Opening up about autism at work

Squid said:

I work in a job/role that really isn't that compatible to my autistic traits

I would recommend starting a long term plan to change to a role that is more accommodating for your needs . Do you have anything in mind that will fit this role?

Squid said:

This period off work feels like the culmination of me trying to cope for years and years and finally getting to my limit.

Sounds like classic autistic burnout. There is an article about this here: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/autistic-fatigue

I think that almost every autist who has had a job experiences this or worse (meltdown) directly because of their jobs and there are only a few things that I think can be done:

1 - Toughen up. This involves learning better coping skills but will always take a toll and burnout is likely to be a common occurrance.

2 - Ask work to adapt to your needs. I have honestly only heard of one or two cases this was done well - most companies either ignore it or try to push you out as you are now seen as a bit of a liability.

3 - Give it up and do something else. In my last role I chose to change from being a manager to a technician because it was so hard to work for my own boss who was clearly autistic and took great offence at any mention of it about himself. He was also someone who worked almost 24/7 and expected the same from his sub managers.

Luckily I took a specialist position and had a 50% pay bump as a result and I had way less contact with the rest of the team as I was responsible for a load of our staff out in the field and worked unsocial hours when they were working (weekends and late evenings when they were at events).

I digress - I would recommend a hybrid strategy for you - start to learn some coping skills by engaging with a psychotherapist who has experience in helping autists, learn more about your traits and how to manage them better (look for advice on this forum), start looking for a job better suited to your needs and learn techniques of meditation to help you get more out of any quiet time to recharge.

Of course this all takes a lot of effort so consider treating it as a project plan - break the tasks down and review it every week or two and track progress to get a sense of accomplishment. Give yourself time to breathe and look forward to the light at the end of the tunnel.

At work, keep everything in writing as there is always a reasonable risk that they will discriminate against you, so if you can supply evidence of emails where they promised something and never delivered or similar then you can build up a decent claim for a nice severance package at the end of it all to start your next role (assuming it is a different company of course...).

These are just my thoughts, but as some random off the internet I would expect you to take them with a pinch of salt and do your own research ;)

Good luck.

Squid said:

I work in a job/role that really isn't that compatible to my autistic traits

I would recommend starting a long term plan to change to a role that is more accommodating for your needs . Do you have anything in mind that will fit this role?

Squid said:

This period off work feels like the culmination of me trying to cope for years and years and finally getting to my limit.

Sounds like classic autistic burnout. There is an article about this here: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/autistic-fatigue

I think that almost every autist who has had a job experiences this or worse (meltdown) directly because of their jobs and there are only a few things that I think can be done:

1 - Toughen up. This involves learning better coping skills but will always take a toll and burnout is likely to be a common occurrance.

2 - Ask work to adapt to your needs. I have honestly only heard of one or two cases this was done well - most companies either ignore it or try to push you out as you are now seen as a bit of a liability.

3 - Give it up and do something else. In my last role I chose to change from being a manager to a technician because it was so hard to work for my own boss who was clearly autistic and took great offence at any mention of it about himself. He was also someone who worked almost 24/7 and expected the same from his sub managers.

Luckily I took a specialist position and had a 50% pay bump as a result and I had way less contact with the rest of the team as I was responsible for a load of our staff out in the field and worked unsocial hours when they were working (weekends and late evenings when they were at events).

I digress - I would recommend a hybrid strategy for you - start to learn some coping skills by engaging with a psychotherapist who has experience in helping autists, learn more about your traits and how to manage them better (look for advice on this forum), start looking for a job better suited to your needs and learn techniques of meditation to help you get more out of any quiet time to recharge.

Of course this all takes a lot of effort so consider treating it as a project plan - break the tasks down and review it every week or two and track progress to get a sense of accomplishment. Give yourself time to breathe and look forward to the light at the end of the tunnel.

At work, keep everything in writing as there is always a reasonable risk that they will discriminate against you, so if you can supply evidence of emails where they promised something and never delivered or similar then you can build up a decent claim for a nice severance package at the end of it all to start your next role (assuming it is a different company of course...).

These are just my thoughts, but as some random off the internet I would expect you to take them with a pinch of salt and do your own research ;)

Good luck.