Wegmans has always been a paternalistic place to work.
We’re fed. This used to happen mainly on holidays and in snowstorms. Given the current demands on employees, there’s free food almost every day.
We’re clothed. Wegmans shirts are issued without charge in various juvenile colors. And we get free shoes twice a year.
We get an allowance. OK, it’s a paycheck. But not a big paycheck. Many if not most workers are paid at a rate slightly above minimum wage and their hours are limited to part-time.
We get regular pats on the head. Customer compliments about helpful employees are posted on breakroom walls. Occasionally, work above and beyond the call is rewarded with a Wegmans gift certificate. Our managers, generally good folks, express their appreciation.
We’re protected. Well, that’s what we hope and expect.
The company has taken many steps, including sneeze shields, heightened sanitary measures and social distancing rules, to safeguard workers and customers during the pandemic. Only yesterday, however, did it remove a ban on face masks.
Before this change, which preceded by a day the CDC recommending use of masks, Wegmans had a video on its employee page in which its medical adviser, Dr. Jeremy Cushman, said: “Masks quite frankly do not provide significant protection for those in our workplace, mostly because it’s very, very common that those masks are not applied or used properly.”
Did I mention Wegmans paternalism?
I hope I’m wrong, but I fear that few employees will take advantage of the relaxation of the mask ban.
People trust Wegmans.
In so many regards, these feelings are warranted. This time around, the message from on high was that face masks were not advisable.
The company can now encourage or discourage their use. We’ll see.