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It’s been harder on parents

Bloomberg Equality
Bloomberg

We may be in this together, but we're certainly not having the same experience. The biggest divide in the American workforce right now is between those who have kept their jobs during the Covid-19 shutdown and those who have lost them. More than 4 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, on top of the 22.5 million who filed over the previous four weeks.

But for many of those still working, being employed means leaving the safety of home. And for those with kids, it presents the additional problem of childcare. One solution comes from food-delivery platform Postmates, which is offering a stipend to workers who need to focus on child care, so they can work less without losing income. As for those able to work from home, they're putting in longer hours than when they were in the office. The WFH crowd is spending an extra three hours a day at their keyboards. Those with kids bouncing off the walls have it even tougher, effectively doing two jobs at once. Managers can help by adapting expectations, but ultimately it's just going to be a little chaotic until schools and daycare resume. —Philip Gray

Did you see this? 

Congress is convening in person to pass an additional $484 billion bailout package.

Households receiving $1,200 relief payments are agonizing over how to stretch it through an indefinite downturn.

President Donald Trump temporarily curbed the issuing of new green cards, his latest effort during the Covid-19 crisis to block immigration.

The purported safety net in U.S. health care, VA hospitals, turned out to be full of holes.

Office jobs are disappearing right along with hospitality gigs.

Most British prisoners who were to be freed to reduce coronavirus contagion are still locked up.

Hong Kong dissenters will be back.

We love charts

Ask (quickly) and ye shall receive: The first states to declare disasters

received more loans per small business from a federal bailout program.

 

Covid crime fighters 

Highly skilled volunteers are protecting hospitals and other critical infrastructure from hackers, reports Bloomberg Businessweek. An international crime wave of spam and ransomware, mostly from Eastern Europe, has targeted the healthcare industry in recent months. But an international league of security professionals sprang into action in response, blocking and reporting the attacks pro bono during their off hours. "I believe we save lives," one volunteer said. "Anytime I see another case close or when someone sends a message saying 'thank you,' I finally feel less useless."

 

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For hundreds of millions of people, the kitchen table has become the office. How do you stay productive, manage employees, and keep the kids occupied while remaining sane and healthy in the time of pandemic? See the Bloomberg Businessweek guide to working from home, with daily dispatches and tips from the home front.

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