Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I am currently looking for a job, before I intend to start university next year. The thing is, I have not been able to hold a job for more than 6 months and they have all been pretty disastrous. I am highly capable of completing tasks within the job, however I have endured a lot of bullying and I am terrified to go back into employment. I have only recently been diagnosed with autism, and haven’t had a job since then. I want to approach professionals on LinkedIn to perhaps get some work experience in the field I am wanting to go into, but I feel embarrassed in case I get overwhelmed and leave on bad terms. Does anyone have any advice? I have also heard people on here talk about an employment support worker, could anyone give me information on this?
thank you
Bullying will be present in every single workplace in all your life. I have been in the workforce for 35 years, and I have never seen a place with no bullying. The only difference is the way you will be bullied. In an office environment, will be passive aggressive comments and snotty behaviour (it will go over your head, so no worry). In a construction yard, it will be more like this (NSFW):
GLASGOW ROOFER FAIL - YouTube
Get used to bullying, mate.
Dear NAS88738,
Thank you for sharing this with our community.
Our employment pages include information and advice on looking for an applying for a job. We also have a webpage offering information and support on in your rights at work, dealing with bullying and interacting and coping at work.
You can also find a free online ‘Finding Employment’ module on our website. This module is designed to help autistic job seekers entering the job market in understanding their strengths and what next steps they could take towards gaining meaningful employment or work.
Our Spectrum Live online series also features an episode discussing employment, this can be found here.
Evenbreak matches disabled job seekers with employers to build a diverse workforce. You can visit the Evenbreak website for listed job vacancies. The British Association of Supported Employment (BASE), have a database of supported employment agencies, so you can search for one in your local area.
Maximus offer a range of employability programmes throughout the UK, Including, programmes for disabled people who are struggling to find work.
Our current employment and volunteering opportunities with The National Autistic Society are listed on our vacancies page. We particularly welcome applications from autistic people.
Thank you. I hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Eunice Mod
Thank you so much! This is really helpful information to have to help me move forward.
Ah thank you for this information! I was looking for something short term before going to university, but have struggled in customer facing jobs before so I’m not too sure to be honest.
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NAS88738 said: I am highly capable of completing tasks within the job, however I have endured a lot of bullying and I am terrified to go back into employment.
It looks like the bullying is the key issue for you but on the bright side, bullying is something the majority of employers will be able to do something about.
When you get a job then include your autism diagnosis when completing the employee info form that you do in your first day. Since it does not affect your ability to work then my approach would be to ask your boss and HR to give you an option to let them know if you are experiencing the beginnings of bullying as it is something that is anxiety triggering for you.
You need to keep this all in written form for you can keep a paper trail in case the bullying does happen - don't run away from it but remind your boss (and copy HR) that this is something you asked about due to your disability and you need them to take action to stop it.
Because it is typically easy to deal with for them, and they know that having your disability registered and now a paper trail of you notifying them about it happening then if they don't act then you can sue them for it - it typically focusses their response.
If you cannot bring yourself to ask for the "reasonable adjustments" for this then I would recommend speaking to a therapist and work on this - they can probably help you script responses and roleplay situations to get you out of that fear of standing up for yourself.
Once you have passed the probabtion period at work then you can join a union and they are typically good at helping with these things.
That would be my approach.
What field are you wanting to go into?
The DWP have a scheme, Access to Work (?), which covers help to disabled people and their employer to enable them to do a job and which may or may not involve a support worker depending on your needs and the job. You should be able to find information online if not contact your local job centre.