Question about bad winter storm warnings?

@SQUEEKY2 Because they can’t. Also, they shouldn’t. I have never been at a workplace that had that attitude. It’s risky and bad PR for them now.

Why can’t the authorities suggest the company keep their employees home during the bad weather event?
And your lucky if the places you worked at understood and kept you home during the weather event, I haven’t.

Many firms do that. Changes occurred in the Northeast after the Blizzard of 78.
It is now common for the state to issue a State of Emergency during these kinds of storms to make it illegal unless you are an essential worker.
The weather forecasters can’t dictate policy.
During the Blizzard of 78, firms in the Boston area did not release their workers early. The snow dumped all day totaling 27 inches. There was 21 inch snowfall less than a week prior. The plows could not keep up with it. When workers let out Car and people were stranded on the highways. 54 people died.
I have worked in and around Boston since the 80’s.
Blizzard of 78

Because in my experience, most businesses WILL shutter when the weather demands it. I’m a reasonably loyal (read: it’s too much trouble to leave) employee, so i’ve only worked for so many employers. But I’ve always been good at driving in snow. So I often AM the crazy person who shows up to work during a blizzard. And I LOVE IT. The office is quiet, I have everything to myself (mostly).

Most of my jobs they have a standing liberal leave policy. If you don’t think you can make it here safely, please take the day off. Mind you, those are my post-college white collar job days.

As a teen, I worked at a grocery store and a convenience store. I don’t think I ever had a blizzard at the convenience store, but I worked a few at the grocers. Their policy was linked to the schools. If the schools are delayed/closed, please call in, and if someone is here, they’ll tell you the policy that day. It was usually ‘optional’ whether you came in or not. Again, i usually went in because I’m confident in my snow driving ability (seriously, it’s not that hard Maryland…why do you suck so hard at it???)

My favorite was my first post-college job. The boss would usually come around and send us home after a time. One year, this was because while I was at work, enough snow fell in the lot that it was heavilly covered on the side where my car was. A plow had come in to clear a path to the door, but this meant a large berm of snow was between me and the exit. I was in my early 20s, so like the retard that all early-20s males are, my decision was to gun it at the berm and blast through. I did. And it was EPIC. But it could have gone very badly I realize now.

The job I worked at (local government) used to let people go early if a bad storm was coming. However, they always wanted one person in each unit to stay (so one out of 7 since a unit was six plus a supervisor). That person would have to stay the full work day, and maybe get comp time to leave early another day. I never thought it was right, because it was like saying that one person’s life is not worth what the rest were. If they were saying go early, I felt everyone should go early. We didn’t answer each other’s phones and with bad weather, we were limited as far as what we could do outside of the office, so it was just dumb. As if the public wouldn’t understand that it’s a snowstorm and the employees were not there.

I had one boss that gave us all a speech once, about 20 years ago, about how even if there was snow or ice on the roads, we were expected at work. We got personal time and that was what personal time was supposed to be for. He didn’t help employee morale with that attitude. I have had three hour rides home with snowstorms, a ride that would normally be about an hour.

One time, about two years ago, there was a bad storm coming and people started leaving early. I jumped on it and left early and beat traffic. People who left just a half hour after I did got stuck on the roads, because it was the first snow of the season and the towns weren’t ready. Some people got home at 1 in the morning. It was nuts. I was so thankful I just left when I did.

Capitalism.

Plenty of companies tell people not to come in or to leave early if a storm is coming. Even the federal government lets people leave early if a storm is coming that afternoon.

Especially now that people can work from home (some jobs) it’s even more likely they don’t bother going to work.

You’re not going to see retailers a few days before Christmas close the stores, but at least if the streets aren’t as full so there is less chance of a crash.

Also, treating and cleaning the streets is easier for the snow plows if there is less traffic.

The Federal government does it all the time, Early in his first term, Obama joked about it because Washington DC was going to get two inches of snow and the government called a snow holiday. Obama said in effect, “we’re from Chicago, that isn’t a real storm.”

DC can get paralyzed. The traffic is unbelievable. Lots of government agencies have maxi-flex, even back when my parents worked for the government in the 80’s to reduce DC traffic. I think she was allowed to start work at 6am, it might have been 7am I don’t remember.

@Forever_Free We had that blizzard here in ‘78 also. I was in college and they let us all out early.
At work today, the hospital sent out a memo that they are gettIng rooms for all essential employees including nurses and doctors so they don’t have to drive home.

^^ Here, nurses are required to show up for their shifts NO matter the weather. The hospitals have a specific group who own 4 wheel drive vehicles that go around & pick up the nurses to get them to work & they sleep at the hospital until the next shift can get in. ALL their meals are provided while on duty. IF it gets extremely bad, they adjust from there. Doctors aren’t required to be there, but there must be a certain number of doctors (don’t remember the number) available. So, IF 3 doctors are mandatory, the first 3 doctors coming in could be on duty until things clear up unless some doctor grows a conscience & decides to come in then the first in has the option to leave. Although it does happen, it’s NOT very often!!!

^^That’s similar to hurricanes. Plus, some hospitals are designated to take in people before the storm hits who are high risks and hallways can get full with 9 month pregnant women and people high risk for an emergency.

On several occasions over the past couple decades we had weather conditions that resulted in an employer shutting down for a day or two.

@chyna Glad to hear that. My current firm would put people up without question as well. There are organizations out there that care for their employees. What a difference it makes.

There are some jobs where if the replacement is not able to get to work, the person on shift can’t leave, which is understandable but would also have to suck. Nurses are one, correction officers are another.

What always amazes me is that it’s way too dangerous for anybody to leave home, roads are closed, & with this storm, the firetrucks couldn’t get out; yet, the Weather Channel can get a whole crew out to cruise around to get some cool pics. like during hurricanes, everybody is being evacuated & nobody allowed in, but the WC has weather people standing on the shore while being battered by the high winds or getting pics of garages leaking from the roof.

^Seriously!