Eliminating the Curve:

                                                                        

Eliminating the Curve: Safe and Comfortable at Work

                       

By Campton Hancock

                       

With the spread of COVID-19 affecting all members of society, Basecamp staff have developed a protocol in order to create a safe environment for employees and customers. In this series of newsletters, we will be sharing a variety of interviews with members of the Basecamp team providing personal experiences regarding the creation and engagement of COVID-19 protocol within the Basecamp community.

                       

“I always knew that this kind of thing could happen, but I’m like everybody else and wouldn’t have thought it could happen here. ” My interview with Andy Vienneau, a service advisor at Basecamp, began with a recollection of the first COVID-19 meeting. “It was pretty casual. We were still in high spirits, happy-go- lucky,” Andy explained, “I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.”

                       

“I miss socializing with the customers,” Andy said when asked about what has changed in his everyday life at Basecamp. Andy commented on how it can be difficult to explain the serious steps Basecamp has taken in response to COVID-19 to those outside of the protocol. “We are trying to keep everybody safe, and at the same time keep everybody happy,” said Andy when addressing people’s frustrations with the changes that have been made. “That’s the number one priority.” Andy chuckled as he described his routine at Basecamp as “business as usual, without all of the people.”

                       

“It’s nice to have leadership here that has taken the situation as seriously as they have,” Andy said. “The protocol definitely makes me feel a lot safer and more comfortable at work.”

                       

Andy’s family out east is healthy, and his sister who is a teacher in California is safe at home with her family. Andy lives with his longtime friend BJ who also works at Basecamp, and they are making a combined effort to mitigate risks imposed by COVID-19. “I think that a bit of humour in these times is important,” Andy said when asked about how he is coping with the mental stress of the

                       

pandemic. “I try to go for walks in the forest, where it is quiet, and just let my brain rest.” Andy takes his dog for walks, and likes to go fishing, which are great hobbies in times like these!

                       

Andy confidently summed up his experience with the protocol at Basecamp. “I already felt really comfortable at work, but the protocol has made the environment far more comfortable. I can trust that everybody is following the protocol here. I feel safe and comfortable.”