One of the victims was paralyzed instead of dying and there was a lot of stuff about how tragic this was, implications that it was worse than death Not much fun when youre a physically disabled teenager being forced to attend this event. CLICK HERE to get your copy of Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come from Book Depository. A few days after the drill, I heard from a coworker that several faculty were sitting together in a conference room with the door open. No joke, they slipped and fell WHILE managing a video shoot for a safety video, resulting in yet another work comp claim.) One of each type of emergency drill a year is plenty. Theres just not that much to cover. 2) HIDE! Teasing you and demanding you attend is NOT appropriate, no matter their age. In Quiet by author Susan Cain, the reader is shown how the brain chemistry of introverts and extroverts differs, and how society misunderstands and undervalues introverts. Failure to call before you miss your drill weekend or immediately thereafter is considered an unexcused absence by the military. The hangover excuse is a bit of a gamble anddepends entirely on your relationship with the friend. An avian flu outbreak was even the disaster they had to simulate! You should absolutely opt out if you want to. I told them the way you prevent that is to click their heels together and wish real hard. So why not plan this up again someday?. And your supervisor is totally wrong about saying that you cant handle it and are weak. You got aninvitation to go for a hike on Sunday? I absolutely think you should absent yourself from these in future (regardless of how open to it the boss, is, call out sick if you need to). Took a grand total of an hour and I was crying furiously by the end. As someone whos been in pretty much that exact situation, your 2-for-1 euthanasia comment made me CACKLE. Ive been doing lockdown drills since kindergarten, which changed to explicit active shooter drills when I was 11. Hi [Name], my cab firm said there wont be any availability for an hour. Why Quiet Quitting Your Job is Not All Wrong? Someone (I think it was Maya Angelou) said that when somebody shows you who they are, you should believe them. as a manager, should I not wear a childless shirt in my off-hours? BUT I also think theres a major difference between walking through lets all identify the doors wed need to lock and the spaces wed want to hide in [our offices / work spaces we frequent / etc. I really hope this changes some day in the US. It's apart of my contract. /lolsob/. Total wild west time no supervision by an expert or law enforcement. I think Im about same age as you. It took maybe 30 minutes total. YOLO, you thought. I saw on other comments that some, like Snarkus Aurelius, had something presented by non-emergency responders. Hey [Name], sorry cant do tonight. Laughing about that is wrong on so many levels, regardless of whether youre in hearing distance of someone or not. What could they possibly need seven hours to cover? I hope that, some day, no child anywhere will ever have to even think about doing something like that. Yes, absolutely, get a doctors note so you have backup. Im sorry. BS on that one! As someone old enough that I had to worry about this in high school and now I have to see my kid doing active shooter drills, I absolutely think people who did not grow up in a similar situation do not understand how very different it is having lived with it much of our lives. We all live busy lives and we know that there will be times when we are called on to help out to babysit for a week, a weekend, or even half a day. This individual lived through a civil war in their country of origin and understandably was not keen on the idea of triggering difficult memories in a professional setting. no one is going to know that you are bluffing. Call in sick is what I would do. Ive found most team building exercises to be futile for their supposed purpose anyway. Maybe Congress should have active shooter drills, too. It was a tough meeting. It's easy to learn and can be used by non-developers to create amazing websites. When I was at job from hell, looking at a full day meeting from hell that would solve nothing and put me in a similar place to the OP, I seriously considered getting takeout with my allergen in in, dramatically puking in a trashcan, and leaving for the evening/next day. Ugh, so sorry OP this is a terrible idea on your companys part. I didnt read through all of the comments, so perhaps this is addressed upthread. And Im autistic, so the alarms and strobes are hard on my nervous system. Its in back of my mind when I go to various stores. We all know how hard it gets to pull off financially at the last dates of the month. There isnt a traditional HR department here, and this is an office where were really subject to the dictates of our boss. I was when I first went to this unit 5.5 years ago. Dear god. But if thats not the case,tell them you were here (at some distant place) to pick up some workrelatedstuff,and it will be late till you reach there. Yes. A good chain of command knows who these employers are as well as are able to come up with ways to work with the Soldier to deconflict. You may not even know who the person is, but as long as your friends are going, youre good to go. Hey really curious, since I am in a tangentially related field; is the same true for fire drills, earthquake drills, etc. Those chatty folks? They know what has been happening and alsoif you say you dont want to participate, that should be good enough. However, you will be expected to train regularly and participate in drills and exercises. . If you graduated high school in the last 15 years, youve done active shooter drills. I feel similarly to the O0: If it had been an active shooter drill I would have eaten the takeout. Can I skip this seven-hour training? The trainings have been optional. You dont even have to do it well! I hope you are able to easily opt out, OP. Oh my! I can not imagine what possible justification there is to spend an entire workday on this. As someone who has been in an active shooter situation all the training you do doesnt mean anything when the threat is real and all that training is going to do is disrupt the workday and traumatize employees. This happened in effing Silicon Valley with the VTA shooting just 2 years ago. Not to deal with the threat to the campus. Its a nightmare. I was eighteen when Columbine happened and wed had Dunblane here in the UK only three years before that. In some cases, you may be able to do individual training on your own time instead of attending the full weekend drill. This is basically a formal warning letting you know that if you miss another drill weekend, there will be consequences. Not sure if this is the case for the OP, but when my previous employer planned a mandatory active shooter drill, they sent a liability release/waiver that we were expected to sign. They cant ask to leave them alone at home nor do they. I know you said your boss is normally nice, but hes being a bonehead, insensitive jerk about this if he doesnt allow you to quietly bow out. Because all you need to do is say these four words,and the magic will work. In the end, escape room idea was scratched and we did a scavenger hunt instead. Each year the US Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its data on volunteering in the United States. Hi [Name], Im so sorry but weve been out all day and weve found out that the train is suspended from [Your Location], the journey would be a nightmare/ we would probably miss the whole event by the time we arrived. But theres no reason why you cannot ask in advance for a weekend where youre not rostered on. That made a huge difference in everyones mindset regarding the training. Her students are fifth graders, so ages 10-11. You never know when that may be useful. A few months later, my school staged this surprise mock car accident to discourage people from drinking and driving. I cant imagine how traumatizing a full day of that stuff, in person, would be. As one robber was walking me from the back of the store to the front, with a gun in my ribs, I managed to remain calm enough to figure out how to not get taken out of the store as a hostage. Even though I knew exactly what was happening, my hands were shaking so much that I couldnt lock my door. Anyone else attending Berklee College of Music? Hey Ive gotta drive to [Insert Town/College Name] to pick up [Insert Your Siblings Name] [Insert the Party Date]. Works a treat every. If their is no way to get internet or their would be no time they could complete their assignments, i would approve the SUTA - I started out enlisted in MNARNG and have two AC/RC assignments. My workplace had an active shooter training session prior to COVID that included several drills. by You might think this sounds a lot like thecorny my dog ate my homework excuse, but trust us. It could be anxiety/PTSD or something else, regardless it puts them in a place to have the sick note for work if theres any pushback. Likenever mind the snowflakes, what about the combat veterans? Career success is just inches from your hands. I lost a dear friend to a campus shooting and every time another Active Shooter Training email pops up my stomach drops. Updated: Monday, March 20, 2017. Tell them how you were all dressed up for this party, and you are afraid that the mechanic workshop m, Even if it isnt, its going to take a while. consider that he might be telling the truth. Well. Excuse 2 | You Punctured Your Tire. Weve at least got an HR. Call in sick. Im mildly/moderately allergic to a common food that nobody else is allergic to. Exactly. OP Thank you for writing in. I actually now feel I did not stress enough that this is an exceptionally dysfunctional and terrible approach, and should only be used if a) LWs knowledge of their boss says it will work and b) theyre out of other options. Yes, such a good suggestion to take 2 days off. Pretty sure I called in sick that day. What isnt so nice is leaving someone hanging or saying youll do something that you have absolutely no intention of doing. It isnt helpful. We still have not done a full security training or, to my knowledge, incorporated safety training into new hire onboarding. Are you prepared to weave this story into conversations for the next few months to cement its accuracy? Thank you for sharing them! I think its 100% okay to stonewall/lie/be vague about your symptoms to protect your privacy if your boss pushes back. This LW has already had a lot of training. (everything turned out all right and he actually used the time to talk about chemical reactions, Because Teacher, but it was not a happy day for him). I feel you, OP. They will likely require documentation supporting your request. Are there many gossipers in your work place? However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. I definitely feel safer that the administration deems it more likely that we need immediate access to bleeding control than an AED. This means if you click a link and/or buy a product, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We do this because it means that most of our friends and loved ones will not have work obligations and will be able to attend and share the event with us. Previous years, the school sent an email ahead of time to the parents and I would keep my kids out that day. Otherwise, there is no harm in considering. Heck, I would probably nope out of any training that long, regardless of topic. It is usually best to work these issues out with the chain of command or have someone do it for you. Its a good idea to discuss this with your employer so that they can arrange alternative working arrangements for you. Bullets fired by a mass shooter will actually curve away from people who know that the only way to conquer your fear is to face it. I dont even have anxiety on this topic and I would still nope out of a 7-hour training. Protagonist is South Asian or possibly Middle Eastern man who is meeting a woman for a date? When the drill ended, they came back, all laughing how they had been shot and if they were dead, could they go home for the day. That is the point. With 58th BfSB, it looks like i only have one drill in conflict with this semester. how do you handle soldiers and college? Its not necessarily as private or discrete as you may prefer, and youll still see whats going on in the simulation. If you have one disgruntled employee in your midst, that person now knows there will be a seven-hour interval in which everyone will be expecting what they think is a simulation of gun violence. You should probably go ahead and [Insert Activity] without me. I was very glad to not witness that or it would have left me in tears again. What poor timing! and Youre Currently Waiting to Be Rescued by Your, make a call and tell them how your place is flooded with water and you need to fix it. The day she got back to the office, there was news of multiple mass shootings in the States and she was so unaffected. The social aspects of man-caused tragedy (shooters/bombings) aside (which I agree with others that acceptance this is the new reality is wrong, will require better funding for mental health/social support/etc that I can vote for), it has been demonstrated time and again that reading about what to do is NOT the same level of preparedness as drills. I hope you can push back on this and would hope theyd realise that its inappropriate for it to be mandatory, but at the very least, please call in sick and protect yourself, OP <3. Call in sick, OP. There you go. I have a perfect non-attendance record for the last 10 years of active shooter training at my firm. Id call in sick, but if I felt thered be any room or worry about grief Id schedule a doctors appointment for that day in advance to get some kind of note related to headaches, gastric distress, bad allergies or any other kind of generic ailment that could be having a flair-up. Just call in sick. Copyright 2007 - 2023 Ask A Manager. You may not even know who the person is, but as long as your friends are going, youre good to go. time. First, try to schedule any conflicts well in advance so that your unit has plenty of notice. Do that after lunch the day before and you can go home very believably. Additionally, if you are pregnant or have recently had a baby, you may also be excused from drill. Im a teacher in a state where this type of yearly simulation training is a state requirement for school accreditation (it always happens on an in-service day without children in the building). A professional email will be expected and it is often a great way to make a great impression with your professional counterparts. Regardless, if you want to tell your boss you dont want to work on the weekends, you should be honest and genuine, oftentimes your boss will not force you to come to work as it will be bad for the teams morale and productivity. Also want to say: I hear that there are differences between younger folks experience and us middle aged people who grew up prior to mass school shootings being so frequent. Make sure to tell them that your boss has been dismissing your concerns and you dont trust him to handle mental health issues with any seriousness. Seven hours of that ought to bring him to his senses and lead him to apologize, profoundly, with tears in his eyes, if he has any decency at all. I didnt know any of this when I went to school that day and it was one of the worst days I can recall (my friends accident hadnt involved alcohol, but the response was almost identical). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regular physical activity improves your brain health, helps you to maintain a healthy weight, and reduces your risk of developing cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers. 2. I was in a lockdown at a conference at a university. We had a workplace training at OldJob that was a full day. Both my former Commander and XO attended both drill AND law school. How is including that supposed to change the behavior or perception of the students during an actual event in any way? I would call in sick for this one even though I already asked not to attend. As I'm boarding the plane I thought for sure I was going to die or wanted to. We were left on our own for that. I found out by accident that our in person Non Violent Intervention training at another facility was PHOENOMENALLY triggering for me and I am keeping all of these in mind because I would have to get an accommodation. its kind of a variant on calling in sick but honestly, recruiting a trusted accomplice is what i would do. Thanks, Onward. All we can do is raise awareness, look out for safety hazards, and hold fire drills and practice our escape routes once in a while. To effectively use these excuses, avoid any unnecessary long details, and stick to your story. If you have an awkward situation that youd like example templates for, request a topic here. Logistics, communications, chain of command, etc. 9 drill periods in one year it typically starts the discharge process. This is awful, and overboard, and I want to have some firm words with your boss. If someone has a heart attack in my vicinity, I can call emergency services or run a few hundred yards to get the defibrillator, but someone else will have to start CPR. Well I thought a good excuse would be to call in sick which I did. Theres a difference between practicing things so you can do them in an emergency, such as CPR, and traumatizing people so theyre more likely to panic when confronted by real danger. I interned at a plant that had an annual disaster training day where they would pick one scenario and do a full day simulation + training on it. My supervisor (largest waste of space ever) still talks about how much fun she had getting shot at with foam disks. Ive had to listen to presentations or watch video training on this throughout my career, and I always thought wouldnt an employee or student who became an active shooter have gone through this training too? Children. 2. If you needed proof that these idiots have not clue, this is it. When staff brought this and other safety concerns to upper management, these were brushed away, even though 1) they hired the trainer to come and say these things, and 2) we had violent threats and probably at least 1 or 2 lockdowns per year. Most employee admit that they gossip at work and it is part of our human nature to gossip. Some years back, my company was adjacent to an active-shooter event it happened at another organization that rented space in the same building. How do you say no to working on a weekend?. This letter-writer already knows the most common-sense run-fight-hide advice. I do agree that theres a difference between physically practicing something and reading about it (and frankly, at some of my performing arts jobs, Id have really loved to have even talked through some sort of emergency response plan for an increasingly not-unlikely situation). My daughters friend since pre-school was killed in a mass shooting during her freshman year in college. And then, afterwards, we got the WORST LECTURE EVER from a crying teacher telling us that if this was real wed all be dead because of our collective inability to JUST BEHAVE OURSELVES and BE QUIET for half an hour. If you have a doctor's note stating that you are too ill to participate in drill, this is a valid excuse. Michelle Rennex, Film This workrelated excuse is only going to work if its not a work gathering. I cried, honestly, because even though it was very low key and not big budget, it was very effective at showing what its like, to have a normal work and school day completely turn on its head. I snuck out between the lecture piece and the hands-on drill to sob in my office and then go home sick for the rest of the day. Oh my god. I was voluntold to participate in my companys active shooter drills and I said straight out NO. However, just this once, you want to put what YOU want first and theres nothing wrong with that! Read More 10 Effective Ways to Deal with Gossip at WorkContinue. Thank you for sharing this; Im sorry that this has to be a continued topic and continued trauma. The drill was short, and we knew it was coming. And because he isnt reasonable you cant reason with him. I do not feel safe. Its the worst. Many religions have weekly religious events. Many generation Z are adopting the quiet quitting culture and it is not because they are lazy. Jonathan Sandahl Former Private First Class at US Army National Guard (1996-2002) Author has 503 answers and 4.3M answer views 4 y Depending on the circumstances, yes. You've only watched 16 videos of veterans coming home to their dogs and you promised yourself you'd break 30 tonight. I would not talk to your boss in your shoes. I second Alisons phrasing of opting out as a prediction of the future, not as a request: I will not be participating, so how should we proceed? Yeah, plans with MYSELF to do nothing but LIE ON THE COUCH with a family size packet of LIGHT & TANGY CHIPS. Ill explain later. Are they tenants in a building that is having this training for all businesses? Pardon me if I dont exactly trust law enforcement to do your training for one minute let alone seven hours. Wish me luck! Balance this wisely. You Were in a Car Accident 8. You could also make up a fake relative, or say that you knew someone who died in x major shooting event. Frankly, its upsetting enough leaving them behind at daycare 4 days a week even though I know they both love it, and they are extremely safe. In the military, missing 4 hours of a required training equals one unexcused absence. The LW said this drill was being run by law enforcement. But I like a little theatre. Pretty much this. You might still be able to get them to modify how they do the drills, and who they choose to be the instructors, etc. Also, youre making some broad assumptions here about the quality of training delivered in all workplaces. Im aware of the exits on campus, and my personal area is chock full of hiding spaces. Federal law and regulations (in some states) protect active duty, guard and Reserve military personnel who are attending post-secondary education schools if they must miss school due to military orders. They dont call us a generation of flakesfor nothing. They are not going to find out; unless they know your father very well. They're royalty-free and ready to use. If you play dumb Yeah, I dunno man, it came out of nowhere youll have them feeling sorry for you and totally fine about cancelling. Heck any drill fir any length of time, for that matter. The peak factor was approaching 4.5 or I couldnt find a single driver in my area will work. Only if you think the person will understand. Its not that he cant understand. As a side comment, if you have not yet sought out a mental health professional who is experienced in dealing with PTSD, you may wish to explore that at some point. Also for people who have been IN mass shootings or have experienced gun violence, these trainings can be very psychologically damaging. TLDR: I need to do drills so emergency responders dont have to add dealing with me to their plate; it is my civic duty. But I mostly just want to call OP out. Since OPs boss says the training is mandatory, any pre-submitted PTO requests would probably be denied. i hope you get out of this smoothly op! I personally would quickly follow it up with oh no, hold on *RETCH* I really have to go *RETCH* and hang up. As the World's Most Accurate Online Grammar Checker, Grammarly Premium goes beyond grammar to help you ensure that everything you write is clear, engaging, and professional. Perhaps it is the most powerful excuse and totally legit, but just imagine how lame you sound when your . When I commented to occupational health or whomever mandated the training with feedback about this needing an alternative, a trigger warning or both I was also brushed off). Here are some of the films they are showing. 4 is not just a valid option but a truthful one. You haven't started studying for your exam tomorrow. If not, why is this particular emergency getting such outsized priority? It was investigated, law enforcement believed it was just a rumor, and there would be extra police presence at school the next day. Never had a garish, clashing lip color since I learned that trick years ago when I worked in department store cosmetics and was a model for make up/hair when my friends went through state boards for their cosmetology licenses. Also, your boss is not a nice person. We need to do better. I know you dont want to do that, being the only woman and all, but I find that sometimes I spend too much effort holding myself together, and an honest reaction sometimes solves the issue. We didnt have ours as often, and the threat seemed a little more distant, but some of those early ones were poorly handledand (given what weve read about the boss in question) I think letter writers office one sounds like it has the potential to be as well. Take care of your mental health first. No one will want you near them or ask any more questions. Well have to reschedule another time Im afraid! Stealing superficially affable for later use. Excused absences are just what they sound like - don't have to come in and won't count against you but you also can't make them up. Didnt we have one round up/commenter who had a super-nosy boss who wanted to know all the details for calling out sick, and she called the boss as she was praying to the porcelain throne? ^^ this is the kind of thing you get when absolutely everybody involved in planning thinks this is a fun game to role-play like youre in an action movie. In the meantime, read through these comments and know we are all standing with you. Here are some valid excuses for missing drill: I have done this several times throughout my career. If your unit is one of the many that has had to cancel its Drill Weekend, dont despair! But the other options could be better in some situations. Unless a midterm or final is involved, college is not an excuse or missing drill. I am well into Gen X and we did an active shooter training and I hated every moment of it. You're Sick 2. For example: "Due to some past history that I don't want to go into at work, I am going to opt of out Tuesday's training.". and if i got any pushback id say it was a mental health day.