Workplace troubles- could really use some advice

Hi maia,

I've removed the swear word used in your post as it may offend some users. You can find out about community rules here http://community.autism.org.uk/rules/commentingtips

Thanks,

Sofie Mod

I can understand why your employee said that being autistic doesn't affect him at work. He is very capable of the work itself but, like many of us, meets problems when interacting with co-workers.

We use language very literally and often find that non-autistic people speak in a confusing and imprecise way that means we don't know what they want of us. Or they ask for one thing and actually want something else. Could he be given work by email in a standardised way so that he doesn't need to speak to others more than he wants?

In my job I find it helps to know I can go back later to clarify something if the person has not given me enough information or been detailed enough in their request. Would he feel happy doing that?

And thank you for being so supportive of him.

Thank you for your reply. Yes, he told me about his diagnosis but said it did not affect him at work, hence my concern about his own awareness.

you have given me some great tips and recommendations to get me started. I think he is a really good member of the team and is well liked. He can be very quiet and he is struggling with some aspects of the role that are not the traditional call centre style tasks. I'm lucky that my team is not a normal call centre and they have a lot of offline work to do. I can see where his strengths lie and want to support him. He is having problems with the social interaction side of things and there are misunderstandings about how other people are speaking to him.

 He thinks he is being spoken down to or treated like a child, where others are saying it is how they speak with anyone else. It's a tough one because he has not told the team and so I need them to work better with him, without know why they should accommodate him. He uses headphones to block out the noise when he needs to concentrate and so I was thinking of using signposting to prevent conflict. She: I'm doing the report for x. What are your numbers for today please?  Rather than She: I need your numbers. How much have you done? But I just want to know what else I could do.

I am physically disabled myself and so I'm sensitive to the issues disability in the workplace presents. I went to help him learn the skills and strategies he will need to be successful in his career and wider social life. Any other suggestions are welcome or if you think this is enough, please tell me! I don't want to overkill it either!

Paranoia? Many of the signs of Aspergers?

People on the spectrum do get pushed into call centre jobs, but it is not an easy environment for people on the spectrum. Many find phones difficult, and the intense complex noise and crowded nature of call centres make them uncomfortable, even distressed. It is not a natural habitat for someone with Aspergers. But out of necessity to find work, some do.

I'm not sure your evidence is helpful. Has he disclosed to you he has aspergers or have you deduced this and confronted him with the possibility?

Someone with Aspergers would find teamwork difficult. The reason is that their social referencing is poor. They cannot manage eye contact, facial expressions and body language well and they cannot read these signs well. They rely on the spoken word, and they have to guess their way through situations. That means lots of misunderstandings, both ways, not fitting in, not finding it easy to resolve differences because there is no mechanism for feedback. They cannot learn teamwork from mere social interaction.

They can of course ask for clarification if in doubt, but that leads to more problems. Why does this person not listen, and keeps having to ask questions he should have picked up for himself? That's how other team members may perceive him.

If someone is different - a misfit - many will decide they don't want him in the team and try for constructive dismissal. They will make things harder. Far from paranoia he may have genuine grievances, but it doesn't help matters that he will not be able to "read the signs".

However having explained the above you may be able to see some solutions. You can discretely ensure he has supplementary information, eg things written down to help him fill in what he cannot readily acquire. If there is someone he works well with who can be party to the Aspergers in confidence, that person could be a buddy and get him up to speed now and then without having to make it obvious.

There is a book "Managing with Asperger Syndrome" by Malcolm Johnson (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2005 ISBN 1-84310-199-8). Its a bit of a drag to read as it is too job specific and I don't think the author's aspergers comes over that bad - better aware of the problems the book could say a lot more. But is is very good on issues like teamwork, delegation, and management hierarchies in a sales context. Just you'll need lots pf patience to read through it.

Less directly helpful to you environment there is "Asperger Syndrome and Employment" in the Sheffield Hallam Adults Speak out about Asperger Syndrome Series edited by Genevieve Edmonds and Luke Beardon (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2008 ISBN 978 1 84310 648 7) - the code helps librarians and booksellers find it. This is a mix of personal stories. Much lighter reading and a quicker way of getting general background than Johnson's book.

Hi

please could you help me? I am a manager in a call centre and have just got a new team. It is a very large team and one of my guys has Aspergers. He has been involved in quite a heated argument with another member of the team and when I spoke to him, he seemed to have many of the signs of Aspergers. Paranoia about how other team members perceive him, working in an isolated way and not communicating very well with others. He has a very systematic approach to work and great attention to detail. I can see he has loads of really good points and so I really want to help him manage the symptoms that are making working life difficult for him. He has not told the team he has Aspergers and has told me he does not think it affects his job. It does. What can I do practically to help him? Are there any strategies you can recommend? What's the best approach to take?

many thanks 

Another thing to say is that you should be able to improve your interpersonal skills with some assustabce. They should give you reasonable opportunities to make improvements. Don't assume that your current problems and skills are fixed in stone, having a diagnosis should be an opportunity for improving your life.

Agreed with all the above, especially the last bit about advocacy - having someone with you, what is termed a friend at court.

I lived through years of these pogroms, if I can use that term - recurring build ups of complaints about my personality defect. What always happened is they fizzled out when challenged. NTs seem unduly sensitive about whether everyone is following the right cues that they notice something is wrong.

But, and this is the strange thing - as it comes naturally to them they take it for granted - they cannot explain what is not happening. Indeed part of the problem with helping people on the spectrum is that NTs don't seem to properly understand why there's a problem.

And that's the crux of the matter. They will be hard put to provide meaningful evidence. Giving a list of times you weren't quite right. What actally is proof of being unhelpful or unapproachable? They might perceive it, but what does it amount to on paper? Just a gut feeling?

You cannot be fired on hearsay evidence - well they may try. They are supposed to show how you can improve. Just saying they don't like you but "cannot put a finger on it" will not make them look good. So standing your ground is important.

I suspect they are worried disabled status will create problems so they want an excuse to get rid of you before your diagnosis comes through. But they have to provide evidence, and you have a right to see it.

Hi Chana18

I would support most of what the others have said. If you have Asperger's then you are protected under the equality act and this can be used if they discriminate against you for the things that don't matter in your role. If you can do the role with appropriate support then they can't touch you.

However, it isn't automatically assumed that every role is suitable for all people with disabilities. If the disability really gets in the way of dealing with customers then you might want to think of doing something different. If the disability just means that your relations with colleagues are difficult then that is something different and your employers must make allowances for your disability.

In any case you may want to have a friend with you in meetings with management. We are not normally very good at these situations and it would be better to have some assistance. Do you have anyone that would accompnay you? A union rep would do this for you.

I've had all of those type of accusations, and worse, thrown at me at work, too. I was threatened once with the sack under the worst possible circumstances. Fortunately, I'm a lifetime Unionist so my Union represented me, to my advantage.

Your employer needs to understand your rights and their responsibilities, but so do you. It is much less effort for them if they can find a reason to sack you. you need Union support and representation. If you aren't already in one, I would suggest Unite the Union (known as Unite), other unions are available. A Union will always give you the best advice to fit your particular circumstances.

And for anyone reading this. If you're working, join a Union. Don't wait untill you've got a problem and then try to join, get in first. Your employer does NOT need to know that you are a Union member.

If you are going to record a conversation, make sure everyone knows you are doing it, and keep reminding them during the conversation.

You are entitled to take someone with you to a disciplinary meeting, and THEY can make contemporaneous notes which ARE admissible as evidence. This is the role that a Union representative would take on, but you can take anyone of your choosing. It helps if they understand the questions that need to be asked, and answered, by your employer.

Other than that, everything Curious says applies.

They should certainly tell you the purpose of any meeting you are being asked to attend, especially if the meeting is part of a formal process (e.g. disciplinary), as you may have a statutory right to be accompanied by someone like a union representative or another supportive person (some company policies specify that either a union representative or a colleague is permitted to come to a formal meeting, or they may be allowed at a meeting even if it is not considered formally part of a process like disciplinary or capability)

NAS might have some advice and support for you, so you could give them a call.

ACAS or Citizens' Advice are other possible sources of information about your right.

Given that you have notified your employer of a disability they should think very carefully before saying you see not doing the job properly, especially as you have requested some adjustments, but it doesn't sound like they have put any adjustments in place.

They should also tell you the purpose of any meeting so that you can be prepared for it, whether mentally, having considered what you want to say or both. If it is a meeting at which you would like to take someone along, you could ask to postpone the meeting if a supportive person is not available when they want to meet you.

If you think they may be discriminating against you or bullying you, keep a record of any "incidents", including date, time, place, what happened, who was involved, any witnesses, the impact it had on you.

Any negative comments about your performance should be specific - it is unreasonable for them to make generalisations about not being very good if this is not based on fact.

You are not required to give any answers on the spot if you are worried how it will be perceived. You can say something like "I'm not sure what to say, I need some time to think about it outside of the meeting."

It's a positive thing that you have already come up with suggested changes, as it shows you are willing to find solutions. Hopefully they will respond to this by following your lead.

You could ask to audio record any meetings. I believe that you can legally use covert recording without gaining consent, as long as it is for personal use, but not everyone is comfortable doing this. You can refer back to a recording in future, rather than relying on any minutes they produce.

Some of these steps may be things to consider if there are any further meetings. Initially you might just want to find out the purpose of the meeting and mainly use it to just listen to what they say.

These are just my thoughts. I'm not qualified to provide advice, unlike the various services I have named above. Also, I haven't had an ASD diagnosis. I am just taking some time to find out more about it before deciding whether to seek diagnosis. That said, it is mainly workplace difficulties which have got me thinking about this. I have also experienced bullying in a previous job, which was upheld through the grievance procedure. I think this was partly to do with being part of a marginalised minority, but mainly just for being seen as "too different". I think I left it far too long before going off sick (which I did eventually), because when things are difficult I tend to keep going through the motions (turning up for work) and not knowing how to explain to my manager why I need to be off.  If you do go off sick at any point (e.g. due to stress) make sure you follow the sickness policy, or they can use that against you. Also, get hold of any relevant policies while you are at work (e.g. sickness, disciplinary, grievance, equality). If things go down a formal route and you are then off sick, you will have the policies without having to make contact with anyone at work.

I am aware that there are likely to be many differences between our situations, but I hope it is of some help to you to start finding out about support and your rights, and not feel quite so alone.

Treat yourself kindly, try to keep up the basics of good diet, sleep and some kind of exercise. Keep in touch with your GP or other health or social care professional, both for support and in case you need to use their records to show the effects of any discrimination or bullying.

All the best with getting through this.