The staff in the Phibsborough post office on Dublin northside had a very stressful time at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as several things happened at once within days of the first lockdown in March 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe post office in Dorset Street had to close because it was too small for social distancing so we had to take all their business. One staff member called in sick that same day and there was a power cut in the area so we couldn\u2019t pay out our own customers for half a day,\u201d explains Paul Murphy, the manager of\u00a0An Post\u00a0office in Phibsborough.<\/p>\n
Murphy says his job changed a lot because of new social distancing rules. \u201cI had to become doorman and security man all at the same time, keeping two metres between customers, a maximum of 10-12 customers in the office at one time and monitoring the queues outside,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
Extra security staff were employed at the post office during the first lockdown from March-June 2020 but after that, the responsibility returned to Murphy.<\/p>\n
He says the pandemic was very tough for many of the post office\u2019s older customers. \u201cWe opened early, at 8.30am, for older customers. The weather was good in the beginning but it was harder to queue outside in the winter months.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was, however, a good community spirit. \u201cWe got to know everyone better. People were chattier, like the old days,\u201d says Murphy. The Phibsborough post office staff were acknowledged for their commitment to customers by An Post head office in May 2020 when they received the company \u201cvalues in practice\u201d award. \u201cIt was good to be recognised by our peers for putting customers first,\u201d says Murphy.<\/p>\n
The staff also escaped infection from the virus for a year but then in March 2021, two staff members tested positive. \u201cWe got staff from other offices and summer staff came in so we managed,\u201d says Murphy.<\/p>\n
On a personal level, Murphy says that his commuting time from Santry reduced considerably during the lockdowns. \u201cI used to travel on the bus because of rush hour and it would take about 45 minutes each way, but I drive in now and it takes about 15-20 minutes so I\u2019m saving nearly an hour a day in time.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says that staff and customers became much more aware of hygiene during the pandemic. \u201cWe have better cleaning processes. We sanitise our hands after handling notes and we wear masks when on the office floor interacting with customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He adds that many of the post office\u2019s older customers and some local office workers have returned in the last while. \u201cThe pensioners are coming back out so things are getting more normal. A few have passed away and we\u2019ve had cards from families acknowledging how they liked coming to the post office. For many of them, coming to the post office was part of their social life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Future of Work case study: Paul Murphy, An Post branch manager Phibsborough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":4098,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-future-of-work-2021","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n