Dealing with your boss while getting used to CPAP?

[benz42428]

As a consequence of me trying very hard to get used to CPAP, I have not been able to sleep much and I am technically a zombie in my lab (i am a grad student in science). In addition, I would like to not cause any accidents so I have been avoiding working on the bench. The problem is my boss was starting to get frustrated with my inefficiency, and he was not satisfied even after I explained that I am in a difficult phase. He seems to think that sleep apnea is all about "being sleepy" and should not have caused this much of inefficiency (he did not say this explicitly but i could tell from the tone). Now ,disgruntled, he allows me to take 3 weeks off to "sort it out" but I have a hunch that 3 weeks is probably not enough to start getting the benefits of the treatment. I plan to take the next semester off so he should not have a problem with that (he doesn't have to pay me when I am on leave). I am more worried about the several months between now and my official leave because I probably can't take anymore time off and yet I can't really work either.I just wonder if any has any suggestions on how to approach this problem (like anything I could say at all to raise his awareness of the severity of the sleep apnea, or any third-party that could involve). Also, if anyone can share experiences on how you deal with you lower efficiency at work while your CPAP acclimation is ongoing, I'll appreciate it! Thank you.

[sawinglogz]

You're dealing with a medical condition. There's going to be somebody in charge of HR at your organization who will be able to guide you. Find out who that is and talk with them. (Who did you give your payroll info to? Who provides your stipend checks?) They may say that you need to take leave now. But, if so, it should be in a way that doesn't jeopardize your academic record.

Your boss might be annoyed at your inability to get work done, and he might not take apnea seriously, but the bureaucracy will take it seriously and won't let it just be ascribed to "laziness". In many settings, HR will often coordinate a temporary change in responsibilities that suit your current abilities. I don't know exactly how that will work in grad school.

[oak]

There's going to be somebody in charge of HR at your organization who will be able to guide you.

Boy sawinglogz, i wish you had worked in my organization. In the organization I worked for, HR was not your friend.

I do wish you the best of luck. Just be prudent when dealing with HR as well as your boss.

It might be less contentious in a college situation, I dont know. Hope you are pleasantly surprised and they just give you something

different to do for a few weeks.

[kaiasgram]

benz, I was both a grad student and then on the teaching faculty at a Univ. of California campus for several years. The first place I would go in your situation is the Student Disability Center on campus to ask how to seek reasonable accommodations for this upcoming period of time that you're concerned about. Their job is to assist and advocate for students with various medical conditions so that the students can remain in school. As a lecturer I would have students bring me letters from the SDC explaining what specific accommodation they needed, usually extra time for exams, being able to use special devices or assistants for visually impaired, etc. As faculty we were expected to cooperate with the accommodations.

I don't know what they can do in terms of a grad student's employment (vs. helping them with accommodations for their academic work), but that is where I'd start.

[Wulfman...]

As a consequence of me trying very hard to get used to CPAP, I have not been able to sleep much and I am technically a zombie in my lab (i am a grad student in science). In addition, I would like to not cause any accidents so I have been avoiding working on the bench. The problem is my boss was starting to get frustrated with my inefficiency, and he was not satisfied even after I explained that I am in a difficult phase. He seems to think that sleep apnea is all about "being sleepy" and should not have caused this much of inefficiency (he did not say this explicitly but i could tell from the tone). Now ,disgruntled, he allows me to take 3 weeks off to "sort it out" but I have a hunch that 3 weeks is probably not enough to start getting the benefits of the treatment. I plan to take the next semester off so he should not have a problem with that (he doesn't have to pay me when I am on leave). I am more worried about the several months between now and my official leave because I probably can't take anymore time off and yet I can't really work either. I just wonder if any has any suggestions on how to approach this problem (like anything I could say at all to raise his awareness of the severity of the sleep apnea, or any third-party that could involve). Also, if anyone can share experiences on how you deal with you lower efficiency at work while your CPAP acclimation is ongoing, I'll appreciate it! Thank you.

You NEED to get a note from your doctor stating your diagnosis and that you're in the process of trying to get your therapy underway.........and present that to your HR department (or the equivalent) and (probably) to your supervisor.
That may buy you some time. But, you'll need to get serious and diligent with getting successful with your therapy. There are (or were) certain things about Sleep Apnea that have been covered by the ADA, but in reality, if your therapy is underway and you're doing well with it, you shouldn't have to rely on that. You also need to express your sincerity about your efforts with your supervisors and/or superiors where you work. If you've been a worthwhile employee in the past, you may have a decent chance of staying off their "sh*t list".

I speak of this from experience.

Please list your machine and pressure settings in your profile. That will be a great benefit to those who are trying to help you on the forum.


Den

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[Sheriff Buford]

I read your thread and pondered it all day. In addition to what Wulfman said, I would direct my attention to getting therapy to work as quickly as possible. Turn your attention that way... Make sure you are comfortable with your mask (if not.. there are dozens to choose from). Make sure your leak rates are low. Be sure to wear the mask all night and monitor your progress. As many of us, I went thru fighting this dreadful disease until I was blessed with cpap treatment. I was determine to make it work and I am a better man, spouse (but don't as the wife... ), dad (don't ask the kids), granddad and cop (don't as the bad guys ).

Sheriff

[Diggah]

I wish you luck, I've had my share of difficult bosses. If safety is a concern; I would take the position that it's better to walk off the job than it is to put yourself and/or others in harm's way.

Unless you're doing research in a level 4 biological weapons facility; in which case you kinda lost the moral high ground back you took the job.