Synaptic Snaps, Crackles & Pops

Bless you? Maybe. [30 DBC entry]

30DBC November 27 Prompt: Things have progressed well in your town/city with the Pandemic. So well that you've been allowed to return to the office instead of working from home. Your co-worker, Karly, is sneezing and coughing and refuses to wear a mask. Who do you call, or do you let it slide? Tell us why you would act that way.


For the sake of this entry, we'll assume I'm still at my old customer service job.

It's been an interesting couple of years. In-person customer traffic was never a really big deal, but there were certainly visitors, the occasional drive-by meeting and, of course, our mail, UPS and FedEx folks, and vendors. Now that we're all back "inside" full time, we're very aware of the rules and I'm glad I live and work in Arapahoe County. A lot of the folks working here live south of the office, down in Douglas County, so the pandemic rules can be a little different. Some of them keep track of the differences - mostly on when you must, or may, wear a mask - while others just follow the most restrictive guidelines all the time. Me? I'm fully vaccinated, so I wear my mask from the time I get out of my car in the morning, until I get back into it at the end of the day and call it good. I'm pleased that I've acclimated to the reduced airflow and hardly ever get dizzy anymore.

So - Karly. Unless you just inhaled a bit of beverage or are playing with pepper, thereby triggering a coughing or sneezing fit, most people cough or sneeze for health-related reasons. I would approach her to within a reasonable speaking distance and ask what was going on. I can tell she doesn't have a medical exemption to wearing a mask, since her ID badge doesn't have a yellow dot, so I'd remind her about the Public Health Order. I'd try to cajole her into putting on her mask. If she's still adamant about not wearing one, I'd have to contact HR. Companies can get fined and closed for noncompliance, and that doesn't help anybody.

Bottom line? In the words of that tuna commercial announcer from yesteryear: "Sorry, Karly!"