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Issues in the workplace-does anyone else have this?

Ellie 567

Hi everyone,

I wanted to reach out because I've been finding work really tough lately and wondered if anyone else had similar experiences. 

I'm autistic and currently work in an office role, but I often get feedback that I lack attention to detail or 'don't see the bigger picture'. I try really hard and double check everything, but things still slip through which leaves me anxious. 

I also tend to rush through work when stressed, but then this backfires as I end up making small mistakes. It's like my brain goes into 'get it done' mode. Does anyone else experience this too, and how do you cope?

Many thanks,

Ellie

  • in reply to illustrated.lady
    illustrated.lady said:
    Try and take your time, focus on what is front of you and make sure it is correct, if work are putting pressure on you in terms of how long things take then ultimately there will be mistakes and that's not your fault. 

    This is good advice.

    When I was in a position like this and the management were trying to put more workload on me than I could reasonably manage then I would ask them in writing which tasks they wanted missed or done sub-standardly.

    By listing the work, the time estimated to complete it and their explicit direction on what to do then the responsibility shifts back to them when you make mistakes because you warned them in writing.

    You need to ensure the work you do is done systematically with checks performed at the end for quality assurance so you are always delivering quality work. If you have ADHD symptoms (there are a lot of these in the autism spectrum) then this may be more challenging.

    Using this approach won't earn you much in the way of promotional credit from your manager but if stops you from having an aweful workload and daily stress from it being unrealistic.

    That would be my approach.

  • Hi,

    I work in an admin position in the NHS. We have a lot of work to do and it comes from multiple places, it can be hard to prioritize and ironically it often feels like the more work you do, the higher the workload goes which causes a lot of stress!

    Have you spoken to your management? If they know that you're autistic then they should find ways to support you as oppose to vague instructions or feedback like 'see the bigger picture' as often as autistic people, we won't see the bigger picture! 

    Try and take your time, focus on what is front of you and make sure it is correct, if work are putting pressure on you in terms of how long things take then ultimately there will be mistakes and that's not your fault.