Interview 25

HR aspects within the company, because there’s over like 1,000 employees there. So I I pretty much manage. HR Generalist, HR Analyst duties for roughly like 300 of those employees. So stuff like personnel issues. Insurance. things like, you know, layoffs workers. Comp, more. Other reports like turnover. Sometimes. Onboarding terminations pretty much well rounded. Hr, please. It’s not payroll. Yeah.

S: Okay. So it seems like, for me, it’s an it’s a job. I would say ideal job for me, because I can play with the data that you have. And also to see what kind of implication we could gather from the data. So, okay, maybe we could have a chance to collaborate later on. How about the topic? And you said pesticides, when I drive from Santa Clarita to Csub. I could smell some, you know, garlic or onion like smell around grapevine. I just passed the grapevine. Do you think that is the smell of pesticides I just wanted? I’m just curious how you recognize what the smell of the pesticides.

It’s like for example, we will grow grapes and citrus fruits, so they’ll have different pesticides being used, and you can see it in the air like the air, will get really thick and foggy and kind of dusty, cloudy. so it’s more visual, I would say. And then there’s like pesticides that can be put into the water filtration systems. They’ll put the pesticides into the water and then it’ll get evenly distributed. When it’s being watered.

S: So if it is distributed through the water system, the drop should be made with a tiny drops, so that makes some, you know, Cloudy, you know. Appearance.

S: And spray that crops.

S: Okay. Have you ever noticed any kind of concerns from your colleagues that they are impacted by bad air quality, including pesticides?

yeah, and she’s like 29 years old. So I feel like if she had asthma previously, it would have shown up like sometime before she had arrived. So at least there’s that correlation. But another correlation I have seen is unfortunately, cancer, we do have. I would say, for the amount of people we have a lot of cancer cases where people will develop some kind of cancer in their body. And it’s not like deliberately due to like, you know how some people might have liver cancer due to heavy drinking. It’s not that it’s like breast cancer or somebody else had like lung cancer. And these are like people that deal on a day to day basis, possibly with pesticides. So there are some correlations like that.

Sung Hyoun Hong: I have a quick question, so is her asthma pretty bad, and I’m just wondering if she is thinking about moving because of her asthma issue, or I mean, like 6 years, quite a long time. So is there a reason why she is staying, or you know, do you have any like information or thoughts on that.

so they’ve pretty much like bought their house here, settled down. She probably sees herself working with the company for a longer amount of time. So that’s probably why she wouldn’t want to move. But right now she did move to like. Well, you’re not familiar with the areas. But she moved to a new location. That’s like more high in elevation, I would say, than the rest of the town. So she lives in I’m not sure sorry, sunjin, but it’s like near Rio. Bravo! Area like northeast. Like, more high in elevation. Less traffic, less crowds. Smaller communities, and about like, I would say, like, 20 min from town, yeah.

S: Okay, so is it near Macketrick reward or misery triangle? What is the city she is living.

S: Oh, I found it. Okay. Yeah. There’s a community scare like community. So I wonder, How your how much your colleagues was comfortable talking about her issue with you. You know your. You might be a new employee in your company. and usually, you know. senior colleagues does not reveal some bad things of their company for their new employee.

And since then, like, we’ve become really close. But I would say that there’s not really an issue. Discussing personal issues like that. And I don’t think she sees it so much as like deliberately due to working at some Pacific. I think she sees it as like living in Bakersfield.

S: okay. The reason why I ask that is, I feel like I hesitant to talk about the bad thing in Bakersfield with the with my colleagues because I’m quite new. This.

S: This is my 3rd year, but every people in my department knows that I’m commuting from La County, and maybe that could be a signal that I don’t like this organization, but actually it is the opposite. I really like it. And I just wanted to make the air quality better through increasing the awareness of the bad air quality, so that we can make a change. But I, hesitant to, you know, share of my personal concerns about the air quality, because they might think that I’m not satisfied with this organization or community.

S: so, Participant #25, before you have. When when you have an interview with the company, did you have any information about the air quality from your interview interviewers from your recruiters.

Sung Hyoun Hong: I think that you have a lot of good colleagues and good environment and atmosphere where you can talk freely about a lot of things. And I think, actually, that is really good. And I’m just curious about how many of your coworkers actually talk about air, their concerns around air quality, and how often do they bring up things like health concerns or other worries around air quality to you and other colleagues.

S: But I think that’s.

Sung Hyoun Hong: Gotcha

Sung Hyoun Hong: Have you ever noticed any gender differences with this? I mean, I’m not trying to bring any kind of stereotype. But have you noticed, if, like, maybe men or women tend to talk about like more worries related to air quality, and also heat, and either in starting those conversations or in how they respond to when others bring it up, like about the concerns and issues around the heat, and also the air, quality or dust.

So they do like join in on the conversation. But I wouldn’t say now that I’m thinking about it. Most of them aren’t affected by the air quality, like most of them. Don’t have asthma like actually none of them in the office, too. And within, like the actual packing house or people out working in the fields. I don’t think I’ve encountered a man talking about the air quality itself definitely the temperature I have, just because it can get to like, I think last weekend it was like 105, so it it can get pretty hot, but I wouldn’t say like they’re the 1st to complain. They’re probably not the 1st to complain. Maybe a woman has to complain first, st before a man would.

S: So you said you have moved from LA. And how long have you lived in Bakersfield?

S: Hmm, if then, have your perspective on air quality has been changed throughout those years. So it could be bad from good or good from bad, or it could be consistent.

I think there is a huge difference like you can feel like you smell better like the air just feels cleaner. And there is a huge difference. I would say that the air quality in Bakersville is poor compared to La, but I mean, there’s also different areas like, I feel like, the more you go inland gets probably more worse.

S: Yeah, are, were there any specific moments or experiences? That has been influenced, your perspective on air quality. So some says some close people got a valley fever, or some says they got a young baby like me. So that has been a moment, then that changed their perspective. But I just wanted to know your case.

So I mean, she’s not. It’s not like it has impacted her for life because they say that that the illness stays with you forever. But I mean personal cases that affect have affected me, I would say, needing to use an inhaler, maybe a couple of times a year. Is is it different? But it’s not like it’s a huge challenge for me personally. But yeah.

S: So has air quality ever affected your work, productivity, or your attendance. Air quality in terms of like heat, and also ozone level, or you know, or error called itself so like best.

But specifically due to the air quality, there hasn’t been a time where we well, actually, a few months ago there was a lot of. They were spraying a lot of fields nearby, and they had, they normally do, calculate, like the days of wind, and how the pesticide can move for some reason that day, like a tank spilled over, and it got into the air, and it was super windy that day that we had to send a bunch of people home. Yeah, I mean, so, yeah, no. You were saying other than that, I would say, that’s it.

S: So your organization actually, deal with the air quality. And they know that that could impact your employees.

S: So does your organization do specific training on the air quality issue there, and because it is related to their activity of spread spreading the pesticides.

They know, like what areas to spray, because people have, we have, like pesticide control advisors, that they’ve already seen the area and then calculated how much pesticide to put in that field, for example, and how it’s going to affect neighboring fields. if one pest, if one pest control advisor or not, pest control advisor, if one spray work operator, for example, sprays a field or too close to another field. It could ruin that entire crop if it’s meant to be organic, for example. so sometimes it’s really important to like, judge where you’re spraying, and how often, and make sure it’s the right dosage as well in that way. In another sense we do do trainings? Sometimes we have people out and picking, picking in the fields like the mandarins and the navel oranges, so they’ll do like heat illness trainings a few times a week, especially on hotter days, just to be well aware of the amount of water they’re supposed to be drinking, and after a certain temperature. They’re permitted an additional like 5 min break. Things like that.

S: Other than heat. I found that also there’s a dust issue around our community when there’s a heavy wind. Actually, I cannot breathe. I think there are a couple of days that we have heavy winds with heavy dust. So does your company also have any training regarding those. So when there’s a heavy dust. Maybe they could recommend people to have a mask.

So I don’t think you would have made well, we do have signs that they can place outside of the rows of whatever field that they’re spraying. That says that says like dust over cloud, or something like that when it’s a like particularly windy day in their spring. So just that people are driving by. They are aware that there’s pesticides in the air. They might be driving through pesticides at that moment, probably best to roll up the windows.

Sung Hyoun Hong: Curious. Do they? I mean your company regularly check the conditions like air quality, dust, wind, and also the heat, like maybe on daily or weekly basis. And also do they share those information with you and other colleagues.

S: so what are your general thoughts about your organization’s actions on helping employees to deal with the air quality issue?

How to suggest like there, I wouldn’t be able to see how else we could suggest that they handle poor air quality.

S: And also, if your employees, maybe in the the field worker are sick with a specific symptom, like, you know, asthma. Or you said, some cancer, does your organization provide, you know, some support to cure that symptom.

And we’ll provide job security for them for depending on a diagnosis. But I’ve seen people provide job security for well over like a year and a half, and then they return after you know the chemotherapy is done, and all that. Other than that, I would say. That’s pretty much the only job support that they’re providing, and job security.

S: Yeah, my concern is, it’s not easy to find a causality between their cancer and also the air quality around your company. Because Employees need to prove that. But actually they are not that rich. And they cannot, you know, investigate those relationship structurally. So in that case I think there are no way company are need to support those, you know, compensate for that symptom. But just curious whether there’s some kind of, you know, benefits they could enjoy, not enjoy, but compensated.

Sung Hyoun Hong: I think this will gonna be kind of similar questions. So in terms of your company’s effort, I’m just curious, like, beyond just encouragement, like encouraging their employees to wear the mask. Are there any other proactive step they take like, do they? Maybe some companies can offer like medical checkups, more flexible work arrangement, or any kind of support like that.

I mean, besides, like the masks advising them to wear masks, advising them to wear long sleeves, the gloves. There’s not really more that they provide support on.

Sung Hyoun Hong: Do you think those kind of medical support is something related to air quality issues or other environmental issues?

but I doubt anybody unless they’re suing. The company would want to conduct some a study like that.

S: Right? Yeah, it is. It needs a huge study back with lots of money to conduct a study. For our field worker. It’s impossible. Yeah. Are there any kind of support or initiative? Do you think the organization can provide to your workers to deal with the air quality.

That way. We could probably measure to see, like how many people have lung issues, so maybe include something like that.

S: Okay, I think that’s a tremendous, you know, creative idea so you said your colleagues and you had talked about air quality concerns. And you knew that your coworker had a severe respiratory. You know difficulties. And when you guys talk about that, you know air quality issues that you both could commonly experience. How did that impact your relationship? Sometimes, when we share our difficulties with others that actually could help us to share other things outside of the outside of our organizational issue. So just curious how you know, air quality sharing air quality issue impacted your relationship and also your quality of your discussion.

S: Hmm.

Sung Hyoun Hong: Specifically, have you had any specific moment when you felt like when you felt understood and cared for, and that they’re generally looking out for you after you’re talking about something.

S: Okay, have you ever felt lonely when you want? So there might be some experience or moment you wanted to share about your difficulties. Around environmental issue, like air, quality or heat, or something else. But you felt like your. The people in front of you would not like. I would hesitant to understand about your situation, so you might, you know, stop sharing, or don’t start sharing about your issues. So do you have some kind of those kind of experiences that you had felt hesitant to share your concerns about air, quality issue or environmental issue with others.

I’m too bring up like it’s a very touchy subject to bring up and other things like Covid, I think, are very like I’m very pro vaccine, but many people might not be. And so I have had situations where like onboarding an employee. And I’m bringing up our COVID-19 policy. And they just mentioned like that doesn’t exist, or that’s not real or whatever. And it’s very, then I know, okay, well, I can’t discuss certain things with this person, because they might be more close minded or like, with the cancer situation. I’ve brought it up a few times to a couple of different coworkers like, Have you noticed the correlation between like high numbers of people with cancer and lower, you know, it’s not like we have, like hundreds of thousands of employees and a couple of cases. Now we have, like a thou over a thousand employees, like 1,000 employees, to like 5 cases of cancer, feels like very high half the time it’s met with well, like it’s different things or no, if it’s probably not correlated, or I don’t know, like people don’t really wanna correlate like pesticide use with cancer. And I feel like maybe they don’t want to come to terms with this job is probably giving them cancer. Do you get what I’m saying? Maybe they don’t themselves want to admit it. I’m not sure.

Sung Hyoun Hong: And also, it’s kind of similar question again. But with regarding the air quality issues, have you been times when you felt that the other people was indifferent, or maybe not entirely negative, but their response just fell short of what you’re hoping for, I will say like, after sharing your concerns or like worries around the air quality heats, and also the dust problems.

S: Regarding the cancer issue. Have you ever attempt to talk about that things with your manager?

I mean, we’ll talk, maybe, like a couple of times a week, but it has to do with like, like work related stuff. So I’ve probably only talked to her on a personal level like 3 times. Hmm! It’s not very like there’s no opportunity for it.

S: if your company have a culture that every employees can say freely about, maybe we have 5 employees who got a cancer, and maybe that could be due to the pesticides. You said not all people wanted to talk about that issue. So do you think that, your company can your company or your employees can benefit? If your company have a culture that everybody can say those kind of issues freely, and all employees are willing to listen to employees concerned actively.

harm like their position in the company. Because, like these people, they might be. This might be the only job that they can get, you know, like they’re packing house workers or their field workers. And so they wouldn’t want to do anything that might negatively impact like their job. Yeah. So I doubt they would speak harshly about. You know, this company might be giving other people cancer, I doubt like they would want to speak negatively.

S: I totally understand. I I would also hesitant to talk about that, because there’s no proof to about those connection and if I brought up. Then I think some of the people might think that I’m fool. let’s talk about the long-term plans. We have only 5 min left. So, considering the current quality, air quality issue, do you see yourself continuing to live and work in this area for long term?

And that’s how it’s harming me instead of working in town somewhere.

S: Okay, is the air quality a major issue that influenced your decision about staying or living song, San Joyaquin Valley.

S: Yeah.

S: Here in Sibvinson ranch. I live. Townhouse is around around 1 million now. so can you please advise us which direction our research can go. So we just just wanted to make our community a better place to live by making people to change our environment actively. I think we are a little bit passive on increasing the quality of the air, because actually, it’s not easy to fix it in a short term. I understand that. But to think in that way it’s too pessimistic. But I just wanted to make people hope of, for our people that our community can be a good place where our children can live with a good air quality, not, in short term, but for long term. So are there any questions we can make to other person about this topic. Do you have any suggestion.

I would say, maybe you can ask them about like personal and personally in their family. Maybe if they’ve had, like several generations of living here in Bakersfield. If they have higher rates of like asthma and things like that. so maybe you can ask like more personal questions like does your do your parents have asthma? Does your siblings have asthma? I think you can probably also include questions. Well, you did kind of ask me that in the beginning. I think that’s pretty much all I would work on, maybe like more personal questions. Dealing with like health related to the person. But yeah.

S: Okay, thank you very much, SungHyoun Do you have any other question.

Sung Hyoun Hong: In, now.

S: Okay, thank you very much. Participant #25, we will transcribe this recording. Actually, Zoom does that for us. So once we review the transcription, we will change all your name and personal identification information like the location.