Published on 12, July, 2020
The first place I was in (full time contract) held a meeting between management and HR and said I could leave the job there and then and be paid for the three months notice I would have worked. I hated the environment in that place so I was glad to go. I was told in the past while in this job that I wasn't productive enough. I worked here just under a year,
The second place did not renew my 3 month temporary contract citing performance and quality issues. This does not make sense as I focus a lot on detail so the quality should at least have been good. Four other temporary staff were kept on after their contracts ended. Out of the 5 temporary people, I was the only one not kept on.
Is this a pattern that's going to keep repeating itself? Saddening if so. Do they see the aspergers and make excuses to get rid of me? I thought my work quality was far better than others who were more pally with management (in other words the *** lickers).
I have always found I need to keep starting again in life. I'm in my 30s and it's back to the drawing board.
I first had to do some re-evaluating before I even got into the workplace. My first university course, especially the lack of support in the course and the dealing with other people in the group environment, put me off the idea of going into such a workplace. So, I dropped out of the course, which was a programming course. Due to my circumstances, I never was given the opportunity to get into it at an early age, but it looked really interesting so I thought I'd apply to do it at university. As I say, the problem was both the support within the course and the people. The majority of the people on the course had been learning to program since early childhood. Come the group project, I couldn't deal with the group, which led to me dropping out of the course.
I then decided to go back to university to do accounting, which I ended up enjoying, and even thought that I could make a success out of the career.
Then came real life, real work and real people in the workplace. After years of hard work, proving myself (more often than not) more capable than a lot of other people where I was working, getting through professional qualifications off of my own back due to no support from my employer (which they promised to do when I joined), due to office politics, bullying, discrimination and a lot of other things because, for whatever reason they had decided on, I didn't fit in and I wasn't one of them.
So, having been through years of hell as well as trying to apply for other jobs, which led nowhere, and having felt like I had been trying to get past an obstacle that I was having to acknowledge I couldn't budge, I was slowly starting to accept reality. An agency worker, who I got on with, suggested that I should just get signed off with depression. I should also say that I have seen others mistreated by management who just disappear, so it was very much a cultural thing within the organisation. Out of a culture of fear, nobody challenged the managers and with those that left and complained, nothing was ever done. I concluded that I most likely wouldn't stand a chance against them and had no proof of their treatment of me, so saw little point in pursuing any sort of action against them. I just wanted to be out of there, so I did get signed off with depression and quit while I was signed off. I should note that I went on annual leave in order to get signed off so my employer wasn't expecting anything. It's about the only comfort I have, that my employer didn't know I was leaving and taking all my knowledge, skills and experience with me, which they would not have access to in order to get others trained up. I was told that the managers were struggling a lot after I left with the workload that I had left for them, which helped make me feel a bit better about some revenge.
So, in my 30s, re-evaluating life again. I was considering a change of career, going to college to get retrained and reskilled in the hopes that with all the stuff I had picked up from accountancy, with a bit of help I could probably look into starting up my own business. I should say that I was diagnosed shortly before leaving my job. I knew that reskilling and retraining in my 30s would be challenging but my options were limited - continue with a career that was getting me nowhere or try something different. Through some local support I was signposted to a volunteer site where I came across a local small company that dealt with finance, so I figured I'd contact them to provide me with something to do while I was trying to sort my life out. The local branch of a charity was also something I was signposted to, which ended up providing me with 6 months worth of funding for part time employment at the place where I was prepared to volunteer. At the end of those 6 months, the company employed me under the same terms and conditions. Sure, it's not perfect as I would like to be able to earn more money but I enjoy it there and have met a group of very nice and supportive people who acknowledge me and value for me for everything I bring to the organisation, who see me as a future leader of the organisation, who want to invest in me and provide me with opportunities though being a small company their resources are extremely limited.
Right now, this job works for me while I'm able to live with family who can support me, but I'm choosing to gamble that the company will grow and, in time, be able to offer me more. It's also a company that is built on values I agree with, with people there who strongly believe in those values. I see my growth and the company's growth as being interconnected and I want to be part of helping the company grow and become more than what it is right now.