My employeer is interested in the Y2K question, and we are doing everything we can to be compliant. We have vendor issues, but no code ourselves. So far so good. But what are companies telling their employees? For example, Bank of Boston has a big Y2K department so what do they tell the tellers or janitor or non-programming people. What does Bank of Boston suggest people do for electricity, food, cash etc. What about Microsoft? Mobil Oil? Perdue Chicken? Are they just fixing their problems but not informing their employees? I think that my employeer would like to say something to warn his employees, but doesn't want to be a leader here. He wants to follow some established footsteps. Is everyone just depending on Dateline NBC to tell John Q. Public? Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Jennifer

-- Jennifer Adelman (jennifera@cayugapress.com), March 05, 1998

Answers

This may not be an answer to Jennifers question but may help to shed some light on the problem of notifying employees. My ex-husban works for a major defense contractor in the research and development department as a electrical engineer, and when I asked him about the Y2K issue with them he just laughed at me saying it was no problem!!! This got me thinking that here is a man with a degree in physics and a professional engineer whos job is to program the systems to do the tests and he has not a concern about Y2K. This I could not believe was he not telling me everythig or was he truely not informed, he does work alot of overtime and cant stand to watch the news or read anything newsey so maybe he didn't know the scope of the issue. So i confronted him again and gave him some of the information off this site. He stood there for a minute and with a smile looked at me and said " Well I have enough guns!". With this answer I knew I was right in preparing for the worst and that the company could not tell him what they were doing to fix Y2K because him and quite a few others would walk off the job before 2000 knowing that with government programs nothing gets done on budget let alone on time. With less than two years to go his department hasnt even been called in to help with any of the Y2K issues and I know all the systems he works on are very old and I couldn't even imagine how many embedded chips there are in thier security system alone. I hope for the sake of the people in the area around this company they can keep thier hazardous chemicals under control.

I truely appreciate the work that Mr.Yourdon has done to keep us informed and thank any and all who respond to the questions and give us ideas to help us prepare. Thanks to all and good luck to everyone.. Cheryl

-- Cheryl (traceace01@aol.com), March 05, 1998.

Just my gut feeling here. I think most companies know that if they tried to warn employees about Y2K they would spend the next 22 months fighing off the lawyers. Remember this, Y2K is similar to "the king has no clothes". Example, the banking system - if our monetary system was honest (ie. true gold standard & NO fractional reserve banking) Y2K would be a great problem to the banks, but they would continue. HOwever our system is total fiat and leveraged to the hilt. If just 1.65% of deposits are withdrawn and held outside the banking system (ie. your mattress) that would bring resserves to zero, loans would stop, etc. end of the monetary and banking system that we know of. How about morality? You think crime is bad NOW? The cradle to grave govt. handouts (for poor, middle class, AND rich) which too many people depend on sits on a weak bough. When the bough breaks the cradle will fall and down will come baby cradle and all. If a company tells how bad Y2k MIGHT turn out to be, they are going to be pounced on by lawyers, the news media will slam them (crazy people run the XYZ Co. film at 10), and the government will be REAL unhappy. All they can do is hope for the best. hoo boy

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@primary.net), March 05, 1998.

Then again, it is possible that the senior management either 1) doesn't yet understand the scope and impact of the problem, or 2) is in shock and can't figure out what to say.

Don't fault them without reason. They are human beings and will try to make the best and most rational decisions that they can. But they are facing what could be the total destruction of the company. Always an emotional situation. They may not know what to say that is productive of good results for all concerned.

However, I agree that something must be said and done. God will hold each and every one of us responsible for each action that we take.

-- Philip G Wolff (pgwolff@aol.com), April 17, 1998.