Empty

 I am temporarily working for a major grocery outlet (not Wal-Mart) processing their employee termination files.  It is obviously a job I have to do on site.  But so many of the workers who could be were sent home at the start of the pandemic back in March of 2020.

It is basically a ghost town with a fraction of onsite employees.  It is rumored that in May more employees will be brought back onsite to work in a hybrid type situation (few days in the office, few days at home).

This is the cafeteria.  The picture was taken at 12:30 p.m. (ish) which should have been the "peak" of lunch with all the tables full.  As you can see, these tables were empty (and only one chair at most of the tables with a sign on each table to make sure you stayed socially distanced).  When I took lunch on this particular day at this particular time, there were only about five of us in this entire big room. 

This billboard is from March 2020.  It was close to St. Patrick's Day when things started locking down and people were sent home.  Apparently, it was asked for volunteers to go to 8th grade classes to help them learn money management.  I doubt that happened as schools closed shortly afterward.  Two years later and the billboard remains untouched.

Another view of the cafeteria.  This is a comfy chair I sit on at times.  It would be ideal to take a nap there, provided one doesn't snore while they nap.  Again, so empty.

This is walking down the hall to my work area.  These are cubicles once vibrantly filled with employees.  Can't see much, but it is empty now.  There are pictures on the cubicle walls of family of employees.  The employees thought they probably would be back in "2 weeks to flatten the curve" but 2 years later are still at home working.  There are jackets still left at some work spaces, notebooks opened like someone preparing to work, coffee cups and water bottles still on the desks still waiting for their owners to return, 2 years later.

There was a full service cafeteria with food onsite.  All locked down but if you look in you could see the trays loaded to be picked up, where the salad bar was, now empty waiting to be filled.  Where the grill was.  And the sandwich making station and so much more.  Breakfast and lunch were served there daily.  Now just empty and probably won't be started up again as there will be less people onsite compared to previous.  From what I understand the chef was a good one and the foods prepared so delicious. 

This is the menu still hanging on the wall from the week of March 16, 2020.  Looking at it, you could definitely see there was a good variety of food offered in the cafe.

There are two 4-story buildings where I work.  Both pretty empty as so many still working from home.  Two big parking structures several stories high.  I can get a very close parking space.  I'm sure that would not have been the case before.

This is just one of so many buildings and companies that are empty, ghost towns, affected by the pandemic.  My husband read an article recently that said 76% of companies want their employees to come back to the office while about the same (70%) of people still wanted to work from home.  It will be interesting how many return to this company in May and how many choose to continue to work at home if given the option.

After working from home for 2 years, would you be interested in going back into the office?  For me, I worked at home for 30 years, but I kind of like working outside the house now.