Ive never been through an active shooter drill. Any time this has come up at a job, Ive just had stomach flu the day of. Typically blanks are fired inside of the building (sometimes without specific warning) to simulate real scenarios. . When I voiced my concerns, he made a few jokes about how he would simply redirect the shooter to a younger person, then asked if I was saying I wouldnt be able to take it. Absolutely nothing about this is funny to me, and this made me feel even more alienated. 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. Or maybe if no one from your department is going to be there. I saw on other comments that some, like Snarkus Aurelius, had something presented by non-emergency responders. Everyones Crying Over Adams Poem From Season 3 Of Sex Education In two weeks, my workplace is hosting an all-day active shooter training, conducted by law enforcement. In this article, we listed the best excuses you can use to not work weekends. I bet too many people at work would opt if they could (even just for if Im going to be at work I have actual work to do) and make it not useful training. Some of them can be a lot of fun if the team already works well together, but I dont think any of them are useful if the team dynamics are bad. Question regarding missing drill weekend. Because lets be honest, who does not want to have a hot mug of coffee on the terrace while watching the rain pouring onto the glass of your windows, making a thud sound and yet so calming? Even if it isnt, its going to take a while,and you may not be able to make it up. -You are sick or injured (documentation from a doctor may be required) Cant see any problem with that. Here are some reasons why employees quiet quit at work? I also grew up in the earlier era of school shootings, before they did things like training for kids. Ive been through multiple safety courses (as in, semester long professional courses, not one-day training) and I still froze with a phone in my hand the one time I had to do it for real. If something comes up that requires your immediate attention (such as a death in the family), this is considered a valid excuse for missing drill. Only if you think the person will understand. Why the hell did you make so many freakin plans? Unfortunately, David is your work colleague, and this party is a big deal for him. Women are also more likely than men to work two jobs and 6.9% of all workers are employed at more than two jobs. OP call in sick if your boss continues to be a jerk about this. Boo yeah! If you graduated high school in the last 15 years, youve done active shooter drills. The next year they just showed a video, called Run, Hide, Fight. We started calling it Run, Hide, Die as a joke, if only because if we didnt laugh at it we would all have gone insane. My elder kid went through a shooting at their workplace a few years ago. Copyright @ Azentek Online Inc | All Rights Reserved, How to Convince Your Wife to Get Breast Implants, Talk to your commander about your concerns, They may be able to work with you to find a solution that doesnt involve attending drill weekend, If you have a medical condition that prevents you from participating in drill weekend, provide documentation from your doctor to your commander, If you have a family emergency or other pressing engagement, talk to your commander about getting excused from drill weekend, In some cases, they may be able to accommodate your request, If you absolutely cannot attend drill weekend for any reason, talk to your commander about the possibility of being placed on inactive Reserve status, This would exempt you from attending future drill weekends until you are able to reactivate your Reserve status. Ive done Portal of Safety Drills in martial arts when I was younger. They told the older members what to do. Ive found most team building exercises to be futile for their supposed purpose anyway. Your sweet, naive brain thought it was a good idea to make plans to fill every second. You Were in a Car Accident 8. I got good feedback later about the power of the word, so maybe try it. they understand that all you need to do is stay in bed (and watch a movie you just bought). I cant see how this should take more than half an hour or so at most. And if you have a top in a color that washes you out, that will help if youre younger or have naturally fabulous eyelashes, or if you normally wear no or minimal makeup. It wasnt all employees that attended, but a large number of people were part of it. 1sg I disagree with college as a priority, it is an enhancement, your co/xo have been in the world long enough and know how to balance drill and school, that comes with maturity, what we are dealing with are the new generation, no concept of time management, putting things off until the last minute, I managed to get my diploma, attend drills and raise a family, it takes sacrifice, but that's me. Same. Or maybe if no one from your department is going to be there. I was home sick that day and watching messages pour in over our communication app on my phone; cant even imagine being there, but Ive heard similar things from coworkers. I dont worry about gun violence in my daily life, like, ever. Im 38 now and I still think about that day with anxiety and sadness. Three cups of black coffee and a gas station burrito will do the trick, too. Cookie Notice Im sure its some package a security company sold someone. Now the thought of visiting my friends in the US on holiday absolutely terrifies me. 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. Logistics, communications, chain of command, etc. Work from home dont only give you the benefit of only flexible working time and let you sleep a little later than normal. We have to go over how to block our doors with baricades if we cant get out, weve figured out how to rip open the rest of our windows if we want out badly enough, the kids know where my roach spray is and where the fire extinguisher is if someone gets close enough in this room. We finally did get robbed. And 1 drill type is not sufficient: tornado response is different than responses to fire or ; so the more, the better. Each person should be allowed to decide the risk-benefit of having the training versus the impact on their mental health. But the elderly retired people didnt evacuate, even the ones who can do stairs. Especially for people with a history of trauma. Never the Right Word is a participant in the Awin Affiliates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to participating merchants. I appreciate that my kiddos school practices emergency in a general sensehere are our hiding spots, could be something weather related or physical security related. Lets be honest; we all havethese episodes(ifyou dont, most of us do). In cases like your school its more important that the adults know what to do than showing kids what to do/where to go. Im probably among the youngest USians not to grow up with these drills; Columbine happened when I was in high school, and at that time we regarded it as an awful but anomalous eventwe had no idea what was coming. I lost a dear friend to a campus shooting and every time another Active Shooter Training email pops up my stomach drops. I hope the party goes well; perhaps we could catch up on another day/ perhaps I could buy you a drink to make it up to you? Agree. My university installed Bleeding Control Kits on *every* floor of *every* building a couple years ago. Hide in your house or go to goat yoga or whatever helps you. Being sick with anxiety fits the definition of a valid use of a sick day. On a serious note this post and the sheer volume of responses speaking to this issue as being so common scares me so much. They also handwaved off the fact that we work in a giant glass fishbowl and cant remotely lock the doors like you can with many other buildings on campus. Works a treat every. So better use that if its the 20th or later of the month. The vultures swoop in when a shooting takes place, pretending to offer support as they build their trauma resumes and then move on to profit from death, offering lockdown training and recovery services. About 12 years ago I was medical director of an inpatient facility and we had a family member come in with a holstered gun visible. If you look at the links other commenters have posted, theres actually little evidence that making people go through traumatic active shooter drills teaches them anything that they can put in practice if it really happens, so the usefulness of these drills is questionable at best. Ill clear my head first, get in a better place and come to the next one. Same here. You haven't started studying for your exam tomorrow. This boss is not ok, and you deserve better. My apartment building has so many drills (false alarms) that maybe 12 people out of 102 units (some with 2 people, so more than 102 tenants) bother to evacuate when the alarms go off in the apartment AND hallway. Some of them screamed when the police and campus security came in with the biggest freakin guns I have ever seen. Our active shooter training is online, so you can just play the video and ignore it & still get credit. Thats it. ] (which is, essentially, the adult version of the fire drill) and an active shooter drill (which, in my understanding, usually implies some level of re-enactment beyond what Ellis Bell (the teacher above) was describing as lockdown drills at school). So, as you can see, its very important not to miss a drill weekend. Scaring the sh*t out of people isnt helpful. the fact that we cant talk about that but have to do all this security performance theater instead AND cause additional trauma for questionable results makes me rage. Boost your business with the right images. Im almost 24. I think Alisons language about what to say to your boss is really useful. Seemed irrelevant at the time, became surprisingly useful 15yrs later when covid showed up. I dont want to do it either. In banks they often hold robbery simulations that range from a silent note passed to a teller to a full blown takeover with machine guns. No joke, they slipped and fell WHILE managing a video shoot for a safety video, resulting in yet another work comp claim.) There's easily 100+ people that will be at the conference. Absolutely. One last thought- I know theres no grandboss per se, but is there a CEO or owner? 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. Her lashes arent jet black! This means if you click a link and/or buy a product, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I imagine the people who put these together were just as out of touch as this boss. The waiver was problematic in many ways and I declined to sign it (and to participate). This is considered a valid excuse and your commander should work with you to find an alternate solution . Do you know what are the common types of spam email messages? Id develop a migraine toward the end of the day before and call in the next day. Hey [Name], I wouldve loved to have gone out tonight but Im currently. They are not going to find out; unless they know your father very well. As part of the largest department in government, our pre-Covid safety meetings were 2-hour wastes of time with 30 agency coordinators listening to nonsense from the person in charge of occupational safety. On my stomach lining, which makes me puke, nearly immediately. If you're looking to develop your communication skills for professional environments even further, we think youll like the following video course from LinkedIn Learning. Were in the same school district as the Tree of Life shooting, which happened on a Saturday, and the following week was Halloweensomeone called in a threat to my kids elementary school that day, and my oldest was in swimming at the time. Officially remove hes a nice guy from the way you think about June because he is, in fact, not. Fast forward to this current moment in your life, (. First thought was to call in sick. Might as well live to the fullest. But I watched the required active shooter training video so I guess thats all I need <- sarcasm/ Oof. A training session with law enforcement might be okay if it was structured like a q&a or generally sought to give information rather than simply a mocked up experience. That said, we have surprisingly few firearm-related incidents here, given that Finland has the most guns at home per capita after the US and Yemen. We were there for hours, literally, while they searched for the possible gunman, then after they caught him, clearing the university to be sure he didnt have an accomplice. But something I didnt consider is that these were only done virtually due to Covid, meaning there was nothing to act out, you were just meant to talk over with your coworkers/students how you would act. I would call in sick for this one even though I already asked not to attend. My kingdom for sensible, trauma-informed, non-security-theater workplace safety training. The active shooter training was a short part of the overall agenda. Call in sick is what I would do. According to the National Guard, these circumstances include but are not limited to: My only other thought is, that if this simulation might happen more than once, it could be useful to go the formal accommodations route so you have a standing reason to not attend any sessions. What I really want is to skip it entirely but if I can, how do I explain this request/decision to my boss without disclosing my mental health struggles, explaining (in vain) the anxiety I feel about this training, or looking like the only person not tough enough to participate (as the only woman in my department)? As for how to do it, realistically youve got four options: 1. I felt so absolutely enraged and panicky by the first 5 minutes of this asinine presentation by a law enforcement officer that I just left. I knew people involved in both. Sometimes the messages are after the fact, to let us know that the school was on lockdown, but everything is ok now. That he has somehow tricked you into thinking this is okay is horrifying. Often, the employees are the main reason why employees quiet quit their job. Jenna Guillaume, 9 Foolproof Excuses To Get Out Of Your Weekend Plans, All The Funniest Reactions To Facebook And Instagram Shutting Down For Six Hours, Dominic Perrottet Is Officially NSWs New Premier So Heres Everything You Need To Know, All The Hidden Clues In Squid Game That Pointed To That Twist Ending, All The Best Squid Game Memes For Those Still Reeling After That Twist Ending, Everyones Crying Over Adams Poem From Season 3 Of Sex Education, Heres The Correct Way To Binge The Marvel Cinematic Universe In Chronological Order. Hey [Name], sorry I can't make your party tonight. You do volunteer work 8. The LW said this drill was being run by law enforcement. My boss, who is also the only person to whom I report (no grand-boss applicable), is much older, which I mention because I think hes just coming at this training from a totally different perspective. Look at my complete answer. How many weekend drills can I miss as a reservist before they - Avvo one of the many lies that people tell themselves and others when they have to work with people who really arent that nice at all. The shooting didnt follow most of the normal scripts for these things, so it was mass chaos anyway. Categories + 18moretakeoutthe remedy diner, tupelo honey, and more; Talk to your units First Sergeant or Commander if you believe you have a valid reason for being excused from an upcoming drill. Wishing you all the best with this difficult situation. I hope that, some day, no child anywhere will ever have to even think about doing something like that. Then you can avoid the worst of the after-event commentary. How horrible. Do that after lunch the day before and you can go home very believably. Because somebody who had no business owning a gun was able to get one, I almost died. It's almost perfect. SEVEN HOURS? A colleague is American and was home over the Christmas holidays. This knife-edge behavior, scared enough to schedule drills, not scared enough to take it seriously it has to stop. My sons had fire drills, but no active shooter drills. theres nothing we can really do about it, We can, but we wont, because US Americans generally refuse to take responsibility. My friend DID die. I was in a lockdown at a conference at a university. Because when you get out of working on the weekends, someone else will take your place. The one I attended was for an outbreak of Avian Flu. You were asked to attenda raging, booze-filled pub crawlon Friday? But its a good skill to have that will serve you well in your career. You mean before that 9am brunch? They dont have any problem with reading anything, its the simulations. At my old job, most people didnt watch it. If you do want to be up front about not being willing to do it, saying you have too much personal experience of gun violence is not disclosing anything about your own mental health, and its a blunt way of pointing out that its your circumstances that are different, not your resilience. Definitely. I lost someone I knew to a mass shooter several years, and have been dealing with anxiety for these types of situations since, with professional help. that just sounds unrealistic. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/workplace-shootings-research-.aspx, https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/436994-active-shooter-training-fails-because-it-relies-on-fear/, https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2019/05/23/teachers-active-shooter-trainings-ineffective-stressful-column/3754113002/, https://www.insider.com/young-school-shooters-grew-up-doing-active-shooter-drills-experts-2022-6, https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/blog/advocacy/active-shooter-drills-harmful-or-helpful/. We were about 1hr 25 min away. In some cases, your civilian employer may not be able to release you for drill weekends or summer training due to business needs . Know both your annual drill schedule and your college course schedule. There were two separate school shootings in my district in the time frame that I was middle school through high school. Again, be sure to notify your commanding officer as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made. My dad was a teacher for 15 years (+7 as a sub) and never had to deal with an active shooter, fortunately. No?). Because they want to LARP like something out of a movie. Seven hours is unbelievable, but sounds more like a training event for the police than your workplace. Thats such a heartbreaking thing to hear and yet, I understand why shes thinking about it. However, there will be times when we would rather not work weekends and have the weekend free to pursue other interests. Id feel the same way. But safety training for a forklift operator absolutely includes accident prevention, and so does HAZWOPER. Essentially, it is suppose to identify potential issues ahead of time; example, local, state & federal departments all using different radio frequencies and needing to figure out what they would use together in an emergency (this was an issue during Katrina). Id never treat a younger person badly for refusing this. Somebody is implementing this program, and is either intending it to be voluntary (and your boss is going rogue) or intending it to be mandatory and *really* not thinking it through, and either way I would think the CEO/Owner would want to know about it if you cant get anyone else to listen to you. It was investigated, law enforcement believed it was just a rumor, and there would be extra police presence at school the next day. I work in a hospital system. I spent a little time thinking about what I would do if we were robbed. If you are a National Guard member, there are certain circumstances where you can be excused from drill. And leaving them alone would be a big question mark to the whole face of humanity. When I voiced my concerns, he made a few jokes about how he would simply redirect the shooter to a younger person, then asked if I was saying I wouldnt be able to take it.. 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. Good for you for advocating for yourself. YOLO, you thought. Again, its like, well yes, I want them to have survival skills in this reality we live in. I worked in a call center. But since you happen to be the person whorenegesquite frequently,havent you already used that one? Jesus. Your goal should be TO LEARN during the drill, not avoid it. How to Decline an Invitation Gracefully - MyDomaine I used to live in a country that had earthquake drills. That said, there is a little bit of the risk involved because either y, ou will end up making them feel bad or you. It is easier to dump them into the IRR and then some 79V has to put them back into another unit to make his numbers and repeat the process. A lot of resources on everytown.org if youd like to read more: Or what about the people who have to eat food/take pills at certain times of the day because of health conditions? The premise is that if all these relevant gov/emergency services drill together that theyll be better prepared to work together even if the true emergency isnt an exact match to the drill. I already deal with the anxiety on a daily basis; I dont need someone pointing it out in a tasteless joke. Is there a way to get the instructional content without going to the most triggering parts, which I cannot imagine will outweigh the psychic cost this is going to take on me? I choked up reading that and I have no kids and am not in the US. I really hope this changes some day in the US. Given that shes already on record as not wanting to participate and the boss reaction, this might be the first time I would ever consider advising someone to just no-call no-show and eat the occurrence. Several of their colleagues/friends were injured, and the shooter (another colleague) died. Hey [Name] Im really sorry to leave you hanging, but my dad just got into to town and Ive got to be on good daughter/son duty. there were no office doors to close and we had no escape roots beside the main hall, so we would be trapped. Yes, maybe some people had left for work already. Joinover 3,000+ achievers who are committed to achieving their career goals! Im going to put out there that people often laugh in situations like this to diffuse discomfort and emotionally distance themselves from the situation. Bomb threats were a constant fact of life. Joking about the shooter choosing another target is horrifically awful. Im sorry that anyone has to deal with this. I think practicing repeating whatever line works for you, to avoid being needled by him about it in future, might be worthwhile. What poor timing! I am lucky in that my dean is sympathetic. I am in my twenties, and I grew up in the modern era of mass shootings. The key to success is planning and communication. I think its 100% okay to stonewall/lie/be vague about your symptoms to protect your privacy if your boss pushes back. 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. by Correct. I left the room and the trainer told me if I didnt participate I wouldnt pass the course. 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. Now sit on the couch and sink into that feeling of freedom. Im a designer-by-day whos fascinated by human psychology; youll find me learning about what makes others tick through all types of media and good old-fashioned conversation. (Like Alisons proposed it wont be possible.). Tell the host a detailed story of how hectic your last week was with all the office meetings, official tours, and prepping up for the big seminar that went great today. Well, the car seemed like it was fixed so i drive to work and back the last couple days with no issues. Id call in sick. Im sure your guests wouldnt want me coming and spreading the germs anyway! Yes, absolutely, get a doctors note so you have backup. So weird, right? The perfect, no commitment excuse. Security performance theater indeed. Can I Refuse To Work Weekends? 6 Ways To Get Out of Working Weekends They left FEMA after Katrina to join another agency which was setting up an emergency preparedness team as a result of what went wrong during Katrina. They were upfront about wanting to meet everyones needs, and they made it very easy to select different options, such as being provided material to review on their own time or in private, write-ups vs videos, or just the option to opt out completely. Id call in sick the day before as well better cover story. What do you MEAN they didnt know what to do?? Take the day off if you can call in sick if you need to. Previous years, the school sent an email ahead of time to the parents and I would keep my kids out that day. Plus,no one wants to hear the details. The two are not the same. I think we had more on a Friday afternoon at 3 PM, but we also have them at 11 PM and other times the office is closed. 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. Some of that context may help OP decide how they want to push back. Happy Me time! Add me to the chorus of people saying #4 is both legitimate and honest. Getting excused from Drill? : r/army - reddit.com Including expert advice, conversations with wise friends from all walks of life, easy ideas to try, activities to complete - and the little things that have made a difference to her own, sometimes-bumpy life - this book is a friendly reminder that Calm is a place that exists in us all, we just have to find our way back to it. What do you do for seven hours? At most, this should be a 2 hour training. 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. That is insane! A book that finally understands introverts! The US is particularly bad because of its gun laws. Many of us tried and we were told we would be written up if we did not attend. Democrats Use Every Excuse to Disarm the Good Guys. No one wants to hear me out. If the host does not know about your dating life, you can easily go with this one. My workplace recently made kind of a big deal about a mandatory training (DEI, not active shooter). This article was originally published on https://www.nevertherightword.com. The best way to make the most of your time in the Drill Army Reserves is to get involved with your unit and fellow soldiers. You could call in sick that day. Afterwards, I refused to go down there alone again, and thankfully none of my shift supervisors gave me a hard time about that. I rarely wish for a like button. BS on that one! I am so sorry for you and your child. Personally I think if there are ways to prepare people that dont involve trauma, then we should do those. You can also request a leave of absence for personal or medical reasons. But its traumatizing for the kids to practice these drills, and honestly, if we just had some gun reforms, there would be literally no reason we should have to be subjected to this in the first place. Wtaf. Sadly, its not a very exclusive club. But seven hours? Telling David a massive no straight to his face will come across as rude and will likely hurt his feelings in the process. I have a perfect non-attendance record for the last 10 years of active shooter training at my firm. Im so sorry this is happening to you. something to consider! You already know so much more about what to do in this instance than any of us Olds who didnt do this in school. Well have to reschedule another time Im afraid! Pretty much this. I was voluntold to participate in my companys active shooter drills and I said straight out NO. I will have to miss 1.5 days of the conference to make it to drill on time. The company policy for RST is that it has be approved 30 days before drill (Aug 5-6). smdh. If you do, there can be some pretty serious repercussions. Divi Cakes main goal is to help the members of the Divi community find the perfect premium Divi themes, layouts, and plugins created by leading Divi developers and designers. That is the point. 11 Ingenious Ways To Get Out Of Plans, From A Professional Flake 3. Im a teacher and have been in charge of children during these drills. Cain gives introverts the tools to better understand themselves and take full advantage of their strengths. (I was not told there would be role-playing including people pretending to be people with ptsd or other mental illnesses who NEEDED TO BE NON VIOLENTLY RESTRAINED.
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