I had a tough year at work this past year.  About half way through it, I was dx'd with OSA. I'd been exhausted, irritable, forgot things, couldn't/didn't pay attention to detail, etc.  Once I got my CPAP, life improved greatly.  Then I got my review last week. They told me no raise because I'd been exhausted, irritable, forgot things, couldn't/didn't pay attention to detail, etc.  I work in a law firm so I have to bill a certain number of hours each year.  Opinions, please-- would getting a letter from my doc help me when I have another review in 90 days, as in "she wouldn't have screwed up so much if she hadn't had OSA, now with treatment she's improved hasn't she?".  Not to mention the whole ADA aspect of it.  Tx.

i expect next review will be much better and you will get the raise

Idiot Savante Goddess wrote:

I had a tough year at work this past year.  About half way through it, I was dx'd with OSA. I'd been exhausted, irritable, forgot things, couldn't/didn't pay attention to detail, etc.  Once I got my CPAP, life improved greatly.  Then I got my review last week. They told me no raise because I'd been exhausted, irritable, forgot things, couldn't/didn't pay attention to detail, etc.  I work in a law firm so I have to bill a certain number of hours each year.  Opinions, please-- would getting a letter from my doc help me when I have another review in 90 days, as in "she wouldn't have screwed up so much if she hadn't had OSA, now with treatment she's improved hasn't she?".  Not to mention the whole ADA aspect of it.  Tx.

Hi, oh and welcome to the forum!

You might want to check out the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section topic about this, using this link:
Click here for link

Dealing with an employer can be a difficult.  There are things to consider.  Have you informed your employer verbally that you've begun treatment for OSA?
It really is a difficult call.  Some people feel that as long as you are improving from your treatment that there is no need to inform your employer about both your condition and your treatment, and there are good reasons to use this approach.  In my case, I ended up having my doctor produce a letter informing my employer of my condition, my treatment and my significant improvements with the cpap treatment.  I was threatened that the next time I nod off, I'd be terminated.  So I felt an immediate need to inform my employer.  I worried that I might slip and nod again maybe once, and hoped that the doctor's note would make them hesitate at any further action.  I never did not off, and they appeared to be giving me a break because of it.  But you can't always tell.  And since no one at my office was getting raises, it was hard to judge.

There can be a stigma associated with this condition, IMHO.  My doctor warned me about that too, and he carefully crafted the letter.  If your job is such where you might change to a position which involves company vehicles, you might not get that position because of the perceived albeit unfounded risk.  They might not can you for issues of exhaustion, etc., but they might look harder for reasons to let you go or keep you from getting ahead.  My thinking (again only my opinion) is that if your employer is a large company with a big responsible Human Resources department used to dealing with all types of employees, chances are they dealt with this before with other employees who had OSA, and a doctors note might be taken seriously.  But I cannot say for sure.  If your employer is already aware you specifically have OSA, then it might (I say "might") be good to provide a doctor's note describing your improvement.  But think it over long and hard before you decide what to do, IMHO.

Good luck.


Linda

Here’s the ugly truth from my side of the desk.

A good review (looking back) exposes performance (rating) while an evaluation sets the scene (present) to plan your career (future).  If you told me you had OSA and left it at that I would expect poor performance in the future.  Like it or not folks …. This is the real world.

No matter how good your excuse is if I were getting less than my cost I would do something about it.  I can get rid of you or I can anticipate improvement.  If you told me what your improvement plans are (CPAP etc) and you committed and I thought your plan would bring you to “as expectedâ€� or “betterâ€� then we have a deal for the future.

Believe me, a letter from the doc means little to me.  Commitment and performance from you are the only things I’m looking for.  Here’s what the letter means ….. she’s been sick, so her performance falls.  I don’t feel any better.  When you get going with your therapy and you really feel better start acting like a deranged animal, make me notice you once again.

Once you’re back in the driver’s seat approach me and let’s talk about that last performance review.


_________________
Success Nourishes Hope

Idiot Savante Goddess wrote:

I had a tough year at work this past year.  About half way through it, I was dx'd with OSA. I'd been exhausted, irritable, forgot things, couldn't/didn't pay attention to detail, etc.  Once I got my CPAP, life improved greatly.  Then I got my review last week. They told me no raise because I'd been exhausted, irritable, forgot things, couldn't/didn't pay attention to detail, etc.  I work in a law firm so I have to bill a certain number of hours each year.  Opinions, please-- would getting a letter from my doc help me when I have another review in 90 days, as in "she wouldn't have screwed up so much if she hadn't had OSA, now with treatment she's improved hasn't she?".  Not to mention the whole ADA aspect of it.  Tx.

Been there, done that and have the T shirt.
Flippant, but I am sorry to hear of your plight.
I used to work for a large multi national and before diagnosis my performance took a major dive, after years of being a top performer (near enough anyway). Needless to say I got a rough time, which was exacerbated by the fact that I hadn't a clue what was going on. Once I got diagnosed and became compliant with cpap things improved, but I found it hard to forgive my employers for the way I was treated. I negotiated a good severance package, which included full defined benefit pension for life. Thankfully, by then, I was back in the groove and fit to negotiate the deal.

Enough of me. I'm not sure of the position in the US, but would suggest a letter, as you suggested, on your file would have to carry a fair bit of weight. The wording is crucial, after all you don't want to be dumped as an invalid. Words such as fully compliant with therapy, performance should not drop and maybe a sting, such as, your doctor was surprised that a law firm had not made enquiries into the drop in performance, which was clearly due to a medical condition  :lol:

You have sorted out your health issue, now it's time to sort out the job and get the rises due to you.

Best of luck.

Daniel


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

I'm a college administrator and supervise a division of faculty. Over the past 5 years, I have had the pleasure and frustration of leading two women who invariably would fall asleep at practically every division meeting.

That was bad enough, but often they would accompany me to a meeting with the college president, they would end up nodding off. I can honestly say that every time I would take either or both of them to a meeting, I always had a fear that they would snore during the meeting and I spent most of my time nudging them under the table. It's distracting, embarassing, unprofessional, and a pain. And, if it was an "in-house" meeting (one with the division only) it was extremely frustrating to conduct an informational session and have two people sound asleep at the conference table.

Fast forward five years and I am in a recovery room after a rather routine surgery having the wildest ride of my life with falling O2 rates and unable to "come out of the anesthesia." I am diagnosed with OSA and sent to a sleep clinic where they slap a mask on me exactly one hour and twenty minutes into the study. I share this information with both of the women and one goes to her internist and ends up having a sleep study, getting on CPAP, and working toward improving her health. She no longer falls asleep. She has new life and vigor twoards her work. The other hasn't done anything to improve the quality of her life. Her eyes still roll to the back of her head while the CEO is gving the "state of the college" address; I still have to position myself close to her in order to nudge her back to wakefulness during committee meetings. She is MIA when it comes to any work project that lasts more than 20 minutes while she is seated.

In a few months I will be doing a review of both women. Which one do you think will get the superior rating?

Obviously I have compassion concerning this issue... I know what it feels like to be brain dead by 11AM and to struggle professioanlly with efficiency and effectiveness due to a sleep disorder. I also understand about the frustration with compliance, !@#! masks, unresponsive DMEs, feelings of hopelessness when thinking about the longevity of this disorder, and resentment about how much of one's life becomes directed toward health care management. I also know the splendor of having a real night's sleep after a long drought and what it feels like to wake up without that throb in the front of your head that feels like the weight of the world.

The bottom line is you are responsible for your own health and for doing what it takes to bring the very best you into a work environment. Are we required to accommodate health care issues... of course we are... but there's that word "reasonable" included in the law. And it is reasonable for your employer to except you to be awake at work. There is technology that will help with that.

On your personal time, do what you can to bring the very best you to work. This means a strict sleep hygiene regimine and compliance with whatever it takes to get you to peak performance. Personally, I agree with Daniel... I would be very careful about what any documentation said and I wouldn't go that route unless I had no other avenue. But a lot of this depends on your relationship with your supervisor and the organization's overall attitude/culture concerning employees.

Best of luck to you... and remember... this isn't the only job in the world... it's just the job you have right now. The most important thing in all of this is your health and improving it step by step... when that happens... work performance will improve regardless of where you work.

Idiot Savante Goddess wrote:

I had a tough year at work this past year.  About half way through it, I was dx'd with OSA. I'd been exhausted, irritable, forgot things, couldn't/didn't pay attention to detail, etc.  Once I got my CPAP, life improved greatly.  Then I got my review last week. They told me no raise because I'd been exhausted, irritable, forgot things, couldn't/didn't pay attention to detail, etc.  I work in a law firm so I have to bill a certain number of hours each year.  Opinions, please-- would getting a letter from my doc help me when I have another review in 90 days, as in "she wouldn't have screwed up so much if she hadn't had OSA, now with treatment she's improved hasn't she?".  Not to mention the whole ADA aspect of it.  Tx.

I would take a wait and see attitude. Why would you mention your OSA now and not prior -- you could have just as easily notified you employer during the time you were having difficulties, and noted you were seeking treatment. Instead, now you received a bad review and you want to play "Its not my fault game".

Now, had you received a good review would you have turned it down and said, "You know, I been having problems and I now am being treated, however, I don't deserve a good review" Maybe you would, maybe you wouldn't.

Just as it took time to get treatment, take the next 90 days to treat your career.

My .02 worth which is probably .02 too much...


_________________
My Kinda town Chicago is



Nothing in life is guaranteed, not even taxes -- you have to make money to get money back

Hi,
I've been in this position myself, so I can only share my experience.

I found myself in a position of being abruptly transferred from one position to another with very little warning, and did not know what to make of it.  I was told only that I was needed in this other area (which happened to be in another building and near the deputy director of our division).  I was confused, but took the change at face value.

Part of this change involved an exit review with my old boss.  She gave me my review, but became uncomfortable when rating for "work habits" and told me that I now had a rating of "Improvement Expected" which surprised me greatly because I had always had very good reviews.  After some questioning, she told me that she was not supposed to mention it, but felt I had a right to know, that the deputy director had received a complaint about me falling asleep in meetings, and he wanted me nearby where he could keep an eye on me and "take care of the situation".  I was shaken up, because I had no idea that this had been happening, although in retrospect, I could see I had symptoms.  I was very grateful to this supervisor for being honest with me (the deputy director was a real jerk), and at a doctor's appointment the next day, mentioned the situation.  After a lot of questions, he referred me to a sleep study, which found severe OSA (54/hour) and I got on CPAP right away, which made a world of difference.  It scared me that I was driving my three kids around a lot, and anything could have happened.

After my diagnosis, I did tell both my old boss and my new one about my situation, and both were very understanding about it.  It worked out for the best, because even though I liked my old boss, the new one is just fantastic to work for, and I couldn't be happier.  My most recent rating is "highly successful".  Fortunately, the "jerk" is now gone too, so I don't have anyone monitoring me, but I haven't had any real problems either.  

So my experience was good, but maybe not all bosses are as great as mine.  I do think, though, that it was a good thing to just level with the boss, and sit down and let them know that although there was a problem, you are aware of it and doing everything you can to make it better.