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Frequent meltdowns and anxiety working in a supermarket

Tallis

Hello. I hope it’s ok to post here about this.

I’ve been getting more frequent and severe meltdowns since starting work for the first time. I have Autism and I work in a supermarket, it is probably got to be one of the most worst places to work for anyone with ASD but I’ve been under a lot of pressure from my dad to work and one thing led to another and now here I am. I’ve only been there for a week and a half and already I’m feeling so much anxiety and this fatigue that leaves me wrecked by midday and feeling like I am fighting off the flu.

Speaking to my manager and opening up about my Autism, I was unsure of doing this in case she reacted badly but luckily she has been supportive and encouraging – she said I can wear my ear buds if I will find that easier because the noise of the music and shoppers overwhelms me and that I think is responsible for my meltdowns.

I’m back in work tomorrow and feeling very anxious about it already but tomorrow I will take my ear buds with me as I can control the volume of the noise a bit better with them, and I’m hoping this will make sitting on the till and serving customers a bit easier. It’s a lot all at once, making small talk – I just say yes and no mostly – adding up money, asking if they want a voucher etc… Again, not a job I like or enjoy but at least it’s something.

Does anyone here work or has worked in a supermarket? If you have any tips they would be gratefully received. Sorry for the long post and sorry if this is the wrong place to put this – I couldn’t see a careers/work section of the forum.

Parents

  • I've not worked in a supermarket but I can see that working on the checkout introduces the need for small talk, which can be very tiresome (if not painful) for the autistic. Do you have options to work in another area where the small talk expectation is less? For example manning the self-checkout just involves fixing problems, or stacking shelves minimises customer interaction again - you'd just get the occasional customer who needs help finding something, so again it's basically fixing problems.

    I've found in work in general that I do fine when my help is needed - I communicate fine giving directions/instructions and sharing knowledge. I just have a problem with small talk and come across as disinterested (because I am).

    Maybe if you can do shifts at quieter times, the noise of customers will be less and you'll cope better.

    Good luck, and let us know how it's going!

Reply

  • I've not worked in a supermarket but I can see that working on the checkout introduces the need for small talk, which can be very tiresome (if not painful) for the autistic. Do you have options to work in another area where the small talk expectation is less? For example manning the self-checkout just involves fixing problems, or stacking shelves minimises customer interaction again - you'd just get the occasional customer who needs help finding something, so again it's basically fixing problems.

    I've found in work in general that I do fine when my help is needed - I communicate fine giving directions/instructions and sharing knowledge. I just have a problem with small talk and come across as disinterested (because I am).

    Maybe if you can do shifts at quieter times, the noise of customers will be less and you'll cope better.

    Good luck, and let us know how it's going!

Children
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