excuses to get out of drill weekend excuses to get out of drill weekend

This pretty much forces your boss to explain his awful thinking. You never know when that may be useful. same, but I would leave early on the day before because of said flu/stomach bug/whatever, take off sick the day of the training, and take off the next day, too, to avoid the followup chatter around the office, and maybe mitigate some of the where were you, you missed its. 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. Youll get a free pass. 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. I don't know how it was in the reserves, but in the Nasty Guard you had to make up the time and have a damn good exscuse. We had a minor fire in our building when it was new, and management discovered the hard way that the alarms didnt sound on most of the 6 floors. I feel similarly to the O0: If it had been an active shooter drill I would have eaten the takeout. 5. 4) Events start to fade, we dont want to be known by that one day, we can slack off on training. Well have to reschedule another time Im afraid! Best practice is to allow people to opt out, for any reason. The day she got back to the office, there was news of multiple mass shootings in the States and she was so unaffected. And then if they pushed back, Id advise my staff to call out that day and I wouldnt question it. Often, the employees are the main reason why employees quiet quit their job. Im very sorry. Basically it was a whole thing staged as if some classmates had gotten in a car with a drunk driver and died, involving the local law enforcement, paramedics, etc., and framed as if it was actually happening and not a drill. I escaped HS 2 years before columbine was 8.5 mo preggo during SandyHook. So our poor security guard is stuck with trying to clear the error before the fire department responds. If youve been in the Army for more than a year, you know that every unit has their own unique traditions. Sadly, its not a very exclusive club. Ive seen plenty of law enforcement response to school additions. These drills get elaborate heck, the one at the middle school in my town a few weeks ago had a police helicopter overhead so that the kids knew thatd be a standard thing in the event of a real shooter. I work in a clinic that serves LGBTQ+ patients and I live in a state that is very second amendment and extremely not LGBTQ+ friendly. 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. Unfortunately, David is your work colleague, and this party is a big deal for him. My blood boils thinking about it. 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. 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. Please stand firm on the accommodations that you need. So, maybe next time? It was a no-brainer to help them with the very small procedural hurdle to opt out. With a subscription you get 24/7, unlimited access to over 13,000 business, design & tech online courses and with a free month. What are your suggestions for educators and/or students who have to do these trainings, especially those who have been affected by a real situation? My school responded with were going to ring the fire alarm at X time, dont go outside, its too cold and this is ridiculous anyway. Thankfully it was a cold winter and after a few temperature reports to whoever mandated it and a lot of angry parents (especially at other schools who did make kids stand outside on a day that was probably -10F), that stopped. Three cups of black coffee and a gas station burrito will do the trick, too. Most of the employees on campus did not directly participate, but many of us had to complete a very very long online training. Yeah, do an internet search for Catholic Charities and active shooter. Seemed irrelevant at the time, became surprisingly useful 15yrs later when covid showed up. Culture Federal law and regulation have the greatest protective impact on a "veteran" who is now attending school . A person can seem nice on the surface without actually being a truly caring and empathetic person. My direct boss fought it and tried to get me excused, but her boss was firm that it was required. They don't call us a generation of flakes for nothing. 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. Most workplace active shooters are targeted. Im so sorry you had to go through that. Sotraveling, without one, is not a good option even if traveling means going across two blocks. i hope you get out of this smoothly op! Even though technically I graduated from HS pre-Columbine, guess what? Hi there! :D, https://www.fox4news.com/news/officer-shot-during-active-shooter-training-forest-hill, https://www.kios.org/news/2022-08-25/arrest-follows-active-shooter-drill-gone-wrong, https://www.securityinfowatch.com/healthcare/news/21277863/three-more-nurses-sue-adventhealth-over-faked-active-shooting. No sense in reminding them of the futility of it all on a monthly basis as well. Make sure you have a plan for how youll cover these expenses before you sign up. 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? I really hope this changes some day in the US. Heres where it gets a little morally ambiguous. Why the hell did you make so many freakin plans? consider that he might be telling the truth. Thats about all you can do to prepare for such a horrifying, unpredictable event. You already know so much more about what to do in this instance than any of us Olds who didnt do this in school. The five most popular were: golf, basketball, baseball/softball, soccer, and running. Wed sooner head for somewhere in Europe or Australia (where we have no ties) first. I know your boss is a big influence in your life/career now but he wont be there forever. It's almost perfect. It should be the same level of training they get for things like earthquakes, fires, or hazardous weather: how to recognize a situation that requires action, where you go to evacuate/shelter and what to do if a problem arises, how/who do you notify. But the elderly retired people didnt evacuate, even the ones who can do stairs. Along with multiple growth options, free site transfers and domains, built-in Content Delivery Network integrations, WordPress support, AND human support we wouldn't go to anyone else. The storeroom was in the basement, where the ceiling was low enough for me to reach without standing on tiptoe. (Enough Benadryl cures the symptoms, so I could have been better by the evening), I chickened out. Even if you cant shoot as often as youd like, its important to keep your marksmanship skills sharp. Sick of this a-hole you work for! I mostly worked the busy evening shift anyway because I was at college during the day, so there was always someone else who could go instead of me. What action should OP expect to be taken, as a result of this call? I graduated high school a few years before Columbine, but can still completely empathize with what people who are younger than me have been through. I got upset, started crying, and had to ask to leave. Just call in sick that day. Are they tenants in a building that is having this training for all businesses? No?). Shorter, optional training for those who have not had experience could be useful for those who might need to think through where they would go and how to react. Even so, the vast majority of cops who do carry spend their whole career without firing a shot except on the range. Were going to have people sit in a conference room and a deputy will speak. Sometimes you just dont want to go to event and thats okay, we get it. Just remember, an employer or client doesn't have to accept these excuses. How do you say no to working on a weekend?. But I like a little theatre. theres nothing we can really do about it, We can, but we wont, because US Americans generally refuse to take responsibility. You should not have to traumatize yourself at work. All-day first aid training? A teacher friend told me shes never been so proud and so sad as when one of her students went to the supply closet and distributed scissors and protractors to his classmates during a suspected active shooter event. Anything for a buck is pretty disgusting sometimes. So a UTA 4 would be four drill periods. excuses to get out of drill weekend Literally had preschool orientation for the older one the month after to the day. His work has been featured in Medium, WikiHow and Chron and is currently authoring his new book on overcoming procrastination and achieving goals. I worked in a call center. I bet some dudebro with delusions of heroism thinks it is a cool idea. Just another site. And thats not even including all the training around dealing with bomb threat callers, with angry patients/family members, with weapons, with baby/child abduction, etc. 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). Alerting system for all employees and associated people created. Anyone else attending Berklee College of Music? OP, Im sorry you have to deal with this. My youngest told me as an incoming kindergartner that she shouldnt but the cool light up shoes for school. For context, I work at a facility that stores large quantities of hazardous materials. It is also a less confrontational and frightening way to approach those issues, putting the onus to explain on him rather than on you. have to leave your house if they say yes. I really cant imagine what benefit they are to adults. 3. Im 38 now and I still think about that day with anxiety and sadness. Id like to nominate this man for worst boss of the year for this sentence ALONE. I will have to miss 1.5 days of the conference to make it to drill on time. For additional context, I am the only woman in my very small department at a larger organization, which overwhelmingly skews much older. Anyone who schedules a 7 hour mass shooting drill is not right in their head. should I be so emotionally drained by managing? Failure to call before you miss your drill weekend or immediately thereafter is considered an unexcused absence by the military. Maybe Congress should have active shooter drills, too. Would a forklift operator be able to opt out of forklift classes on the same grounds? You Have a Doctor's Appointment 3. Echoing others concern about this training being from a valid source. And your supervisor is totally wrong about saying that you cant handle it and are weak. Not the building burning down. SEVEN hours??? Thank you for sharing this; Im sorry that this has to be a continued topic and continued trauma. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "adc1af5dd80e55ae1e3f646224ebba55" );document.getElementById("a603c4a483").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Subscribe to all comments on this post by RSS, Email (Optional will display your Gravatar). I hope LW is able to realize his insensitivity is plenty of cause for reconsidering her stance on him and using all her effort to pushback on such terrible behavior from him. The Drill Army Reserves is not active duty, so you wont be deployed overseas or see combat. I told her that going forward, I would like the opportunity to work remotely on the days of drills or just use my leave entirely and she seemed open to it. I am happy to review written materials, but I will not be participating in a simulation., Other language you could have on-hand to use if necessary: This isnt about mild discomfort. A seven hour training is rediculous, even actual drills for emergency services dont last that long. I HATED that we had to do these trainings it felt like being given a band-aid for a hemorrhage. Thats insane. Its one of the reasons (not the only one, but one nonetheless) I dont teach anymore. Hes that cavalier about mass mayhem?? You dont know how you will react until you are in a situation, but a one-time seven hour LARPing of a horrible situation will not help you and certainly can traumatize you. I dont remember anyone ever failing a fire drill, but I definitely went home that day with the impression that wed failed this one. Hey, apologies for flaking, but my babysitter just called and told me she couldnt make it today. Theres just not that much to cover. I am well into Gen X and we did an active shooter training and I hated every moment of it. Oddly enough I think my boss would have been receptive to the OPs situation and absolutely understood if an active shooter drill was too much for some people but she would have never understood my objection to the mandatory fun (which she was super excited about). I was in a lockdown at a conference at a university. Im in my late 40s and Columbine happened very late in HS for me so I must admitId be a person who would not have anticipated this reaction. The active shooter training was performative and to tick off an insurance requirement. Turned out that was the best way to surround himself with friends to help remind him he was safe. Last time, it was 7 AM and only about 10% of the tenants evacuated. I didnt read through all of the comments, so perhaps this is addressed upthread. It turned out nobody really cared that I wasnt able to make it to the training and nobody mentioned it ever again so hopefully your absence will be a non-issue. Good luck! (They literally had us hiding in our offices while the public was still in our spaces creating a safety hazard while doing safety training!) Its not a video game. Wtaf. Im betting that this company/boss wants to feel like they are doing something to address the problem and keep their employees safe, but really all it does is make them feel better about themselves. You need to see that your fear is that a single instance will make you one of the people he isnt nice to, and that is terrifying. 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. 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. I have to do the Run, Hide, Fight video at work. Security performance theater indeed. Tell them how you were all dressed up for this party, but at the last moment, you found out that your car tire is punctured. Im so sorry. I had to sit through one video active shooter training at work several years ago, and that was bad enough. Theyre homeschooling now. The drills at my college last about 15-20 minutes. Thanks, Onward. You can only use this one if its raining there. You could also make up a fake relative, or say that you knew someone who died in x major shooting event. Also on the 7th floor so its not like we could break a window. Oh and he made the video on his phone! I left the room and the trainer told me if I didnt participate I wouldnt pass the course. Next time you see them, just say it was a false alarm and it got better all of a sudden. I spent a little time thinking about what I would do if we were robbed. 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). how do I get out of an active-shooter drill at my office? I work in an academic library. or is there something unique about this type of training? A colleague is American and was home over the Christmas holidays. Here are some valid excuses for missing drill: 1. I once worked in a building owned by a community college even though my office was unaffiliated with the college, and we would go into lockdown when the rest of the community college did so.) Nope , its not. This is one of the saddest things that Ive ever read online. I guess they need more real time training.. Thankfully my boss was fantastic and made sure I didnt have to attend an actual training. If he doubles down, especicially on the threatening to goad a potential shooter to shoot you instead (seriously wtf?!?!?) For the most part, the training most people will need in an active shooter situation will much less than a day people might have to hide for hours in a real event but Im not sure how much actually hiding adds to watching a five minute video. I think theyre useful, Ive seen them work. If you needed proof that these idiots have not clue, this is it. Everytown has some resources regarding that as well. Im actually a SME in this area and you are so unbelievably incorrect. For more information, please see our Earnings Disclosure. This goes on your permanent military record and can affect your career negatively. 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. Ugh, so sorry OP this is a terrible idea on your companys part. My heart goes out to you, OP. Im just old enough to have gotten out of high school with very minimal active shooter type worries. I hope youre well. Hell yeah, why not. No?). If you also skip the second cup of coffee your ability to be perky and focused will fade through the day (confirming that the dreaded no makeup flu is getting worse!) The number of are you feeling ok questions made me never skip it again. If Rainy Day was stressed by the drill, think of how they would have felt. This means there needs to be a fair balance between times where you work, rest, and do what makes you happy. Empowering for LW, maybe. While I was there no one was ever hurt, and no one brought a weapon onto the property (one person was once apprehended with a weapon in the parking lot by police while trying to come in), but the callousness of upper-management was galling. 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. And I absolutely think you should do the same. Nothing can really prepare you for this. Woke up this morning for drill and my car would not start. She realized after they should not have made those jokes where I could hear them (though I understand you sometimes need dark humor to deflect your own discomfort). I think Alisons language about what to say to your boss is really useful. Perhaps we could reschedule. You were asked to attenda raging, booze-filled pub crawlon Friday? I asked for active shooter training at my current workplace because our current safety training is very spotty think staff not knowing the nearest exits or how to lock doors. We finally did get robbed. Im sorry, but its an all-day event? Yet this person always wants the group to come up with brilliant ideas to keep people from having normal human accidents, such as twisting their ankle or getting a door slammed on their hand by some other careless person. I was 5th grade when Columbine happened, young enough my parents tried to keep us away from it, old enough I knew everything anyway. I mean, there are so many reasonable and sensible and logical ways to respond to being told to toughen up, and theyre all better than this, but sometimes If youre making me do this I want it in writing that when I forget this is a drill and deck somebody you pay my legal bills and I dont face any disciplinary action whatsoever is the way to their dear little dinosaur brains. Call out sick. Hey [Name], sorry I can't make your party tonight. You can ask to be excused from drilling at that point. For more information, please see our Except the trainings are ongoing so new employees can take them and so we keep getting emails.