Sharon Thornton came home from work Tuesday evening, not knowing if and when she’ll return.
The Senior Corporate Consultant has spent the past 22 years working at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a travel management company.
The COVID-19 pandemic pressured the company to temporarily lay-off a few employees as travel operations halted dramatically.
“I was on a team of about 18 [people], and I know 4 of us were put on unpaid leave,” explained Thornton after completing her last shift before her unpaid leave.
“[My workplace has] also cut hours and wages for [some] employees.”
Thornton says she was planning on retiring towards the end of the year when she turns 65, “…but with [the virus] going around, I’m not sure how it would affect [finances]… because going from my wage to employment insurance is a cut of 45 per cent.”
Sharon Thornton (Photo: provided)
Thornton says her duties focused on corporation and business travel.
Reflecting back to the past few weeks, the consult says the biggest challenge was keeping documents as organized as possible, and making sure it’s logged properly to ensure clients can use those funds in the future.
But she says travel companies should expect more challenges once the pandemic passes.
“Airlines have cut back thousands of [employees], and hotels have closed… it’s going to take many months after the [travel] ban to get things rolling again.”
Until then, Thornton says she can only take one step at a time, and focus on getting her finances stable.
“My [next steps] are to get employment insurance going… and follow up with all of these programs that the [federal government] is coming up with, and see if anything applies to me.”
The consultant promised to continue to keep her work organized – despite not earning a dime.
“I’ll still go down to my computer and manage my email to keep things clear… I’m still looking to go back to work, but I don’t know when that will be, so I guess I’ll practice retirement.”
Thornton’s basement has been her home office since 2002. She says she’s leaving behind positive memories, despite hard times.
“[Working at a travel agency] has always been happy… and it’s still happy today. It’s just uncertain, that’s all. People are calling in, and cancelling things…. but it’s still a pleasant atmosphere.”
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