Agreed. We touched on this very briefly in the preprint, and I think it’s worth considering seriously. In a scenario where your family, friends, and loved ones are in danger, it becomes really difficult to choose to continue working — either effectively or at all. It’s important for researchers and policymakers to understand that making response plans work will require doing everything possible to make sure people are protected and that they actually feel safe. This includes robust mental health programs and communication plans, and is particularly important for any scenarios with on-site worker housing.
jamesmulhall🔹
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- jamesmulhall🔹 12 May 2025 19:07 UTC4 points1 ∶ 0in reply to: Dee Tomic’s comment on: ProÂtectÂing against viÂtal worker shortÂages in exÂtreme pandemics
Braskem is a great example of how to do emergency worker housing in a pandemic. The Foxconn iPhone factory is a great example of how not to do worker housing in a pandemic.
I’m not sure if this counts as moving into a factory per se, as it was already set up as a campus, but it feels very relevant. They were not paid well, they were not kept safe from infection, and they had shortages of food.
We’ve got a project starting up at ALLFED to figure out how to scale up emergency on-site housing in future pandemics/​GCBRs, and how to follow the example of Braskem and utilities that treated workers properly by keeping them well paid and well protected.