This point was brought up in another thread - would you continue to go to work during the rollover if things started to look bad? How bad would it have to be before you stayed home? What about you people who have been told you must be on duty? Have you considered possibly staying home anyway? In my opinion this issue is one of the great unknowns of Y2K.

-- Goombah (goombah@aol.com), May 30, 1999

Answers

The truth for me is... "I don't know yet."

(Good question that needs to be asked again just after Christmas).

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 30, 1999.

YES.

-- FLAME AWAY (BLehman202@aol.com), May 30, 1999.

I have no intention of going to work Monday, January 3rd, and possibly not until Wednesday, assuming my company notifies us by voicemail (assuming some other things, of course), that the building is open, and all systems are go. I work way up in a high rise downtown Boston. Lots of reasons the building could be shut down. I don't relish the prospect of walking down 40 flights of stairs (in the dark) to find I can't get to my car because the subway is closed. I'm tryng to convince my very large company to shut down at least that Monday. I'm not an essential employee.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), May 30, 1999.

We have friends who are therapists in nursing homes. The private co. they worked for started paying them with promisary notes because they couldn't meet payroll. Our friends stayed working for them for one more pay period then the same thing. They quite jobs they loved when the co. couldn't pay them any longer. For them no $$$ was when it got too bad to stay. For me I think bad rioting would keep me from work. My families saftey first.

-- Johnny (JLJTM@BELLSOUTH.NET), May 30, 1999.

Gotta go in Goombah. Responsibilty to patients dictates being there till the last pill is gone. Will probably live at the store (B) then hope there's time for plan C.

-- Carlos (riffraff1@cybertime.net), May 30, 1999.

That's an easy one - not on your life!

If I were single & held a job in the healthcare industry or in public safety I would consider going to work. If I had an employer who reciprocated the loyalty I've witnessed from dozens & dozens of co- workers over the years I would consider it. Fat chance.

I don't worship at the altar of the almighty buck. Never have. God & family receive my devotion.

This is indeed one of the many great unknowns of Y2K.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), May 30, 1999.

If I had a job then, it might depend on whether the company was better prepared than me -- water, food, waste disposal, ammo, etc. I don't think so.

-- A (A@AisA.com), May 30, 1999.

If things are "just" real bad, I'll go to work (no power, gas & water rationed). In a complex society, it is bad to "drop-out" - I depend on "them" and "they" depend on me.

If things collapse (wide-spread riots and/or war), on the other hand, I'll stay home.

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous99.xxx), May 30, 1999.

I will stay home. I work retail, security management. I have not ever missed a day during the mandatory "Thanksgiving thru New Years" strech, As it is always expected to be sticky finger shopping days.

But this year is a different story. I will be at home enjoying my kids , keeping them warm, and trying to help my family out (I dont think this is a good time to leave a wife and small children alone, in the dark, not knowing who might be knocking at the door)

I honestly think we wont see major problems in a rual area, well not for a week or two anyway.

As far as work goes, let the thiefs steal! At that point we will have much more to worry about than if someone steals a TV or pair of jeans.

Bulldog

-- bulldog (sniffin@around.com), May 30, 1999.

If the power is on then I will be at work.

LM

-- LM (latemarch@usa.net), May 30, 1999.

Depends - really gotta play this one by ear and intuition.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), May 30, 1999.

Yes, I would continue to work. However, first I'm waiting to see what happens during the summer months when the venders must be Y2K compliant. The current state of dependable venders is not good, so I don't expect any wonderfully complete Y2K compliance from certain vendors.

If one crucial vendor can't supply a part, then the whole assembly line shuts down. Remember the GM strike? Imagine that times thousands. We are in for some nasty boondoggles!

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), May 30, 1999.

I stated before that this is one issue that most companies and local governments, even the ones pursuing the most agressive Y2K remediation have by and large ignored.

If I feel that my family or my property is threatened, the last place I will be is at my job. If I cannot be reasonably certain that my family and property will be safe (i.e. to the limited extent that such an assurance exists today), the all bets are off.

I make no apologies for this position. It simply a matter of priorities. We have worked hard this past year to ensure that we can survive several months of unemployment if my employer either goes under or finds my position vis-a-vis my family unacceptable.

In a nutshell, my home and family will come first. Should I be forced to choose, then my employer will find themselves a distant second. Hopefully, I will not face such a drastic choice but I am prepared in the event that happens.

It is worth noting that people's lives and safety do not depend upon my being at work - i.e I'm not a doctor, an EMT, a law enforcement officer or other worker who would be a key part of emergency response. But I have to wonder how many of those folks are willing to put their jobs before their families, especially in a situation that was so clearly preventable.

-- Arnie Rimmer (Arnie_Rimmer@usa.net), May 31, 1999.

I give over the phone tech support for a major corporate i.s.p. the people who pay my salary are the everyman that use win3.1 and '95 on 4 year old p.c.'s.luckily the degree I'm working on is Buddhist studies,and since human suffering isn't likely to go away,I'll have work to do,but probably not telling people how to fix their internet software!

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), May 31, 1999.

For over a year now, I've known that I won't be at work at rollover. Assuming the economy holds together until then and I still have a job, I'll be watching the celebrations at my retreat and will stay there at least a week. If it's longer than that, so be it.

-- Doug (douglasjohnson@prodigy.net), May 31, 1999.

I will be on call the whole weekend in case something happens to the equipment I maintain. If the power goes off, there will be no reason to go to work until the power comes back on...

lounging in the grass,

The Dog

-- Dog (cmpennell@juno.com), May 31, 1999.

I think that if the electricity is on That I will go to work. Of course if the banks and the stock market have crashed then I may not....

I fully expect to stay at home for at least a couple of weeks.

Beyond that I hope some semblance of order will have evolved rather than devolved.

People will still need money, right?

(Still hoping)

Father

-- Thomas G. Hale (hale.t@att.net), May 31, 1999.

It depends on how bad is bad, and what job I have at the time. I'm in the health field, but not critical. If I am still at the sleep lab come roll over, we often close for 2 weeks over Christmas (too hard to get people to come in). If I am doing something in homecare, I very likely will go to work unless childcare is a problem. If the electricity goes out for an extended time, homecare workers will be like a one-armed, all-fingers paper hanger after just a few hours. (O2 tanks just don't last very long with continuous use.) I'm sure you appreciate this very definitive answer! ;-)

-- Tricia the Canuck (tricia_canuck@hotmail.com), May 31, 1999.

Not a chane in hell.

-- Daryll Smallwood (twinck@wfeca.net), June 01, 1999.

It'll be 01/01/00 in New Zealand, Australia and Japan when it's still before noon here on December 31st. I'll be watching the news very closely on New Year's Eve morning to get an idea of what to expect on New Year's Day here.

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), June 01, 1999.