Red as a lobster
Most summers, the first sunburn was a badge of honour.
After long winters and pale complexions, it was good to get some colour back. Much like this past weekend, cool mornings gave way to a welcome heat wave, then the shirts came off.
A breeze often hid the result until hours later. Without fail, knees, arms and backs were red as a lobster.
If the discomfort of a sunburn weren’t bad enough, there was always a buddy or two at school happy to give a slap on the back.
Keep in mind this was an era where suntan lotion was advertised regularly and sunscreen wasn’t really a thing.
Out on the farm a sheen of anything would only attract dust and chaff so we foolishly let nature take its course.
A good burn or two, along with the requisite peeling of skin would turn into a deep bronze a month later. A brown tan meant you looked healthy, or so we thought.
Of course, the results all these years later for our generation are routine testing of moles and sunspots, for potential skin cancer. Long sleeve fabrics designed to combat UV rays make a difference too.
Sun and fresh air remain good for the spirit – it’s just a matter of being smart about it.
Young people today are more with it, more aware and this is good news.
Who’s the boss?
Working from home isn’t going away – not without a fight anyway.
Over 26,000 people, federal workers and hangers-on signed a petition demanding to work remotely three days a week. For readers who are unaware, many federal workers never returned to work, enabled by weak management.
The Trudeau-era directive during the pandemic saw tens of thousands of civil servants set up shop in their own homes. This limited the number of staff in congested workplaces and met the need to isolate and distance from unrelated parties. Conceptually it seemed a good answer to problems at the time.
Big business adopted similar measures, allowing executives and those who mostly worked on computers to answer their inquiries at home. Other categories also toyed with work from home options marveling at the time how technology would finally give workers the freedom they deserve.
Let’s not forget either those bigwigs who prognosticated that city cores and office towers would be hollowed out by the exodus of office workers. Greedy businesspeople intent on squeezing every nickel of profit out of their operations were jumping with joy at the prospect of dumping “bricks and mortar” costs. No taxes, no heat and hydro, no parking redemptions – it was basically a built-in wage increase telling commuters to leave their car parked at home. The future had arrived, or so they thought.
At some point, enterprises clued in that they had created a monster in relative terms. The staff cohesion most companies foster is almost impossible when you have never met “Bob” or “Sally”. Sure, online is how most meetings are handled, but it is a far cry from pulling a team together with focused intent.
Now, some five years after that initial policy was implemented, federal workers are wanting the hybrid work arrangement enshrined in law. In light of economic storm clouds on the horizon and the very real possibility that AI will eliminate many of these types of jobs, the Public Service Alliance of Canada is still seeking support for its petition. By July 6, if this effort proves fruitless, federal workers will need to be in the office four days a week.
Noted, but not entirely obvious in headlines, the petition will also cover federally regulated industries like crown corporations, airlines, airports, banks and broadcasting industries.
There are exceptions to the work-from-home experience and hybrid working arrangements we generally dislike. There is no doubt there are high achievers that maximize their hours. But we also know the human condition, where doing as little as possible and rationalizing personal tasks while on the company clock are realities for many. The two dichotomies are a fact that both sides need to accept.
The part that rubs us the wrong way is the absence of any thought for the workers that actually have to show up to do their job. That isn’t much different than the COVID-19 days when workers had to work or didn’t get paid. There is a lack of balanced thinking on the subject.