Published on 12, July, 2020
That's me, 100%. Thankfully I managed to find a way to keep HR off my back
love this
It is a reasonable adjustment your employer can make as per the equality act which covers all autistic people in the work place. I am given the choice on whether I take part or not so it relieves my anxiety and means I take part on my terms.
I didn't have that opt out option. Indeed had to endure a severe insult from the parent of one employee.
I echo what it means to you which is why I chose work that required my undivided attention to the exclusion of others.
This is so spot on, my employer loves the forced fun social team building events, but fortunately they have given me an option to opt out as a reasonable adjustment.
God yes this is so true. I would add the forced fun social team building events, my employer loves them.
I'm bad at chit chat. My brain seems to go blank trying to offer original thoughts or opinions. I much prefer to follow somone's thread and possibly interject an appropriate comment based upon personal experiences or my own knowledge base. My conversational momentum quickly dries up leaving me in an awkward silence.
I don't mind a little small talk with a VERY few colleagues (basically two older blokes who are OK).
I only have one person in my life from a workplace who I consider a friend. My friendship group is very separate from my work life and always has been.
My job involves 90% working solo away from the office. I will chit chat with 'customers' once I get to know them.
This is extremely me haha
Same.
When I was working briefly I went for money to survive.
The very bottom one resinated with me - I don't go to work to make friends!
Team building events are right up there on my priority list along with doing extra hours without pay, month end stock takes, trying to cover absences, and satisfying customers who want their order yesterday.
My role is production team leader. Half office and half shop floor. I'm lucky that my boss is out on the road a lot so most of the time I have the small office to myself. When I have to deal with production staff I mask up and my alter ego does what needs to be done to get through each day. It's absolutely exhausting for me, and most nights I come home, go for a walk, have some food, then fall asleep in front of the TV because I can't keep my eyes open. I stick at it because it's my only real link to other humans and I fear that if I stopped working I would become a complete recluse. I can't say I enjoy it much while I'm there but it sort of 'normalises' me, which means different things to different people but I know what it means to me.
1000% YES. Every day.
Amazing and yes absolutely.
I would add: the email that arrives from your manager who has excitedly organised an annual team day. A big get together of 100% face to facing, notjing to do but talk.
I've nearly quit before to avoid those
I used to be a multiskilled factory engineer. No office politics, mucho money, many machineries to fix. Too bad that I cannot do that anymore
I could not hold down a desk job owing to office politics. I recognised my limitation well before entering the job market many years ago. I am now retired after having spent my worklife applying my accumulated skills either on the shop floor where uninterupted focus was required around rotating machinery, or working for myself as a one man band offering an outdoor service to the public where contact was minimalised.
Add:Made an enormous number of Outlook rules and automated answers to avoid interacting as much as possible with humans.Working from home, same reason.Manipulated the ticketing system to have the highest quantity of tickets that does not require human interaction.Successfully petitioned to be assigned to the late shift. I end up alone for 50% of the time.
I would add - Bombards everyone with emails because I really don't want to talk to them face to face or on the phone because I might inadvertently tell them what I really think of them.