This article may contain affiliate links. That way, you have the documentation if you need to go to HR. Even reading the emails about it made me so anxious that my hands started to shake. Because yes the event itself is life and death but an employer should be held accountable for not re-traumatizing the survivors or the deceaseds family with nonsense about health insurance coverage or pressure to return or paying out of pocket for funeral expenses to be potentially reimbursed later after a bunch of paperwork. She was fine, thank goodness. Yes, I reject the idea that the boss is a nice person. I understand that gallows humor is a thing. All The Best Squid Game Memes For Those Still Reeling After That Twist Ending If you feel you need to address it with your boss directly, you could do that while being vague. 100% agree with Alisons statement that active-shooter drills are counterproductive. Be sure to provide your commanding officer with the note as soon as possible. Absolutely take a sick day. Call in sick, OP, please. 9 drill periods in one year it typically starts the discharge process. Separately, my cousins kid came home from kindergarten sobbing because she thought a drill was an actual shooter event. Burying your head in the sand wont change reality. If youre interested in further reading, weve also included links to our trusted resources and related posts below. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 34% of people work on the weekend. For example, an evacuation drill might reveal that the intended exit route is actually inaccessible because its blocked by blackberry thicket (true story), or a fire drill could show you that the fire alarm isnt audible in one part of the building (also true story). Additionally, if you are pregnant or have recently had a baby, you may also be excused from drill. Unfortunately, David is your work colleague, and this party is a big deal for him. Your email address is only used to send you NTRW updates. If its that long Im going to insist that they outline their full plan for workers compensation, life insurance beneficiary process etc in the event of an active shooter situation. Same. One does begin to wonder how much change could have been wrought if instead of drills and training we had opted to spend that time protesting or in political action. Now that I think about it, my workplace gives building-specific info for other types of emergency preparation i.e., I know where were supposed to evacuate and gather in the case of a fire, I know where in the building we should shelter in the case of a tornado/severe weather, but the active shooter training module was only a generic video with a generic office building showing fear and the run/hide/fight scenarios. Your sporting team is playing in the finals. It also can depend on what training is going on. We then had a staff meeting to discuss their concerns and a number of my staff expressed anxiety about mass shootings, workplace shootings, and what their kids went through with drills at school. training like that. My current campus is in a denser urban core, and what my director has decided to do is to ask our public safety team to come in and evaluate our workspaces one-on-one rather than do some kind of generalized training that would probably be of little use. 1) Get enough sleep the night before. For more information, please see our When I was at college I had a job at a fast food kiosk in a railway station. Your friend doesnt know who that guy is but man, do they hate em. There is a huge possibility that they wont remember asking you later in the hustle of all the guests,and in case they do, pick up any otherexcuse from this list. In the meantime, read through these comments and know we are all standing with you. If you call in sick and they run this drill again in a year or two, youll be in the same position, and making yourself sick with worry. Every person is different, and in the LW case I would agree she has done active shooter drills, so her choice to do something to avoid and additional drill of this type (talk to mgmt or call sick, I have my opinion but irrelevant to her choice). this isnt an Im calling my lawyer so I can sue knee-jerk thing, its consultation on employment law and options when the obvious ones are made inaccessible for one reason or another. Took a grand total of an hour and I was crying furiously by the end. Having your dog eat chocolate means youre stressed, youre worried, you gotta take it to the vet, you gotta figure out if its OK. Theres so much going on! The babysitter just called and told me she couldnt make it today Thats all you need to say to them. So feel free to call in sick. I have 2 young children, not quite school aged. However, there will be times when we would rather not work weekends and have the weekend free to pursue other interests. But the other options could be better in some situations. This boss has been giving the impression of niceness, but his reaction to LWs distress concerning this drill has revealed that the niceness is only skin deep with him. Active shooter, hurricane (southeastern state), chemical spill, fire. It doesnt matter what people think. When you break this figure down further, this includes 58% of people who work more than one job and 31% who are single jobholders. 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. Lost colleagues and students. Even if it isnt, its going to take a while,and you may not be able to make it up. There are many good reasons why you might not want to work on the weekend. As a former company commander in the NG I routinely let my personnel miss or make up drills. 5. I totally relate to the letter writer. Looking to become a digital publisher like us? Talk to your units First Sergeant or Commander if you believe you have a valid reason for being excused from an upcoming drill. For some unknown reason, my school decided to get all the terrible feelings trainings done at once, so wed be subjected to trainings on school shootings, teenage suicide, and abuse and neglect issues all in a row. Ive asked for a more specific agenda but Im not sure I will get one. 3. It will not be possible for me to participate.. Follow Alisons advice to talk to someone above her. If you have an awkward situation that youd like example templates for, request a topic here. But if thats not the case, tell them you were here (at some distant place) to pick up some work. 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. A group of robbers had started robbing this particular chain, specifically. Sometimes the messages are after the fact, to let us know that the school was on lockdown, but everything is ok now. But I watched the required active shooter training video so I guess thats all I need <- sarcasm/ Oof. Whether or not your weekend work is a regularly scheduled shift or some overtime thanks to work that was not completed during the week, asking for time off to attend an important family event is perfectly justifiable. 2. For example: Due to some past history that I dont want to go into at work, I am going to opt of out Tuesdays training. If he again says something ridiculous like asking if you wouldnt be able to take it, you could say, Yes, so I wont be attending. If he tells you its mandatory and you need to attend, you can say, Then I need to request a formal, legal accommodation to opt out. Why is it gaining popularity amount employees and it is not exactly a bad thing? Not the building burning down. Columbine happened when I was in college, so I was incredibly lucky to have missed those kinds of drills as a young person. In my city, people would probably worry (justifiably) that the helicopter was there to shoot and/or deport them. Alternatively, its too difficult to talk about also works. (gag). And you know theyll treat it all as a big game because its all fake anyway. For more information, please view our Privacy Policy and Earnings Disclosure page. Im sure its some package a security company sold someone. TLDR: I need to do drills so emergency responders dont have to add dealing with me to their plate; it is my civic duty. To find out moreabout NTRWandourrecommended tools, you can do thathere. I grew up in the Seventies and Eighties in the UK with the IRA. As a USAR CDR I'd approve an excused absence and call it a day but really depends on what you ask for an if you have a good chain of command. Lets be honest; we all havethese episodes(ifyou dont, most of us do). I would totally wake up with a migraine that day and never feel bad for a moment. For more information, please see our Earnings Disclosure. I havent read all the comments, but this makes me truly ill. To be fair, I was already angry on your behalf before reading this letter. Take this as the valuable information about him that it is and think about how long youre willing to work for someone who is totally okay with causing you this kind of harm. Not-really-jokes aside, call in sick. If you are in the National Guard or Reserves, you are required to attend one weekend of drill per month. I am not sure why the school wanted you to do this, but the drills are a regular thing for Emergency Services. 9 Best Practices for Career Success in Your 20s, no.7 get you Promoted, 10 Effective Ways to Deal with Gossip at Work, 7 Common Types of Spam Emails and How to Identify, How to Write a Professional Email At Work (with Examples), how to tell your boss you are not working on weekends professionally, between 10 and 14 days of paid vacation per year, US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, importance of fostering a work-life balance, How to Introduce Yourself at First Day of Work (with Examples), 5 Best Types of Goal Setting Techniques (Succeeding at Work), 10 Basic Types of Leadership Styles and How to Find Your Own, Bad Boss? Many generation Z are adopting the quiet quitting culture and it is not because they are lazy. What if theyre going to do it several times? No one will want you near them or ask any more questions. Call out sick LW. I have a parent in emergency preparedness who talks about how a lot of these simulated trainings came out after what happened during Hurricane Katrina. The drills at my college last about 15-20 minutes. However, you will be expected to train regularly and participate in drills and exercises. Im a survivor of gun violence and Ive lost a loved one in a mass shooting. 1) Wont happen herewe are nowhere near the big city where these things happen. When you look back on yourself even 6 months from now, youll be glad you did. 2) Probably wont happen hereright? That would be my guess too, but we cant know. I am so sorry for you and your child. Call in sick is what I would do. Good for you for advocating for yourself. YOLO, you thought. Be prepared for unexpected expenses. Attend events and functions, volunteer for leadership positions, and just generally be a positive presence within your unit. My 18 year old brother called me in a panic because his girlfriend was in one of the buildings they thought the shooter was in, and Im pretty sure the panic in his voice is going to stay with me for the rest of my life. Without fail, some jackass tells me how terrible I look. A person who cant handle those wouldnt be able to work those jobs. A good excuse should be true and should not be a fake obligation or illness created for you to get out of work. You mean before that 9am brunch? 1 When Something Comes Up & You Still Want To See Them Shutterstock "Hey, I'm so sorry, but something came up tonight and I. Im sure Id feel differently if I had kids who were being repeatedly traumatized at school this way. Gosh, I relate to this so much. (Voting to change policies CAN help, but not the way were doing it.). But since you happen to be the person who. If you feel you need to address it with your boss directly, you could do that while being vague. /lolsob/. Im also just really curious about why the boss wants to have an active shooter drill given how cavalier he seems to be about it. Maybe Congress should have active shooter drills, too. Im so sorry you are dealing with this. I would push WAY back on this, simply because theres no agenda. But they made the change less than 30 days before drill. Some say that the siren is extremely loud and frightening when it goes off suddenly, sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes when there is no earthquake, and that the sound/experience itself is traumatizing. My friend who worked at Harrods was in the Harrods bombing. Unfortunately I really doubt the boss is going to be at all receptive to having his eyes open, just based on the description of him. If you want to make memories with your family on trips away from home, you will need to take advantage of the weekends. What a jerk. I know you said you dont want to look like the only person not tough enough to participate, particularly as the only woman on your team. Our wallet holdsall ofour important things, including cash, id, and credit cards. Im sorry that anyone has to deal with this. Just in case. OP, Im sorry you have to deal with this. Gathering up glassware in the science lab, students making comments about taking bullets for each other or even their teachers (which, just, no). I know the whole flight/fight/freeze thing. **Large scale mass shooting at organization. In cases like your school its more important that the adults know what to do than showing kids what to do/where to go. I am glad we did because we learned they fancy themselves a superhero who can run through and put out fires and can stop a bad guy with the power of love. We remembered the event very differently. I know your boss is a big influence in your life/career now but he wont be there forever. Know what youre signing up for. This is what Im stuck on. I literally had a panic attack and left. There are a few reasons why your absences might not be able to be excused. Im going to put out there that people often laugh in situations like this to diffuse discomfort and emotionally distance themselves from the situation. then you can divert questions with details also to the oh no, im afraid its a private matter, they asked me to not divulge all the details, hey mom, would you like to have an emergency where you slip and fall and twist your ankle next tuesday. You can only use this one if its raining there. I would call in sick for this one even though I already asked not to attend. To effectively use these excuses, avoid any unnecessary long details. Youve already got a serious medical condition, and now you get to worry that if your blood sugar plummets or your pump fails during an active shooter situation that it will get all your friends killed. Im sure that wont hurt kids mental health at all. I was forced to go through an active-shooter training despite protests, and when a group of us were able to push back as a group, I used the word consent a lot. I would imagine that it helps by not being another unexpected thing going on (if it came down to it) that might throw off someone even further. If your employment requires that you work on the weekend, organizing a spontaneous weekend away might not be possible. I do NOT want to LARP a shooting. Make up a story of how your roommate needs your special attention since they are suffering from a fever. Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook so you always know where to find us. My daughters friend since pre-school was killed in a mass shooting during her freshman year in college. Heck, I would probably nope out of any training that long, regardless of topic. 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. Hey, apologies for flaking, but my babysitter just called and told me she couldnt make it today. Its just easier that way, unfortunately. Because when you get out of working on the weekends, someone else will take your place.