corona familiar posted:

for what it's worth, this has become enough of a problem that there's pressure for companies that "care about employees" to arrange for tender offers to buy employee shares before the company gets acquired or has some hypothetical IPO

that being said, you probably got options instead of shares, so you have to pony up a bunch of cash to exercise them and get hit by a big tax bill on shares that have zero liquidity outside of promises made by startup ceos and VCs

if the private company is big enough other gamblers care to buy shares, people can enter into the wild world of private market sales and try their luck there

it's still a much bigger risk than cash or working at a company with public stock but the "expected value of your stock is zero" is becoming less common. now it can be slightly positive or even negative if you have bad luck!

palindrome posted:

the silver lining is that there are complex financial instruments that will translate employee stonk promises into cash-only loan offers to buy houses with.

palindrome posted:

I've worked with HVAC guys on things like honeywell and siemens systems and they loving suck at the IT part of it. Like they are the ones that get to configure the digital controls of the heating and air conditioning system by connecting to a customer's server that is running software from their platform and it is a clownshow. I am also sure I am not working with their best who are probably busy doing multi-million skyscraper builds. I'd be willing to get into that game and I don't expect FAANG money but I also have zero experience actually working on a heating system or industrial control. I bet I could configure the software and webserver real good though. Make those fans spin and optimal levels and ensure the IP based hardware controllers were reachable. Is that a 60k job or a 200k job.

palindrome posted:

You are correct, it's just a fascinating niche of software meets fancy system that has lovely support. I was hoping someone in between was getting paid 150k+. Seems like no, not in an industrial environment.

Way back in the day I had to occasionally troubleshoot things like zeiss microscopes, and in one instance their license key was literally a serial key dongle that you had to plug in somewhere. Don't have a serial port on your 1998 desktop? Not our problem. Now fast-forward 25 years, and lets get a, uh, serial to TCP/IP box that will surely work forever. Cool, high fives guys.

quote:

The people who work in Vermont's busiest emergency department have been punched in the face. They've been bitten, stabbed with kitchen shears and battered with metal food trays. They've had their lips split open, noses broken and eyes blackened.

Working in an emergency room always comes with risk. But as hospitals have absorbed the swell of humanity ill-served by so many other struggling systems of care, staff at the University of Vermont Medical Center say they have endured violence of a severity and frequency that is unprecedented — and unsustainable. The escalating threats have led many to consider leaving their jobs. Some already have.

Emergency department workers began raising alarms during the pandemic about the dangers they face. The UVM Medical Center responded by installing a metal detector and beefing up the presence of security guards. It also lobbied lawmakers for heightened legal protections.

Now, hospital officials are embarking on a public awareness campaign about the unacceptable perils of emergency care. Last month, a video produced by the UVM Health Network featuring testimony by its workers was featured on the New York Times website as part of an op-ed. The hospital followed up with a print and online campaign in local media calling for an end to the "silence on health care violence." Overnight, Vermont's only level-one trauma center became the face of a nationwide problem.
Longtime medical workers say violent incidents spiked as the pandemic waned and emergency departments became busier than ever.

A rash of physical assaults in 2020 spurred the UVM Medical Center to start collecting better data on workplace violence. Staff members have reported more than 2,100 incidents since the start of 2021, according to the hospital. The vast majority have occurred in the emergency department, where employees treat patients who are in the throes of drug withdrawal, severe pain and psychiatric crisis.

"All my friends have been assaulted," said Joey Miller, a mental health technician who works in the emergency room. Miller, who provides one-on-one supervision of psychiatric patients, said he has been spit on, kicked, scratched and threatened with a knife. Two years ago, a patient broke Miller's hand. When he returned to work weeks later, still wearing a soft cast, he had to restrain someone who attacked three of his colleagues. He went home that day with a scratch across his face.

"I've never been bitten, which is very lucky and exceptional in my role," Miller said.

Longtime medical workers say violent incidents spiked as the pandemic waned and emergency departments became busier than ever. The UVM Medical Center now sees between 200 and 220 emergency patients most days, a 10 to 20 percent increase compared to the pre-COVID-19 figure. That's led to longer wait times and more frustration.

There's also been a startling rise in the number of patients who are in psychiatric crisis. Some days, half of the ER's 45 or so beds are occupied by mental health patients, who can be confused, scared and prone to outbursts. They often stay for days while awaiting transfer to one of Vermont's few inpatient psychiatric units. The hospital has had to restrain patients far more often, at least once a day on average, data show.

Staff members say more patients seem to be arriving under the influence of alcohol or drugs that can cause paranoia or aggression.

But not every incident can be blamed on substance use or mental illness, according to Matt Looft, a charge nurse. Some people who have assaulted staff members have been fully aware of their actions and the potential harm.

"We care for people who are in crisis. We see people on their bad days," Looft said. "Often, that agitation or vulnerability is magnified and can spill over in unexpected, uncharacteristic ways, like violence."

The impact on workers isn't just physical. The rising violence has added to a growing sense of burnout among emergency room staff, who were also on the front lines of the pandemic. It's also changed the way people approach their jobs.
"I want to care for my patients and do what I can to make them better. But I'm not going to put myself in harm's way anymore." Karah Newman

After suffering a broken nose at the hands of a patient last year, nurse Karah Newman felt herself panicking whenever a patient became agitated. She now tries to keep her distance from patients who show signs of aggression and strives to have other people in the vicinity whenever possible.

Xaris posted:

https://m.sevendaysvt.com/news/vermont-health-care-workers-are-grappling-with-unprecedented-workplace-violence-39516422

lol hospitals installing metal detectors because americans cant stop stabbing and shooting the help. good country, great economy, everyone's doing great

Testicular Torque Wrench posted:

I'm a nurse and being assaulted is such routine that we don't even report incidents. My last assault was 2 days ago, punched in the gut by an ambulatory dementia patient that was trying to rip a door off its hinges.

Speaking of salary, who's got that big $$$ healthcare plug?

Xaris posted:

goondolences. from what i hear, its gotten insanely bad the past few years as if americans suddenly snapped.

Testicular Torque Wrench posted:

I actually just remembered, I got my butt slapped by a dementia granny yesterday. I guess that counts as SA.

Families of patients have definitely become much more insane. There was a formal complaint yesterday because the staff didnt smile enough ... while changing a specific patient's incontinence product. She has covid so they're wearing masks..

Testicular Torque Wrench posted:

I'm a nurse and being assaulted is such routine that we don't even report incidents. My last assault was 2 days ago, punched in the gut by an ambulatory dementia patient that was trying to rip a door off its hinges.

Speaking of salary, who's got that big $$$ healthcare plug?

Testicular Torque Wrench posted:

I actually just remembered, I got my butt slapped by a dementia granny yesterday. I guess that counts as SA.

Families of patients have definitely become much more insane. There was a formal complaint yesterday because the staff didnt smile enough ... while changing a specific patient's incontinence product. She has covid so they're wearing masks..

poemdexter posted:

If you like your personal hell, you can keep it.

Azuth0667 posted:

The problem is also that violent patients rarely get prosecuted.

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud posted:

There are around 700k houses on the market right now compared to around 960k houses a year ago (on the phone now but pulled a chart from FRED earlier). If 10% of that volume were people being forced to sell and travel back to the office it would represent a forced migration unparalleled in modern American history.

Xaris posted:

https://m.sevendaysvt.com/news/vermont-health-care-workers-are-grappling-with-unprecedented-workplace-violence-39516422

lol hospitals installing metal detectors because americans cant stop stabbing and shooting the help. good country, great economy, everyone's doing great

quote:

Family is a much bigger problem. We have multiple cops in our er at all times, both working off hours and just kind of circulating. If a family member strikes a provider or nurse or cna (lol when we have them) they’re getting jumped almost immediately and the ones doing it know none of the medical personnel are going to be “able to recall” exactly what happened.

fits my needs posted:

hmmm, i always thought having metal detectors at the ER was the norm? well good to see people getting same level of service as richmond/oakland i guess. lol.
always enjoy how the best ER service you get is when they check your insurance and ask for payment haha.

Orange Devil posted:

Is just feeding the cycle by responding to violence with more (state-sponsored) violence. You're all basically becoming cops here. I get that it's to protect yourselves, but that's also what cops say when they do cop violence in their cop jobs.


The whole system is violent, top to bottom. The main problem is capitalism. The only solution is revolution.

Orange Devil posted:

The whole system is violent, top to bottom. The main problem is capitalism. The only solution is revolution.

fits my needs posted:

all those nurse/cop couples make so much sense now lol

Martha Stewart Undying posted:

one of my cousins used her nursing skills to hide how badly her cop boyfriend was beating her for like 2 years before he killed himself after trying to kill her and their infant

Martha Stewart Undying posted:

one of my cousins used her nursing skills to hide how badly her cop boyfriend was beating her for like 2 years before he killed himself after trying to kill her and their infant

fits my needs posted:

man i hope i never have a mental breakdown at a lvl 1 trauma center where i have to be beaten by cops for my own health

FizFashizzle posted:

For life insurance purposes with the cop union he died in a tragic accident while cleaning his gun.

Thats why they always leave out their gun cleaning kit when they off themselves.

FizFashizzle posted:

the maga poo poo head slapping the nurse who doesn’t speak good enough English for his mother will never face consequences. And the HCW assaulted will be lucky to get paid time off to recover, or more likely fired.

If you think me wanting to protect a nurse any way I can is the same as a cop yelling “he’s coming right for me” before unloading on a stroller then I don’t know what to tell you. You’ve clearly never worked at a lvl 1 trauma center.

quote:

The agency's turnaround plan centers on slower delivery standards and postage hikes, changes geared to cutting costs and raising revenue but that proved unpopular with some businesses and consumers. Yet the most recent fiscal year revealed significant headwinds for the agency's plans, including inflation and a decrease in mail volume, the USPS said on Tuesday.

Some critics are pointing to DeJoy's string of postage rate hikes as the reason for the decline in volume, with a group called Keep US Posted claiming the "unprecedented postage increases" are aggravating the USPS' financial situation.

"Twice-annual, above-inflation postage hikes are worsening the USPS' financial woes and trapping it in quicksand, as even more mail is driven out of the system," Keep US Posted Executive Director Kevin Yoder, a former Congressman from Kansas, said in a statement.

Mr Hootington posted:

That isn't what the poster said at all.

Orange Devil posted:

. You're all basically becoming cops here. I get that it's to protect yourselves, but that's also what cops say when they do cop violence in their cop jobs.

FizFashizzle posted:

HallelujahLee posted:

his entire mission is to run the usps into the ground so it gets privatized