Elizabeth A. Hladczuk is reservations coordinator at Blue Table, UB’s online food pantry for students. An employee of UB’s Student Unions for 14 years, she has been assisting with Blue Table for about a year.
During the pandemic, she comes to campus one day a week for Blue Table order pickup and to deliver mail.
What do you miss the most about work before the pandemic? People! The students that work for me, coffee chats with my co-workers, students doing student-y things in the Union. I miss it all. There is an energy that is gone and I feel that loss.
What’s the hardest thing about working during the shutdown? I think at first it was hard to figure out how to juggle all of the responsibilities of work and family, and still keep your quality standards for both, yet also separate them. The key was allowing them to meld together slightly and set some firm boundaries.
What helps get you through the day at work now? I don’t want to say lower your standards, but there is power in forgiving yourself! Be OK that the dishes are not done, the children have both lost their pants somehow, somewhere, and you missed that webinar. Take your lunch break; the world keeps spinning.
Anything else you want people to know about being an essential employee working on campus during a pandemic? It is so important to just be aware: aware of what you are touching, how often you are washing your hands, where your mask is, how your co-workers are doing mentally, how you are doing mentally... I hope we all come out of this with a greater sense of community and responsibility.