Melissa Dunne In early 2020, many employees had no idea a great wave was on its way. While reports of a novel coronavirus spread around the globe, Canadians were still going about their days as usual — rolling out of bed, getting dressed and hitting the road for yet another humdrum day at the office. By mid-March, things across the country had drastically changed. Many white-collar workers started rolling out of bed, maybe getting dressed and opening their laptops to work remotely. Meanwhile, a range of employees, from nurses to baristas to factory workers, suddenly found themselves deemed essential or frontline heroes who now put their health on the line every time they clock in.