So on Monday I came in to work as I usually do, wishing I could still be in bed when I am told by fellow employees, “The internet is down, we can't work right now.” No big, this isn't the first time this has happened (the 4th in my 2 years here) so I sit and wait to hear word of what's going on and when it can be fixed.
As the day wears on, things are looking glimmer and more dire. Finally, at 10 AM we are told go home there has been no change. Questions arise about compensation for the other 4 hours of that day. We are given 3 options, 1: take unpaid time, 2: use PTO to compensate (I and many others don't have PTO to use, mine being ties up in vacations in March and april), or 3: come in Saturday to make up the missed time. Obviously none of these options work, we go home, and we finally get a memo from the company, we've been hit with a cyber attack. Monday evening told in a group chat with my supervisor that things still aren't good and that most people do not have to be in Tuesday.
Panic starts to set in, I can't lose 12 hours from my pay, that'd screw me and others I work with. I start going to doomsday senerios in my head, what can I do, how will I survive, can I file unemployment for potentially a week? Late evening Tuesday, still no word or update, just these specific people show up Wednesday, I am not one of them. Decide to put it out of my mind for a while and go to my drum practice, figured learning to beat some drums would take my mind off of things. It did, stop for food for the household on the way home (partner pays for food for me, my husband and herself). Get home, distribute food, find I missed a call from my supervisor, panic, call him back. Supervisor says that everyone should come in Wednesday and be ready to work but know there will be a lot of downtime. Also, company decided that everyone would be paid for missed work Monday and Tuesday.
I was happy and a little shocked, I expected nothing of the sort. Yes granted finance had to make sure it was “in the budget” but they still did it. So now I get to keep my PTO time, get paid for not working Monday and Tuesday, and I'm at work today getting paid to be on reddit, read or whatever to keep me occupied.
Sorry for the long story, just had to post some good news amid all the shit companies are throwing at workers lately, or since forever.