What Happens When All of Your Co-workers Quit?

One afternoon in June, coming back from their lunch break, Marcus started to feel a sharp, tearing sensation in their left shoulder. The housekeeper had been making 40 hotel-room beds a day, nearly double their usual workload; travel might have picked up again, but the hotel still had only half of its usual cleaning staff. Marcus worked through the pain that flared up as they tossed fresh white sheets across mattresses, smoothed down creases, and tucked in crisp corners, thinking, If I’m careful, it won’t get worse. The next day, their shoulder was in so much agony the 29-year-old had to ask their colleague to follow them and change the bedding in each room. Marcus went to see a doctor, who said they shouldn’t lift anything for a week. But there was no one else to cover the shifts, and Marcus’s boss bought them a sling so they could keep working. For the next three weeks, they didn’t even get a day off.

Keeping it short and sweet today in this week of particularly harrowing news stories: The brilliant British comic Sean Lock has died. If you’re not into Britcom, you may never have heard of him, so do yourself a favor now and revisit some of his funniest moments.

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