Many students have been essential workers for most of the pandemic, going into work isn’t how it used to be there are special precautions that must be taken in order to be able to go. It is already very hard to balance school and work and now to add to that taking extra precautions making sure that they don’t get exposed.

Students go from looking at the computer all day to work and this is really affecting their mental health. It is not only straining their eyes but putting them in a repetitive cycle of school and work. As a result, they are getting behind in school and not turning in their assignments on time.

“It is quite the struggle to juggle online school and working,” senior Bhavin Patel said, “when I log off out of teams I have to go straight work until 10 and then start my homework.”

Now jobs are requiring students to pre-screen before coming into work. They have to take their own temperatures and make sure that they don’t have any symptoms. It is important that students stay their distance and are sanitizing because if they get exposed and then come into school the very next day it could have catastrophic effects.

Working in the pandemic also makes students do extra work at their jobs like sanitizing their stations or making sure that the customers all have a mask on once they get in the store.

“I work at target and they make us wipe down the carts for every guest that comes in”, junior Kristopher Selitaj said, ” It’s a new task that is apart of my job description in order to keep everyone safe and healthy.”

Wearing a mask all day at work can be very uncomfortable and tiring especially if you are trying to interact with the customer and having to yell what you are saying because they can’t hear. Not only that, but the people that have poor hearing have a difficult time understanding what you are trying to say and then you have to repeat yourself several times.

Working in the pandemic is a struggle not only for retail workers but for those who work in restaurants. Making sure that everything is wiped down and clean for the customers coming in and eating. Also, maintaining distance from the customer is a huge factor in making sure that the virus doesn’t get spread around.

“I have to make sure that every table to sanitized and disinfected before we seat the customers”, senior Kaitlyn Krajewski said, ” it is our responsibility to make sure that all possible infected areas are cleaned.”

The students working have struggled very hard during this time of chaos, but even when given these new challenges they adapted and made the best out of the situation.