Do you like or want to - work?

I have too many qualifications. And, now, I don't feel mentally capable of further study. Thirteen years ago, I began an Accounting Technician course; then suffered burnout, the following January. I quit the course, and my life went back into tailspin.

I can't cope with such intensity.

Hello NAS95499 (might be a good idea to choose a nickname so we can recognise you) - welcome to the forum.

I studied with the OU some years ago - I was going to do an open degree, but at that time you couldn't get a student loan for OU and it became too expensive to keep paying for modules - however one of the courses I did was a stand alone qualification as well as counting towards a degree, so I completed that which gave me a diploma in social sciences. It was very interesting, but I was only doing it for the pleasure of learning - the qualification has never been used to get a job.

I don't want or need any qualifications now I'm retired and don't have spare money to pay for courses or loan repayments, so the OU free open learn courses are a good option for me.

Glad to hear it was good for your anxiety to join in the discussion.

Government Jobs attract the Narcs, like flies to s**t! It's a perfect opportunity to abuse authority positions.

hi you say you work in a council do you know about CPW and CPNS ?

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 

Alienatedhuman 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

Maybe a paraphrase of (subject to who completed the translation -  originally published in German from 1883-1885, and appeared in English translation in Mother Earth in February, 1913); 

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche:

(Thus spake Zarathustra

FIRST PART. ZARATHUSTRA'S PROLOGUE. ZARATHUSTRA'S DISCOURSES.

11. XI. THE NEW IDOL)

"Open still remaineth a free life for great souls. Verily, he who possesseth little is so much the less possessed: blessed be moderate poverty!

There, where the state ceaseth--there only commenceth the man who is not superfluous: there commenceth the song of the necessary ones, the single and irreplaceable melody.

There, where the state CEASETH--pray look thither, my brethren! Do ye not see it, the rainbow and the bridges of the Superman?--

Thus spake Zarathustra".

www.gutenberg.org/.../1998-h.htm

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.

We'll have to agree to disagree I'm afraid.

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!

are you kidding Starmer and Reeves plan tax rises that you would not have thought possible they are not as bad as Corbin but they are defo left wing.They also will bring back inflation that is my big fear

as bad a the Tories were I think Corbin would have destroyed everything