Published on 12, July, 2020
There are times at work where I find myself sitting there not doing anything and it gets me down when it happens.
Some background:
I work for a large organisation. I work in the comms team, made up of about 15 people, some have left due to a re-shuffle. My job specifically is working with a press officer (let's call him Chuck!) who is visually impaired and needs someone to work with him. I'm the third assistant he's had, previous were both men.
My previous job was a social media, marketing esque job that I enjoyed but had to leave (I'll probably go into that another time) but I enjoyed the nature of the job. I liked the creative aspect of it.
I get to do some things that are somewhat creative. In particular we'll go take some photos or film people for a story and I enjoy the video side of it. I actually enjoy video editing, as time consuming as it can be! I also do some social media which can be fun, but also tedious.
But aside from that? It's... Fine, I guess. I prep a press release here and there, find a phone number, upload an already written blog post, spellcheck stuff. Not fulfilling for me.
There are some days (like today) where I have barely anything to do. If I do do something it's something that takes a minute. It makes me feel useless and not needed. On top of that it's boring and I feel unprofessional. I find myself scrolling through social media or doodling most of the time. It makes me uncomfortable.
This did lead me to have what I guess you would call a breakdown a few months ago. I'd been on hormonal medication that was making me feel off for a while but things just quickly escalated and I blew up. So they know it's an issue for me, but not much has been done about it. They also know I'm Autistic.
When I enjoy my job, I really do enjoy it. I like working with Chuck, I like (most) of my colleagues, I get to wear what I want (very important to me!) and so on.
I'm just wondering what I can do? It really does get me down when it happens. I wish the way I work could be different. There's no structure, I never know what I'm gonna do that day, which is not great for an Autistic person.
(Sorry I know this was long!!)
I am very like u when I have nothing to do I get anxious and bored.
I have 2 strategies
1. do online training - discuss with manager that this is ok or if there is a skill set needed by the company
2. look for opportunities within your company - is there not voluntary groups or social groups or charity raisers drives you could get involved in ?
hers some more stuff
3. Look at all aspects of your job, is there any processes u can improve on to save monay or time. if yes mention make a one page report and deliver it to your manager and see what happens.
4 the social media - can it be used to gain more customers ( or reach more ppl ). You could branch your current social media into a new one eg like from Facebook to Whatapp / Snapchat / Telegram
Thanks for the suggestions!
I have thought about doing some learning in my spare time, even if it isn't exactly work related... (i.e. learning the basics of Japanese!)
But I have been doing a lot of research into Autism and did think about trying to make my workplace more Autism friendly. I thought about maybe reaching out to others who might also be Autistic (I can't be the only one) and forming a small group and together finding ways to raise Autism awareness in the company. I dunno, just an idea.
I might try and up my social media game. I think that's my way of succeeding in this line of work. Even if I find social media very frustrating!... Maybe I should change careers...