult for the people who did have to work during the pandemic. 

     Working retail is no easy task. Stocking shelves, helping customers, and unloading trucks is the opposite of fun. Now take that and multiply it by 20, that’s what working during COVID-19 is like. Retail is very supply and demand. When the cans, toilet paper and sanitizers went up in sale, the distribution centers started putting more and more on each truck they sent. Toilet paper lined the backroom and the store was unable to sell it due to the high demand. A worker at the same store was mobbed for disinfectant spray. The pallets that contained grocery items were packed to the brim with all kinds of canned goods. There are many more changes that happened in the store. A few employees of the store talked to me about working during this pandemic, “It’s very hard to keep up honestly. Like the work itself isn’t too bad, but the amount of customers is unbearable. Even more now because we are forced to wear masks and you have a whole family walking around without them.” He said. Another worker commented, “There’s a temporary attendance system in place right now that basically allows you to not show up for work without calling in and people love to abuse that. We typically have about 30 people scheduled and if were lucky, half will show up.”

     It is pretty clear that working during COVID-19 is very difficult for the workers. They mainly expressed the same points about low staff and high amounts of product. So no matter what store you may be shopping in, please be kind to the worker. They have gone through a ton of different emotions during these hard times.