It’s day nine of the furloughs that have forced many federal workers and contractors to go without pay. While some government employees have been called back[1] , two recent examples show how the government shutdown continues to wind its way through workplaces public and private: the Veterans Administration shut its regional offices[2] that process benefits, leaving 7,000 employees furloughed, and Lockheed Martin has put 2,400 people out of work for now[3] .
Federal employees will likely eventually get their back-pay[4] . For contractors and other private-sector workers, that’s not as clear[5] . But everyone faces the question of what to do with all their newfound free time. Here’s a quick social-media guide to life among the furloughed, in which the idled workers explain what they’ve been doing so far:
It’s a chance to get fit.
Furlough boredom has now resulted in 7am Pilates #missingtherealworld, #furloughfit[6] [7]
— Sophie (@soph1186) October 9, 2013[8]
Or tackle the to-do list.
Furlough day 9. Today I'm going to tackle cleaning out and moving my backyard shed. #Shutdown2013 (@ Close To Home) http://t.co/BMYDGRUGyv[9] [10]
— Kendall Buller (@SysAdmKC) October 9, 2013[11]
A time to connect with the kids.
Wife left me w/what can only b described as the Rubik's Cube of pj's 4 the baby. Good thing I had extra time to figure it out #shutdown[12]
— FurloughDad (@FurloughDad) October 4, 2013[13]
And check out the beach.
Furlough continues. We are at the beach pic.twitter.com/shEGajl465[14]
— steph Stockman (@geosteph) October 7, 2013[15]
At least you don’t need to wear a suit.
And friends have been supportive.
In other news thank you to a very good friend who sent me a Starbucks gift card to raise my spirits during #furlough[16]
— M.J.Y. (@sotsoy) October 9, 2013[17]
Then there’s the #furloughbeards. They seemed like a good idea at first.
Got a pretty nice furlough beard going on here. Think I'm gonna let it grow until we go back.
— gsp (@gsp1984) October 4, 2013[18]
But then even the beards started to get old. They were itchy.
My #furlough[19] beard is now entering its scratchy phase.
— Matt Wilson (@mttwls) October 7, 2013[20]
Turns out they don’t make you look youthful.
Shutdown day 8. Furlough beard has grey hairs in it. Wait I have grey hairs in my beard! What the hell is happening to me! #FurloughProblems[21]
— Winston Roberts (@wrobers93) October 9, 2013[22]
Some people tried to spice them up.
Day 8 Furlough Beard, not as purple as I wanted http://t.co/AOE5L6Ax9S[23]
— J.Rho (@jrho_jrho) October 8, 2013[24]
Others gave up on them entirely.
Goodbye furlough beard
— Ben Johnson (@benjohnson135) October 8, 2013[25]
Well, there’s always QVC.
Furlough, day 9. Natives are restless. Is YouTube endless? QVC has another marathon and GTA V still unfinished. #shutdown #furlough[26] [27]
— Susan F. (@VooDooSue) October 9, 2013[28]
References
- ^ While some government employees have been called back (www.businessweek.com)
- ^ shut its regional offices (www.militarytimes.com)
- ^ 2,400 people out of work for now (www.bloomberg.com)
- ^ get their back-pay (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ that’s not as clear (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ #missingtherealworld (twitter.com)
- ^ #furloughfit (twitter.com)
- ^ October 9, 2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ #Shutdown2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ http://t.co/BMYDGRUGyv (t.co)
- ^ October 9, 2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ #shutdown (twitter.com)
- ^ October 4, 2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/shEGajl465 (t.co)
- ^ October 7, 2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ #furlough (twitter.com)
- ^ October 9, 2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ October 4, 2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ #furlough (twitter.com)
- ^ October 7, 2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ #FurloughProblems (twitter.com)
- ^ October 9, 2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ http://t.co/AOE5L6Ax9S (t.co)
- ^ October 8, 2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ October 8, 2013 (twitter.com)
- ^ #shutdown (twitter.com)
- ^ #furlough (twitter.com)
- ^ October 9, 2013 (twitter.com)
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