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Should we be social distancing?

L

Lovetravelling

TS Member
I work as cabin crew for a major UK long haul airline.

We don't social distance on the aircraft as we can't do our job properly while social distancing.

Once we get to the destination we usually have a 1-3 night layover. During this layover we (the team of crew that are working together on the flight after the layover) usually go out for breakfast and dinner together and often sit around the same table closer than 2 meters like we would in normal times. A few staff in restaurants have commented saying we shouldn't all be around the table and then when we tell them we work together and can't social distance in work then they still say that we are behaving inappropriately and should social distance and we have had a few other quite rude comments.

Do you think we should be social distancing during the layover's?
 
Welcome to the forum,

Regardless if you are working together or not, you should be following the rules of the country that you have landed in and if it is the UK you should be following the rules in the tier that you are in.

We are all having to do our bit to follow the rules to prevent the spread of the virus where possible.

I understand where you are coming from with regards to not being to social distance on the plane, but you can set a good example off the plane, because if people feel that you are breaking the rules, they are more likely to copy
 
I also work away from home around 200 nights a year working as a food industry janitor so like you are classed as a key worker.
When travelling to other countries I follow the local rules or behave as the locals do, however when travelling in the UK it’s been a mixed bag this year.
The first lockdown was a nightmare to get a hotel that was open without having to travel miles away from where I was working and no restaurants were open so it was takeaway food which is a struggle when you are away 3 weeks at a time I can tell you.
In the summer it was almost like normal and the last 6 weeks have been easy to get a hotel but back to takeaways in some areas.

If I have been working away with other colleagues then we all eat together in a pub or restaurant in the evening normally, or get a takeaway and all sit in one room.
I’m not sure what else you are supposed to do? Anyone who works away from home will know it’s not practical to sit on your own in a hotel room all night without going nuts, you also need downtime.
 
You should socially distance when you can, even if you cant always.

While working it is often entirely impossible for me to socially distance at all, but as soon as we can we do.

Picking up the virus is a transaction that happens in the tiniest of moments and you then risk spreading it from that moment, so the fewer times you are in close contact the lower the chance you have spreading it. This would be different if you were working together in an isolated place, but your job is the opposite of that.

Your logic is broken, you should socially distance.
 
I think that social distancing isn’t really needed as long as you don’t kiss and hug people who not in the same household with you. It’s impossible to keep 2m away at my work as we work as a team but people who had to self isolate from work have been cause another family member has tested Positive.
 
BigT said:
If I have been working away with other colleagues then we all eat together in a pub or restaurant in the evening normally, or get a takeaway and all sit in one room.
I’m not sure what else you are supposed to do? Anyone who works away from home will know it’s not practical to sit on your own in a hotel room all night without going nuts, you also need downtime.
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This!
Not being rude, but I know I signed up to be a flight attendant but I didn't sign up to be away from my family and stuck in a hotel room and not being able to be with anyone else due to social distancing.
 
I reckon maybe half the uk got it/had it but cause people get told to only have the test if u got the 3 symptoms. Someone at work mum works in a care home so gets tested every week. She’s tested positive twice but showed no symptoms.
 
Lovetravelling said:
This!
Not being rude, but I know I signed up to be a flight attendant but I didn't sign up to be away from my family and stuck in a hotel room and not being able to be with anyone else due to social distancing.
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Did the dead people sign up to being dead? What you are being asked to do is a minor hardship compared to what most are going through.

Following the restrictions wherever you are in the world is obviously the best way to go. Your initial post doesn't make it sound like that's what you are doing though.
 
pluk said:
Did the dead people sign up to being dead? What you are being asked to do is a minor hardship compared to what most are going through.
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Being away from home working this year has not been a minor hardship, it’s been serious hard work.
Its easy to say when you go home to a nice cooked meal every day and have a house or flat to live in but you can’t seriously expect work colleagues that have been working in close proximity all day to not spend a couple of hours socialising in the evening when working away from home, you literally would go insane without that wind down.
It might just be me but the nights when I’m on my own and stuck in a hotel room I’m not in a good place and generally I’m quite a positive person.
 
I've been working away from home twice this year. On both occasions I had to isolate and spent multiple days stuck in hotel rooms. It's not nice.

It's important to socialise if you are away from home. Very few people can truly live like a hermit. An internet connection makes it easier but it's still tough.

However you can socialise without breaking social distancing rules. If you are intending to be away for multiple weeks with the same group of people then they become your bubble. We never had issues at any of the restaurants we went to in accepting that no one in our bubble was related. We just went in as a group, stayed as a group and acted responsibly, just like all the other groups there. I could image they would have taken issue if we had ignored 2m rules (where they existed) or were constantly making contact with each other. But we never needed to do either.
 
Personally I see it as a 'work bubble' so it's not so bad being closer than 2m apart, given you do your job all in close proximity anyway.

It's best to follow local rules/guidance. If the local rule is NOT to eat out with people outside of your household then you should follow this, whatever your personal beliefs may be. If you can eat as a group in your destination then that's fine. Keep to the local rules and you're not doing anything wrong.

Would your employer not have guidelines for something like this given the nature of the job?

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I'm slightly surprised that social distancing isn't being forced onto airlines. Obviously it's unavoidable for the cabin crew while moving about the plane. But on both the flights I took the planes were completely full. It was weird to be forced to stay 2 meters apart in the airport but immediately crammed together while on the plane.

I can only assume they need to operate at near full capacity to stay profitable. But that's true of many other businesses.
 
BigT said:
Being away from home working this year has not been a minor hardship, it’s been serious hard work.
Its easy to say when you go home to a nice cooked meal every day and have a house or flat to live in but you can’t seriously expect work colleagues that have been working in close proximity all day to not spend a couple of hours socialising in the evening when working away from home, you literally would go insane without that wind down.
It might just be me but the nights when I’m on my own and stuck in a hotel room I’m not in a good place and generally I’m quite a positive person.
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This!
 
I love social distancing personally and I think I'll keep it. The last thing I want is anyone touching me or breathing down my neck pandemic or not. Each to their own but I loved isolating away from the outside world in the brief period I had to earlier in the year.

Very easy for me to say with a partner and children at home (I feel sorry for people like my gran who live alone) but I love being home. It's warm, quiet, safe, cozy, has all my creature comforts and I don't have to deal with outsiders. My home is my castle and my isolation from the outside world.

I'll carry on socially distancing from others long after this thing is over.



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I was watching the Liverpool game last night and after they scored a 90 min winner there was no social distancing going on in the crowd with them all next to each other celebrating. They were even hugging each other while singing without there mask on now they all gone there own ways.
 
@Lovetravelling I really don't get why you have ask the question. We all should be following the rules. It's been a tough year for us all. I've been shielding with my wife since March. It's been tough, but we are keeping safe. If you are asking for consensus to flout the rules, then I can't condone that. You should ask Tom Cruise to what he thinks you should do?
 
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