Do you like or want to - work?

I do have a full-time job in a local council as a receptionist; for the most part the pros include better pay/benefits package, a proper work-life balance and also progressional opportunities and a supportive environment. I am however trying to look into a career as an art therapist as I don't feel office environments are for me. It is more so dealing with the general public (as most people come across very entitled).

I worked as an admin assistant in the care industry for 2 ½ years and I hated that job mainly due to toxic managers. I got on well with my colleagues (and still keep in touch occasionally) but the managers ran their company poorly and engaged in dodgy practices which put me off office work to be honest. I also feel offices can be stifling sometimes, I get fidgety on quiet days (although I like the chillness) when there isn't much going on.

Maybe this is just me, I don't like the modern working culture as there is a constant obsession for hustling 24/7. What doesn't help is that employers expect you to be available all the time (which I sadly experienced in my previous job above) and you have no time for yourself as everything revolves around work. I feel that your worth in society is measured based on job title and earnings. If you work in a corporate role, people respect you as you have access to better salaries and opportunities (particularly if you are in the council like myself or in the civil service depending). Minimum wage workers are looked down on and judged. If you are NEET or on benefits, the judgement is worse as people automatically assume you are a leech to society - you have no value if you don't work.

Another thing that bothers me is the lack of support for employees with disabilities, especially hidden ones like autism. If autistic it is difficult to disclose as an employer will instantly see you as a liability; coming from previous experience as someone who recruited, employers look to save money anyway they can and will mostly refuse to put in accommodations if they are required to pay out of pocket (although this doesn't directly relate to autism, I had an experience in my previous job where I was denied DSE equipment when my desk was inadequate for work as in their words, other people would complain if I had it). Even if you disclose, an employer can easily fire you and say you weren't a good culture fit. I don't blame autistic people for not wanting to work as most workplaces are rampant with bullying, office politics etc. You can't just do your work and get paid, you have to participate in the BS otherwise you risk being a target. In most cases, autistic people get shoved out of the workplace and become too traumatised to work.

Also, autistic people can easily be shoved into unsuitable jobs by the Job Centre (although I suppose it applies to everyone) - mainly zero hour jobs that expect you to do the work of 3 or more people for minimum wage. The work coaches mostly want to reduce their caseloads by shoving people into any old job to meet targets. 

I thought I had nearly the perfect job but after 30 years I am being pushed onto the scrap heap as my autistic needs are deemed unreasonable. The job is perfect it is just the people and conditions that I now realise have caused me so much stress and heartache over the years and left me thinking I was to blame.

My only hope is to win the lottery (not a lot but enough to survive) and find myself a 'special interest'' that I can fritter away the time.

I lived my working life in reverse to what I wish I had done.

My first real job was my perfect job. I was paid to write music. This meant that I worked alone in the attic of the offices where I was based. The offices were less than five minutes walk from where I lived. I did this for 9 years and it was perfect for me.

The company went bust and I moved down South and had to get a different job because I had no money. I was basically in IT problem solving and mostly working from home. It wasn't too bad.

I had a few good years working for myself, but now the work has dried up and I have also burned out.

So, I wish I did all this in reverse, and was back working in music until I retired.

I like your views mate I am having great issues with my council and police around how my autism is no biggy and can just be overlooked

There is still a lot of prejudice and discrimination out there towards mental health and especially towards hidden disabilities like autism, where these are not regarded as “real” issues and where many people simply refuse to be educated and refuse to understand and work related issues are only just one area of this - some still believe that the only way to manage autism is by means of ultra strict discipline and excessive supervision, where they believe that we need to be “protected from ourselves” and “bullied out of” our condition “for our own good” - given reports that I’ve read since taking office it would appear that Labour want to drive through a much more judgemental and bullying attitude in our society towards disabled people that is far less compassionate then the Tories that is far less caring and far more combative, which in one way comes as no surprise as Labour has always been the nasty party, the more bullying party, which is why I never voted for them and never will, given my own experiences with Labour at local council level - Labour were never like this before the Blair years, when they took on Thatcherite policies 

Alien0n3arth said:

I heard once a sentence “poor are those who want too much, not those who have little” but unfortunately I don’t remember who was the author of it. 

Sounds very similar to this:

"It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor".

Written by Seneca (c.4 BC - AD 65), philosopher of Ancient Rome, in Letters II.

Later followed by: "Do you ask what is the proper limit to wealth? It is, first, to have what is necessary, and, second, to have what is enough”.

https://thestoicletters.medium.com/letter-ii-25a4edf7077b

Hello. I'm brand new here. I wasn't even going to post, I was just trying to distract myself from an anxiety attack, but I saw your comment about the Open University & felt compelled. You should absolutely study with the OU. I started out doing one of their free courses & ended up doing an Access Module with them.

With the free short courses I recommend you give yourself a schedule, otherwise it can be hard to stay focused & not wander off to another subject half way through. 

The official Access Modules are free to study if you meet certain criteria, otherwise they cost £900. Each module is 1 year & there are 4 modules to choose from: Arts & Languages... Business & Law.... Science, Technology & Maths... Psychology, Social Science & Wellbeing.

I did art & languages as it was something I have always struggled with, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. I'm thinking of going back to do psychology next. It was mostly enjoyable because you have the freedom to study when it's convenient for you. You have an online account that shows every piece of work that needs completing & when it needs to be completed by. You get 2-3 hours of work per week but you can speed ahead if you want to. You get an essay assessment every few months but they explain exactly how these should be structured and what questions you should ask/answer. You get assigned a tutor who you can contact any time, but they will always book an appointment to call you so no social surprises. The OU also have a helpline which can advise on everything from further studies to housing issues, benefits, even help to pay for your WiFi whilst you study if necessary.

As you can tell, I'm very happy with the Open University. I love learning but I ended up dropping out of school, and then college, and then I've quit every job I've ever had, so to finally find somewhere where the system was autism-friendly by default, somewhere I could actually succeed ... It genuinely gives me a spark of hope on the tough days. If they can do it, maybe other sectors of society can too.

Sorry for the info dump, but on the plus side, my anxiety has waned a little

I finally found a job that suits me and I could even say is therapeutic for me. It’s in logistics, I have only little contact to strangers, mostly I work alone or little with my colleagues, my day is structured, tasks predictable, pallets, boxes and delivery notes don’t talk to me and I don’t have to look them in the eyes, and I focus on my tasks so much that my repetitive thoughts get turned off. That’s lovely. The only problem is forgetting meals until I get weak. Even alarm does not work, although I mostly can take a break whenever I want. So I wanna stay there till my retirement and I want nothing to change (inevitable I know). My previous jobs gave me a lot of stress and anxiety with somatic symptoms like stomach pains and heart palpitations. Mostly customer service. I enjoy working with objects and data and analytic tasks. My colleagues and manager are happy with my work and it gives me some sense of self worth but it’s not so relevant for me. There are many people in the society, who don’t work for various reasons and lack of job, does not belittle their value. I think our western society (who’s living in western countries would maybe agree) - orders too much, has too higher expectations and fails to just enjoy life and forget a bit about never ending loop of wanting and having. Sometimes I hear (sometimes too often) that with my skills and knowledge I should have had a better job, better pay and higher position in the society. But I don’t want it and I don’t need it, I just like and appreciate what I have. I heard once a sentence “poor are those who want too much, not those who have little” but unfortunately I don’t remember who was the author of it. 

I am seventy and semi-retired, meaning that I work for myself so I can choose what work to take on and what to refuse. I don't need to work as I have an adequate pension, but working keeps my mind active and gives me a reason to get out and meet people. Being my own boss means that if I want to take a day off to go to a lecture, visit a museum, or just chill out at home, I can.

It's about the phasing-out of the Middle Class; through taxation and regulation. Nanny-State Policies usurped the Left-Wing Movement. While Conservative Parties pay lip-service to eradicating the State.

The solution is Free Trade, and an end to State interference in the Economy and Industry.

Being in my 50’s myself I do empathise - During Covid and just before my later in life diagnosis in 2021, I discovered that I lost all 4 state and works pensions in both Ireland and here in the U.K. - I’d previously worked (not by choice) in supermarket retailing for 30 years in Ireland and the U.K. (23 years) before my redundancy after 17 years in Sept 2019 and tried working for a year in a hotel for just over a year before it became too much - I’d been on UC for about 2 years during Covid and given my experiences of supermarket bullying, I’d been terrified of going into another bullying situation - I really could have done with a post-diagnostic assessment to establish my level of autism and identify appropriate autism support going forward, which would enable me to know what reasonable adjustments that I’d need and appropriate types of work given my condition and relevant work experience, as I’d also expect to be working well past the normal retirement age, which at age 53 now, could very well increase to age 75 by 2035 regardless of any physical health conditions (if the U.K. economy and the U.K. benefits system even lasts that long) - there does not appear to be the correct level of understanding regarding autism and other hidden disabilities among many U.K. employers and although I have heard many horror stories re benefits, it would appear that the DWP take a more compassionate approach to benefit claims when disability issues are involved 

I think working to help others or add something to society is a brilliant thing to strive for, and I hope I find a job that I enjoy which does that!

Roy well done you and no neighbours sounds bliss I live in Devon and lets just say have not found many friendly locals!

You sound spot on wait till you find your job that fits your skills and you will enjoy.

i want t get back to work and do a more helpful role as have had an appalling year dealing with councils and police I have learnt so much that they do wrong and I want too help other people get their rights

I don’t like working, I like doing my own thing and having time to rest!! I’ve never had a job but I’ve only just left high school - I took a gap year this year and it’s been amazing not having to be at school every day. I’ve still done learning but I’ve been able to go at my own pace and take lots of breaks and focus on what interests me, and i was able to have way more fun and be way more creative! I did a week of work experience and while it wasn’t bad necessarily I was incredibly exhausted at the end of the week and the monotonous nature of it was not very appealing to me. I’m thinking I’ll probably move around career wise in the future and work part time where I can although obviously my financial situation might not allow for that.

 I'm not very good at putting links into messages, but here's trying:

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/

If you can get it to open it should take you to the main open learn web page, then if you scroll down you'll see a section headed "Pick a subject and start learning" 

If you then click on a subject, for example "History & The arts" then click the "free courses" tab that appears at the top.of the page, you should be able to see all the courses available in that section.

I thought I'd have trouble keeping quiet too and so did everyone else, but I didn't, I realised that so much of my talking was a mask, because it's an easier way of having attention than being called weird.

I might have another look at the OU if they're doing more courses, because most of them before were so limited

A silent retreat is an interesting idea - not sure I could shut up long enough to do it though 

The OU open learn courses are free, so no fees to pay, and online, so you just sign up (not much different to joining this forum) and study when you want to. After choosing a course, you then click "enter course" and study at your own pace. They are all short ones, mostly between 6 and 30 hours, but there are over 1000 to choose from.

I started the one called "Herodotus and the invention of history" today. It's interesting to me because Herodotus was used as a character in a video game I played called "Assassins Creed Odyssey" and I wanted to learn more about him and his writings. The course covers some passages of his text and also encourages critical thinking and assessing - such as how information is sourced and verified. 

Here is the course introduction, from the open learn website:

"With the information explosion online, how can you tell fake news from the real thing, or be more sensitive to how information can be weaponised? In the fifth century BCE, a Greek by the name of Herodotus faced a similar challenge when he set out to examine why his people, the Greeks, and the Persians went to war with each other. Chief among his tasks was deciding what and whom to believe, as he pieced together the events of the past. His response was to produce an enquiry (in Greek: historiē, which is where the English word ‘history’ comes from). Explore how Herodotus puts together his enquiry and learn how he makes the problem of finding out what happened to ours too."

I'm so so tired. I do not know if it is boredom or burnout. I have not been working in my profession for over a year. My manager says nice things then stabs me in the back. I now know I am not wanted in the profession I have spent over 30 years learning and using my experience to be as good as I can be. I am told that I am incapable and need to be redeployed.

So what now?

I do not know what I want although I need to work at something. I find the thought of a momentous change to be terrifying.  I am in my early fifties and wanted to be financially in a position to retire around 60 ish. This was a pipe dream now I am worrying because I have read that autistic people generally die around 10 years younger that NT's.

What am I going to do that is the question that is constantly in my head.

It's interesting being sort of status free because your job dosen't match people expectations. It was also something interesting about being on silent retreat when you know nothing about the people you're with, the only judgements you can make involve the style and quality of their clothes and their table manners. But it feels like you get to know them from the inside out rather than the outside in, if that makes any sense?

I have looked at the OU and it's not for me, the courses mostly run over the summer and I want to be out and doing in summer, whereas wiinter seems a much better time to burrow in and study. I can't afford the fee's and don't understand the tech side of it. I've looked at numerous short courses and none of them have appealed to me enough to feel worth the effort, there are also a lack of them in the areas I'm interested in.