Employer not reopening locker rooms after COVID

Macy0161

I would think there's far more risk to the OP, and therefore his work colleagues, if he was forced onto public transport rather than from the shower room.

I'm not aware of evidence that showers are particularly rampant at spreading covid19, and they would certainly better for general hygiene than the toilet cubicle anyway.

tbh the criticism just seems like another angle to have a go at people who cycle.

magicbastarder

i wouldn't say that. i'd say it's just purely risk aversion. note that the gyms are not reopening either, it's not just cyclists who have their access to some workplace facilities curtailed.
they just don't want transmission taking place on the premises, and since it's unknown whether it's possible in that context (yes, there's no evidence that showers are a particularly rampant context for transmission, but that's because there's probably no evidence either way), so they're playing it safe.

forcing staff onto public transport may in theory be increasing the risk - we don't know - but the key thing is that if it does, it's happening on someone else's property. it's a pontius pilate (pun intended) from the employer, if you look a it cynically (as you might have good cause to)

YakerK

There is a big difference between a gym and shower facilities though. One is purely a luxury item for recreation, the other is to allow people to get to work. It may also serve to facilitate recreation, but it's primary purpose is to facilitate getting to work in what (as a few have pointed out) is a much less likely means to spread Covid than alternative.

Daroxtar

OK, The virus is spread through exhaled water droplets. The shower is 5 minutes of you breathing, snorting, spluttering and whatever else you do in there with steam swirling and spreading all around the bathroom area. Do you think your capacity as an asymptomatic carrier to pass the virus to your colleagues is in anyway increased by using a shower in your office?

YakerK

Daroxtar wrote: »

OK, The virus is spread through exhaled water droplets. The shower is 5 minutes of you breathing, snorting, spluttering and whatever else you do in there with steam swirling and spreading all around the bathroom area. Do you think your capacity as an asymptomatic carrier to pass the virus to your colleagues is in anyway increased by using a shower in your office?

I'm not sure why you think that people spend their time in shower snorting and spluttering. Quite bizarre.

You've also just made up conditions that you think would spread the virus which have no basis. The steam from the shower is not the same as the exhaled water droplets that spreed the virus.

If anything the hot and humid condition of a shower may help limit the virus spreading (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30106-6/fulltext) as does the fact that washing is well known as one of the most important ways of slowing/preventing spread.

So I think if anything ones ability to spread virus is likely decreased by using a shower in the office.

Weepsie

I had a shower in my last job. My new job has no shower and is a longer commute. I have changed how I cycle as a result.

It's nice to have, but it's not essential*. Shower before you leave, dress appropriately, leave earler, allow more time and get there without breaking a sweat as much as possible.

*I'd have a cut off over certain distances I'd be willing to go without a shower though.



Also, it's not possible for all employers to have showers. How many are just leasing space in a building in which it wasn't thought of? I work in a listed/protected building, so getting a shower in would be a couple of years of planning I'd imagine.

Daroxtar

YakerK wrote: »

I'm not sure why you think that people spend their time in shower snorting and spluttering. Quite bizarre.

You've also just made up conditions that you think would spread the virus which have no basis. The steam from the shower is not the same as the exhaled water droplets that spreed the virus.

If anything the hot and humid condition of a shower may help limit the virus spreading (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30106-6/fulltext) as does the fact that washing is well known as one of the most important ways of slowing/preventing spread.

So I think if anything ones ability to spread virus is likely decreased by using a shower in the office.

So are you saying there's no such thing as convection or expired moisture droplet dispersion? You also believe nobody has ever coughed, cleared their throat or exhaled while in the shower, especially after being out on the bike? Now that's really bizarre.

YakerK

Daroxtar wrote: »

So are you saying there's no such thing as convection or expired moisture droplet dispersion? You also believe nobody has ever coughed, cleared their throat or exhaled while in the shower, especially after being out on the bike? Now that's really bizarre.

I'm saying there's absolutely no evidence at all that the scenario is in anyway likely to spread Coronavirus and some evidence to suggest that it may inhibit its spread.

You've just made up this to suggest showers as dangerous and introduced a coughing, snorting, spluttering cyclist into a shower as a strawman.

CapnHex

I'm not back in the office yet, and won't be until June at the earliest. I hadn't considered that the showers and lockerroom might be off limits. I was looking forward to my commute again, rather than the extra hour in bed! Generally, I like to shower in work, but others with similar commutes just use deodorant, so I guess I could get away with it. It's the helmet hair that might be hard to live with. Is there an adult equivalent to baby wipes, maybe the water wipes are less scented? My real problem is that I need a proper office chair for working from home.

Daroxtar

YakerK wrote: »

I'm saying there's absolutely no evidence at all that the scenario is in anyway likely to spread Coronavirus and some evidence to suggest that it may inhibit its spread.

You've just made up this to suggest showers as dangerous and introduced a coughing, snorting, spluttering cyclist into a shower as a strawman.

I made up convection and expired moisture droplet dispersion and the prospect of coughing or exhalition in a shower to suit my own agenda.

Good lad.

Going back to an earlier point, in 25 years working on construction I've been on approximately 3, possibly 4, sites that had shower facilities.
Last week I did the online Covid induction course necessary to return to work in construction.
Guess what?
At the end of the day you are to remove work clothes, change into your other clothes, go home and wash your work clothes and then shower AT HOME to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. I'll take my advice from the professionals, not someone who is clearly irked at the prospect of not having a shower at work.

Biker79

@AndrewJRenko - I see from your typical Bolshevik propaganda that the virus hasn't beaten you yet.

plodder

Maybe showers at work could be used so long as there's no more coughing, spluttering or breathing than in the rest of the office. Would that work?

I'd accept construction sites are obviously different, and it's not the practice for construction workers to shower on site (for obvious reasons).

Weepsie

plodder wrote: »

Maybe showers at work could be used so long as there's no more coughing, spluttering or breathing than in the rest of the office. Would that work?

It's an extra area to clean, and it will have to be cleaned with even greater regularity as you can near guarantee people are not going to clean a shower area after themselves because

(A) they want to dry and change
(B) they've changed already and don't want to go back in to clean.
(C)they think it's someone else's responsibility to clean after them regardless of the circumstances

magicbastarder

i'm used to taking cold showers after my spin into work, but if you're the type who favours hot showers, is steam not an expectorant?

and what weepsie said.

Lumen

I see the multinationals are continuing to suck the entitled snowflakes out of the employment pool.

Very public spirited of them! :pac:

plodder

Weepsie wrote: »

It's an extra area to clean, and it will have to be cleaned with even greater regularity as you can near guarantee people are not going to clean a shower area after themselves because

(A) they want to dry and change
(B) they've changed already and don't want to go back in to clean.
(C)they think it's someone else's responsibility to clean after them regardless of the circumstances

What I suggested was that people could spray down surfaces they are using before or after using them. Before probably makes more sense. I don't see why a shower area itself needs to be cleaned more than usual though. With all the soapy water sloshing around, it's probably the safest place in the building.

Biker79

Lumen wrote: »

I see the multinationals are continuing to suck the entitled snowflakes out of the employment pool.

Very public spirited of them! :pac:

In wish they would ' suck off ' to Siberia for some self isolation.

Preferably with no internet access :pac:

EC1000

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Really? Employers can't be expected to provide drying space?

You might want to tell those companies who design, build and sell products designed to do exactly this
https://total-locker-service.com/Heated-locker.php
Presumably they managed to find a market of employers who realise it is to their benefit to support their staff to stay fit and healthy.

You seem to suggest that I am in disagreement with you - quite the contrary. I'd take every car out of our towns and city centres if I could! However, the OP needs to pick his battles and I would suggest that this is not the time to ask an employer to start forking out for new equipment. Nothing to stop him/her from bringing spare gear for the journey home for the moment.

AndrewJRenko

EC1000 wrote: »

You seem to suggest that I am in disagreement with you - quite the contrary. I'd take every car out of our towns and city centres if I could! However, the OP needs to pick his battles and I would suggest that this is not the time to ask an employer to start forking out for new equipment. Nothing to stop him/her from bringing spare gear for the journey home for the moment.

Sorry if I got the wrong end of the stick. I'd broadly agree with you that this isn't the time to be asking for more stuff.

Drying space isn't that unusual, and doesn't have to be fancy lockers. It is really just space to hang wet stuff, whether raingear or a used towel so that it can dry out. It's crazy to have cyclists and runners required to bring the same soggy wet towel home every day. A bit of drying space makes far more sense.

magicbastarder

worth a mention that in our place, in order to build the drying/storage room (used by cyclists, runners, and motorcyclists) required sacrificing maybe 4 or 5 parking spaces. typically, i'd have seen maybe 60 bikes in the bike cage during the day last summer, and i don't know how many people came in on motorbikes, but my assumption is that the loss of 5 parking spaces was easily offset by the extra people using alternatives to get into the building.

it has to be pointed out though, that our building is 200m from a luas stop, so many people use public transport to get in too.

ED E

Bike cages/sheds are gonna be SOOOOO oversubscribed when things open up again.