During the pandemic, times were tough, especially with businesses being shut down. I had been living in Arizona for school my first year of college when the pandemic hit. I was forced to leave school and go back home to Oregon. The summer before I had left for school, I was working for a house cleaning company cleaning homes. I had expressed interest in working in the office when coming back the next summer, being a business major and wanting to understand the business side of companies. I went home early in March, and was offered a job during the pandemic, being one of the few businesses running. I decided to accept the offer and work in the office throughout the major time of covid.
My manager had just started battling cancer a few months prior of covid starting, and did not feel comfortable being in the office and around people. She asked if I was able to run the office with another office assistant, taking care of scheduling, some phone calls, the cleaning staff that was still taking place, and other office duties. While making $16 an hour working, the owner was generous and understanding for us working through difficult times, and gave the employees that continued to work a $200 bonus, in addition to $100 every other month that we continued to work through everything being shut down. What motivated my behavior to take the position was we continued to clean homes that allowed us because they felt safer having a clean home, and that my manager was sick and didn’t feel comfortable around others. The compensation reward with bonuses also motivated me to work, because I was also putting myself at risk.
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