Across the organization, Metro Transit employees’ work has been changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These "In This Together" Q&As illustrate how employees are adapting both on and off the clock.
How has the pandemic affected your day-to-day work?
Normally, I'm a maintenance clerk at South Garage, but this year I became an assistant transportation manager (ATM) for six months in the Leadership Academy program.
In March as the pandemic began, I began my new role at East Garage. By changing roles, my day-to-day work was different, but due to COVID, the role I stepped into evolved as well. Daily conference calls were part of the job to coordinate any changes that happened frequently in protocol or pandemic response. We were learning and adapting as we discovered more about the virus.
What’s it like working through a pandemic?
I'm proud to have worked in this role during the pandemic because I was able to see and take part in a leadership role. When times are tough, great leadership is what keeps everything going. There were a lot of protocol changes, like rear door boarding and shields to integrate and communicate to operators. And lots of changes inside the garage, too, like temperature taking, masks, and hand-washing protocols.
During my six months, there were a lot of questions and breaking information, so operators had concerns and needed someone to talk to and address any issues. As an ATM, part of the job is being like a counselor to operators when they have concerns or questions. I found that much of my job was spent talking to operators.
With the September service change, I've returned to my role at South, but I am thankful for my time and experience at East Metro during the pandemic.
How has your life changed outside of work?
I've got two kids, one son in 11th grade and a daughter in her first year of college. Both are living at home, but going to school online. This has added a little stress as my son is on the autistic spectrum -- I find myself having to check in with him while working to make sure he's staying on task. But, as a homebody, I found that the stay-at-home orders didn't bother me too much. It gave me time to work on my house and spend more time watching movies with my son -- we love DC and Marvel films.
Read previous In This Together Q&As on the Riders' Almanac blog