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You’re a hero. You’re saving us all. We can’t live without you. Your hair looks amazing today, what kind of conditioner do you use? People who are deemed to be essential workers keep hearing compliments like these since the coronavirus pandemic hit and now they’re posting jokes about it online.
To brighten up your day, Bored Panda has collected some of the most hilarious essential worker memes. Enjoy and remember to upvote your faves! And if you’re an Essential Panda, tell us what life is like for you now in the comments.
Essential employees are healthcare professionals, police officers, firefighters, grocery store employees, fast-food workers, truckers, and every single person who keeps civilization functioning during the quarantine. (Oh, and tax collectors are considered to provide essential services in some places, too.) Bored Panda spoke with Dr. Eddy Ng, the James and Elizabeth Freeman Professor of Management at Bucknell University, about essential workers. Scroll down for our interview with him.
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Nicola Roberts 4 years ago
True. My sister works as a carer, and she called herself cannon fodder. I'm like you're an essential worker - you're so important! I tell her this while working from home....
"Although we hear the term 'heroes' being used to describe many essential workers, the term is apt because they perform work that can bring harm to themselves and potentially their families," Dr. Ng said. "Not all heroes are idolized or worshiped, but there is certainly an element of bravery and self sacrifice here. Thus, the term hero is an expression of gratitude by the collective or community who are dependent on these essential workers. Since many of them are not being paid much or don't have a choice but to come to work, the term 'hero' also provides intrinsic motivation and fulfillment for these workers."
The professor added that there's greater recognition of how critically important these workers are now because our health, safety, and survival depends on them. "This gratitude will pass when the pandemic is over and things return to normalcy, thus it is important for us to recognize their contributions now."
"Few employers (e.g., Cargill, Safeway) are providing better compensation but that also reflects a rapidly declining supply of labor (workers are getting sick) and employers enticing others to join the labor market," Dr. Ng explained. "Employers need to do more, such as providing the tools to perform these jobs safely. At the very least, they need to provide a pay premium ('hazard pay') when asking workers to perform work that can expose themselves to harm."
We’ve all heard how these hard-working Pandas are being called heroes, but is that term being overused, especially when we look at how little they’re being paid for their efforts?
The fact is, “thank you’s” don’t pay the bills and being an everyday superhero doesn’t pay all that well. So a lot of essential employees have that in common with comic book superheroes!
Some essential employees are sick and tired of being complimented, celebrated, and hailed as heroes. Why? Because they don’t have any choice: they work their low-paying jobs because they need them to survive.
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WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
And Imagine Captain Chaos sitting on the stern tweeting : "If we are sinking why am I 150 feet above the see? Fake media. Not good. Enemy of the people. Immigrants are playing sad music. No one here plays sad music. Only they do. "
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Abby 4 years ago
This is exactly what's happening to my mom! She works in a hospital and they keep changing policies. Somehow a nap policy got added and they recommend doctors and nurses to take a 20 minute nap during their shift. They said you could only have one mask until it got wet or destroyed so people started using homemade masks. Then they said take as many masks as you want. Then they banned cloth (homemade) masks. There have been a bunch of other policy changes too. Some have been good like for units dealing with coronavirus there are pay raises available. There have been so many policy changes and my mom is pretty stressed
For instance, Nelson Santiago quit his job at Wendy’s in Waco, Texas, when he felt “disrespected and humiliated.” He and his coworkers received a bag of candy from Wendy’s corporate HQ, but Santiago was making 8.50 dollars an hour: he didn’t want candy—he wanted hazard pay and safe working conditions.
“For them to say a simple thank-you while they sit in the comfort of their homes with their families protected and reaping the benefits of these chains still being open—it is insulting," Santiago told Business Insider.
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Wottermehlon Doge 4 years ago
One of my real good friend's parents are both doctors. Both of them have made wills and other paperwork because they are entirely unsure if they are going to make it through this
Meanwhile, a Taco Bell manager told Business Insider that he was working up to 65 hours per week for no additional pay because some of his coworkers quit due to their hours being cut.
If we call somebody a hero, we should make sure they’re being treated like one, don’t you think? Luckily, some powerful people think so, too. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is proposing legislation that frontline heroes get up to 25k dollars as part of a financial crisis-rescue package.
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Bob Beltcher 4 years ago
Its not as fun as it seems. I've been working from home for a month now, it sucks and it's frustrating. As an auditor I have to rely on the people I'm auditing to upload stuff, otherwise, I have no work. Then my boss wants to know why I have no work. Then I have to call muktiple times a day asking when they're uploading work. I know it's not as bad as what other are going through but it still sucks.
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Consequential_mishaps 4 years ago
"Essential". Call them exactly how their employers see them, expendable. You don't pay them enough so they have to risk their lives for minimum wage but hey at least in the uk we all clapped for them at the same time, maybe they can pay their bills with that.
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Dilly Millandry 4 years ago
What would people need to go in for in the 'once every two weeks' scenario? Genuinely curious.
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Jack Chandra 4 years ago
They drive a Mercedes. They're getting paid. I've much more sympathy for minimum wage cashiers who have 100+ people standing in front of them every day.
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Chris Jones 4 years ago
Many delivery drivers have increased targets for delivery numbers as people are ordering more and the companies attitudes are 'oh well, the roads are empty so you'll get round faster'. Don't think it's been made easier for them at all.
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What do you think ?
Orillion 4 years ago
I have a feeling most people are going to forget about 'essential workers' as soon as quarantine is over.
Matthew Smith 4 years ago
Many people will forget and go back to treating them like s**t.
Load More Replies...
Lou Lopez 4 years ago
I get a lot of s**t for being a housekeeper, but guess who's spraying down the public restrooms with bleach? Maybe try using the toilet correctly and not pissing all over the floor? Then I could quarantine at home too and y'all wouldn't have to step in p**s constantly. Also, maybe I could make above starvation wages for this "essential" service of cleaning after some nasty pigs. It also would be great not to get condescending remarks from people who clearly not only need my labor, but need it because they themselves are lazy as f**k and lack even the vestigial remains of common courtesy. Like, I get it Becky... you married rich, that's cool. Chad, you majored in marketing and think you know sooooooo much, yet you won't stop pissing all over the toilet and floor whereas I have potty trained multiple dogs. Maybe stop treating people like me as an afterthought.
Alyssa A 4 years ago
Oh my God thank you for posting this! I work at a hotel doing housekeeping,front desk,and responding to online review (which is annoying to say the least). My coworkers are mostly single parents just trying to support themselves and their families and yet you wouldn't believe the complaints we're receiving recently (not to mention we don't even make hazzard pay). Literally someone left us a comment like "thank you to us for cleaning up after ourselves when your staff wouldn't, we're not leaving a tip instead we're taking that tip and treating ourselves to something nice"(our boss isn't making us clean stay overs anymore, instead we just have to clean their nasty a*s room after they leave). Yesterday I actually cleaned up like 4boxes worth of alcohol and 3 piles of vomit, somehow we have to risk our lives and our families lives for people who are just hooking up and partying, and don't even have the common decency to try and pick up after themselves a little, something kids can do.
Load More Replies...
Joe Blowe 4 years ago (edited)
Working in the hospital I very quickly got tired of being called "essential" and having people thank me for what I do. I went into the healthcare field because I love what I do. I have been at my current hospital for over 14 years now. Some of the upsides to this situation (yes, there are upsides), free restaurant food every day. Some of the downsides - the amount of family members still coming to visit. Stay home! We understand you want to visit your family member when they are in the hospital but we do not want more people getting sick. For each person that visits, that means one less mask for an employee due to most people visiting not wearing a mask.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Aren't your hospitals closed for all visitors? What kind of madness is that? "Hey let's round up all people with Corona in hospitals and next invite their family in, so they can spread the virus with a 100% certainty...." Let me guess: "You can't close the hospital for visitors because of some amendment...."
Load More Replies... Orillion 4 years ago
I have a feeling most people are going to forget about 'essential workers' as soon as quarantine is over.
Matthew Smith 4 years ago
Many people will forget and go back to treating them like s**t.
Load More Replies... Lou Lopez 4 years ago
I get a lot of s**t for being a housekeeper, but guess who's spraying down the public restrooms with bleach? Maybe try using the toilet correctly and not pissing all over the floor? Then I could quarantine at home too and y'all wouldn't have to step in p**s constantly. Also, maybe I could make above starvation wages for this "essential" service of cleaning after some nasty pigs. It also would be great not to get condescending remarks from people who clearly not only need my labor, but need it because they themselves are lazy as f**k and lack even the vestigial remains of common courtesy. Like, I get it Becky... you married rich, that's cool. Chad, you majored in marketing and think you know sooooooo much, yet you won't stop pissing all over the toilet and floor whereas I have potty trained multiple dogs. Maybe stop treating people like me as an afterthought.
Alyssa A 4 years ago
Oh my God thank you for posting this! I work at a hotel doing housekeeping,front desk,and responding to online review (which is annoying to say the least). My coworkers are mostly single parents just trying to support themselves and their families and yet you wouldn't believe the complaints we're receiving recently (not to mention we don't even make hazzard pay). Literally someone left us a comment like "thank you to us for cleaning up after ourselves when your staff wouldn't, we're not leaving a tip instead we're taking that tip and treating ourselves to something nice"(our boss isn't making us clean stay overs anymore, instead we just have to clean their nasty a*s room after they leave). Yesterday I actually cleaned up like 4boxes worth of alcohol and 3 piles of vomit, somehow we have to risk our lives and our families lives for people who are just hooking up and partying, and don't even have the common decency to try and pick up after themselves a little, something kids can do.
Load More Replies... Joe Blowe 4 years ago (edited)
Working in the hospital I very quickly got tired of being called "essential" and having people thank me for what I do. I went into the healthcare field because I love what I do. I have been at my current hospital for over 14 years now. Some of the upsides to this situation (yes, there are upsides), free restaurant food every day. Some of the downsides - the amount of family members still coming to visit. Stay home! We understand you want to visit your family member when they are in the hospital but we do not want more people getting sick. For each person that visits, that means one less mask for an employee due to most people visiting not wearing a mask.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Aren't your hospitals closed for all visitors? What kind of madness is that? "Hey let's round up all people with Corona in hospitals and next invite their family in, so they can spread the virus with a 100% certainty...." Let me guess: "You can't close the hospital for visitors because of some amendment...."
Load More Replies... You May Like 50 Painfully Spot-On Memes To Enjoy On Your 3rd Coffee Break 100 Funny Country Jokes To Kindle Your Wanderlust 30 Wildest Comebacks That People Have Heard Or Come Up With
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