Published on 12, July, 2020
I know that the same old question about suitable jobs for autistic people comes up time and time again, so I apologise up front
I'm in my early 50's and have always worked in IT, most often on the technical side (dev). I was pushed out of my previous job earlier this year due to my conditions (chronic fatigue, ASD, FND + more). That job was a mix of development and business analysis, working on a very niche technology. I loved that job, but I became unreliable, having to take a lot of time off and my boss didn't know whether I would be fit to work from one day to the next.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I started a new job for a local authority working as a business analyst (no technical "getting your hands dirty").I'm now starting to question whether being a pure BA is really my thing. Also, having always worked in the private sector, moving into local authority is a completely different beast (still not sure whether it is something that I will completely embrace or completely hate).
So now, after only a couple of weeks, I am starting to ponder whether I am in the right job, and if the answer is a resounding "No", then there are a number of barriers to me being a success doing something else, including...
What I do excel at (or some may say, disabled by) is my attention to detail.I'm your typical grammar police guy, but I do manage to exercise self restraint rather than pulling people up on social media regarding their inability to distinguish between "there, their and they're" or "lose & loose". Nonetheless, it does really trigger me in my mind and it distracts me from the bigger picture (I struggle to understand a piece of text because I am too caught up on what to me is a glaring error).If you've got this far, thank you for hearing me out - hopefully you cam give me some pointers?
Maybe you need to take some sick leave? Chronic fatigue is no joke and pushing yourself is going to make everything else that much harder. It's time to be nice to yourself and take a proper break.
Maybe you'd feel differently about your job if you were less tired?
Thanks TheCatWoman.I took a lot of sick leave at my last place, and that was even when they were being so supportive and I was working reduced hours. I was "persuaded" to leave in March and they did provide a settlement agreement which took a bit of pressure off of finding a new job (not a significant amount, though). I then had more than 4 months "off" before I landed my new job.
The problem is that it looks like I'm going to be stuck with the fatigue for the foreseeable future, if not forever. I can categorically say that many of my conditions were caused or exasperated by the COVID vaccine. I dont want to go "off topic", so will save the details for another thread.
Anyway, back on topic. Whilst it was "nice" (not the correct word) to have time off which afforded me the opportunity to recharge my batteries, it didn't feel "right" to me. I have always had a string work ethic and being out of work & not earning felt so alien and wrong to me.
I don't begrudge my previous employer for dropping me. I completely understand why they had little other option. I would call in sick one day and my boss wouldn't know whether I'd be off for that one day, several days, one week, one month. He didn't know if I'd end up in the "136 suite" or in a regular hospital. They simply could not continue to operate in that way and that was part of the reason why they decided to out source (read send offshore) my role.