In mid-March of 2020, I gathered shoulder to shoulder with dozens of fellow Trader Joe’s crew members for a mid-shift huddle. Just a handful of miles away, COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in one of the country’s first hot spots in New Rochelle, New York. Soon the National Guard would be deployed to establish a quarantine zone.

But business was booming at our branch, where frenzied shoppers cleared the shelves preparing to stay home to “Flatten the Curve.” While customers packed the aisles and sent store profits soaring, our primary job, managers explained, was to keep everybody calm — to maintain the appearance of normality.

My coworkers and I were instructed not to wear masks or gloves to avoid “spreading panic,” despite managers also reading aloud a CDC memo detailing the virulent symptoms of the virus. If we needed to wash our hands, we were instructed to ask a manager for a break and walk across the crowded store to the restrooms.