Published on 12, July, 2020
I posted this on previous Discussion, but wanted to share it because yes, it took a very kind work coach to explain this theory to me at the age of 24 and if anyone can read it i hope that his theory brings you a little bit of relief why your previous employment situation have ended up with you being Fired, Managed out and bullied until you had to quit work so please Join the club of employment disasters and share your stories and theory.
My Work coach tried explaining to me the reason why i keep getting fired, managed out and bullied to point of physical harm which gave me little relief. Basically he said that the reason i keep getting into these negative situation is because i am so desperate for getting employed i take the first employment opportunity available without questioning why the company employing me are so desperate for staff.
He then went on about how bad work environments are the normal because bad management or bad managers have worked out a system that separates people into four main groups to make their life easier.
(Group 1) The workers who are competent at their job and don't cause their managers problems.
(Group 2) The workers who are not competent at their job and don't cause their managers problems.
(Group 3) The workers who are competent at their job and complain and cause their managers problems.
(Group 4) The Worker who are not competent at their job and complain and cause their managers problems.
The work coach then stated to me that only (Group 1) and (Group 2) succeed in the workplace because (Group 1) Works themself silly to make up for (Group 2) lack of competence or poor work ethic but because the manager/Supervisor is not being pestered and the work getting done they Don't really care. This usually leaves (Group 2) with excess energy because they are not using their energy to work and complete tasks so they cause drama and problems for other staff members usually (Group 3) and (Group 4).
The work coach then went on to explain to me why this sort of work environment is bad is because (Group 2) will usually feel intimidated by anyone new that would otherwise be considered (Group 1) because they will show up and make (Group 2) look more incompetent. which is bad for workplace morale and productivity. but as long as manager/Supervisor are not be bothered they allow it to happen because interviewing and hiring is easier than dealing with (Group 2) because it takes more effort and continued effort eliminate (Group 2) from the workplace.
The work coach then went on to say how people in (Group 1) moves on to another workplace that is isn't poorly managed and (Group 2) usually progresses to manager and supervisor in the same workplace where the cycles continues and occasionally the (Group 2) manager/supervisor folds under the pressure and quits or get fired for incompetence.
the work coach went on to say that most autistic people fall in either (Group 1) OR (Group 3) because the autistic individual become a threat to (Group 2) because we unintentionally show them up by just getting on with work/task which leads to the autistic individuals being bullied at work by (Group 2). We autistic individuals then have a choice and it's usually an unfair one. we then have to make choice to report the bullying and become a classed as (Group 3) and then get fired, Managed out or we continue with the workplace harassment and bullying to keep our status as a (Group 1) but end up quitting or becoming physical harmed or disfigured.
The Work coach then told me that most entry level jobs are poorly managed and because i'm autistic and i haven't had the opportunity to pursue a specialized interest through education and training that i'm going to go through this cycle over and over again. He then told me because of this reason i should stop applying for work because these poorly managed employment opportunities would automatically put me in (Group 3) if i asked for any reasonable adjustment.
I sometime feel stupid because it took a work coach to explain this to me, i genuinely didn't understand why i kept having the same problem with curtain people within the workplace and why they kept targeting me.
This is really interesting I've never heard of this before but it really makes workplace dynamics make a lot more sense! At the only job I've ever managed to stick at long enough to notice patterns like these it seems that I'm usually a group 3 immediately because I work hard but need lots of help getting used to the job and struggle to just get on with it like I'd prefer to. Group 2 however always wants to reel me in! And it's tough, I moved around different areas of the hospital I worked at because of this issue where the group 2 types would always want more people in their group, I assume so that they felt less bad about not bothering to work and more people on their side of it means if they get in trouble or caught slacking they can be like "oh but they all do it too!" All well and good til someone tries to refuse (like I did on a few areas, hence having to move), because then they feel threatened, as if I'm going to go and report them for slacking because I personally don't want to. This is where it always gets ugly though because like I said earlier I need help at times so I can get slow at work some days when the executive functioning issues are rife and I'm struggling to multitask, I'll occasionally need a moment to just stop and think and recharge so that my brain will work. THAT'S when the group 2's strike usually, and start reporting and gossiping about me "slacking" *eyeroll*
Forgot to add my few experiments with giving into the group 2's trying to recruit me, they didn't go well either lolI tried to basically condense my work into the few hours they would leave me alone so that I could be like "oh sure" when they asked if I wanted to stand outside with them for ages doing nothing. I was overworked, and no matter how well my own work was done I would always be lumped into the scolding that came from managers and other staff telling off everyone who stood outside for agesThere's no winning really if you're someone who doesn't neatly fit into group 1 imo, so it's tough. I guess it's a case of trying to find those rare workplaces with better management. Would not recommend getting a job in the NHS though, this sort of division and bad management is sooooo common in a lot of sectors of work in the NHS