What do you all do for a job

Maia, I know rural Wales very well and I know that what you're saying is true.

An exchange I once heard at a garage in Machynlleth, between a grockle and the proprietor:

'My tyre is shredded, I need a new one urgently'

OK, we can do that, it should be here Thursday'

'But it's Monday, and I told you I need it urgently'

'Yes. If it wasn't urgent, it'd be next Tuesday...'

The grockle in question was a famous actor in a TV veterinary series at the time. This was before the internet and DHL, of course, but I still chuckle...

Sorry guys, I hope my absence on this forum hasn't been taken as I've been offended.  The truth is I'm so busy that I haven't been able to check back on this as often as I've liked.

I found out today that my real problem is coping with what numerous different people say to me.  Apparently there is more than one way to deal with things & that is what unsettles me.  I very nearly had a meltdown today over being told three different ways of dealing with a call, that resulted in me getting a dressing down, me & a colleague working an hour overtime & me being summonsed to see senior management tomorrow morning.

I just can't cope with more than one way of doing my job.  But it seems nothing is done now to help me.  Last week I was on a unit where I knew exactly what to do, and I was comfortable with that.

Also I received a new shift pattern today but it turns out I'm not going to that team.  Yet I had not been told either way by senior management whether I was going, and that has unsettled me.  I can't sleep at the moment even though I'm up in five hours.

Has anybody else experienced similar in work?  I'm considering giving it all up to go to university but at 26, with my own home & a good wage, I'm worried about making the wrong decision.

i just want a job that doesn't involve much important communication between colleagues.  Can anybody recommend anything?

Thanks,

I hope that nothing that we have said has caused offence. For the avoidance of doubt though...

Most people in most jobs are trying to do the right thing and I think that most police fall into that category too. There are police, just as in all professions, whose prejudices and ignorance and stupidity interfere with doing the right thing. It is the same situation in IT (where I work), academia (where Longman worked) etc etc

Working in the police will have its own special nature and I suspect that there may be more bullying and intolerance there than some other places. That shouldn't be tolerated and I wouldn't suggest leaving the police if that is the problem.

My point is that the police is intrinsically a strict, rule following, institutional system where transgressions are met with punishment that might be intrinsically difficult for an Aspie to thrive in. We don't generally react well to punishment and I, for example, have defied authority all of my life. Others of us may enjoy the highly structured and predictable environment that an environment like that could provide so it's hard to generalise about how an individual may react to the environment.

Hi Sgt Romeo,

I hope you have found the discussion useful from other members. Remember we allow robust discussion of topics here and intervene as little as possible. Opinions about the police are personal. 

Employers must conform to the Equality Act and must conduct work place asessments and make reasonable adjustments to accomodate people with "disabilities". If diagnosed this option will be open to you.

Bob Mod

I have mixed thoughts about this topic. Part of me thinks that different personality types are better suited to different jobs. My idea of the police is that it would be important to be good at dealing with the public and really good at understanding people. Also it's a team job where you need to be able to co-operate with, and be able to rely on, your colleagues. On the other hand, a lot of screen detectives are loners and enigmatic and I often feel more in tune with them. Real life isn't like the TV series though and I can easily imagine that working on a police force is going to be particularly hard for someone with autism.

The equality act 2010 (replacing DDA AIUI) actually provides protection for those with diagnosed disabailities but also for those who are perceived to be disabled. i.e. you can't be discriminated against because you appear to be disabled. If someone is giving someone a hard time because of a perceived problem then they are breaking the law.

The equality act can't however force an employer to keep an employee who can't, when provided with reasonable adjustments, actually do the job. You may have protection but not absolute right to stay in the job.

I would try and work out what is best for you. Don't force yourself to do a job that just won't work. Having some happiness is more important than constantly fighting for what you might not be able to get.

Thanks for all your advice, it's much appreciated.  Classic codger, picking up on your point, I was so so tempted to go sick today.  But the fact that I have an appalling sickness record from last year meant I had to struggle in.  A stint of four weeks recovering from a knee operation and four weeks for stress has moved my sickness record in to the 'danger zone', for want of a better phrase.

And today was an alright day.  I was told by my sergeant that I will be posted to a certain unit to minimise my chances of dealing with something I am unprepared for.  But, he also told me I will not get another job with a police force because of the assessment by my previous line managers.  It was atrocious, the worst score you could possibly get.

But I have been thrown a lifeline.  My partner is very shortly going to become sole carer for his two sons, one of whom has special needs.  I have offered to relocate to be with him (I'm in London, he's in Wales) to help him out.  We could survive money wise if I left my job and moved to him without a job, but I don't want to do that because it's not fair on him.

In regards to the advice re reasonable adjustments & DDA, I don't really have a leg to stand on as I'm not officially diagnosed.  My sergeant told me as much.  I have to wait until November for my assessment, which is delaying things, and only then will I have the DDA to fall back on if the Met decide to get rid of me.

To be honest, I don't much like dogs.  But I do want to work in the police helicopter.  However my chances of being accepted will be slim to none when they see my personal development record.

I am well & truly stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Hi Sgt R. By observation I note that everyone has bad days when nothing goes right, and good days when they can't put a foot wrong, and I don't think that AS people are any more or less prone to them. The difference seems to be the way we handle it. In my case I've been known to take extended sick leave when the build up has lead me to it.

My criteria for 'success' are simple. My motto is 'do it once and do it right' and I've built up a substantial reputation for doing so, although NTs will insist on asking me how I do it. My response is usually how do you not? I don't get it.

They never ask 'why' though. I do it because I can't bear to have things ongoing, I love efficiency, and I can't stand people and their illogical stupidity. Too many of those and it becomes impossible to deal with anything, it all turns into a writhing heap of indecipherable mush that overwhelms me. Interestingly, no-one has ever spotted that aspect of me, and I don't think that my experience is unique by any stretch.

If you're diagnosed AS then you'll maybe find out these things for yourself. We're all AS but we're also all different mixes of abilities and impairments, and ultimately it's down to each of us to manage ourselves as best we can. Putting aside for the moment the fact that you'll have 'bad' days, the question you have to ask yourself is how much you want to do the work that you do, how many problems it gives you to do it, and by how much the 'good' outweighs the 'bad'. It's easy to imagine that a different job will be better, it won't, it'll just change the parameters.

I'm pretty sure that shift working doesn't help because I've done it and it didn't, but again, we're all different.

I'd agree with everything that Marjorie says, including that you might do better to keep your head down for the time being and try not to feel forced into any decisions. Easier said than done, I know. It doesn't matter what work you do, you'll always take yourself with you. There are many jobs in the Police service that you can do, and many outside of it. For instance, AS people are good with dogs. What you have to discover first are your particular skills and needs, and diagnosis will definitely help with that. Whatever you do, if the pressure becomes too great, you'll eventualy cave in. Experience tells me that the pressure will always arise in any job, it's keeping it under control that's taxing.

This is an interesting question. I've been on an equality forum and other committees with police representation and on the whole found them very constructive. But I think the reality is that, however hard some police try to be tolerant and open to difference, there is a hard core that thinks difference is funny, subvertive,abnormal etc. There are stilll police (I know I've looked into it) who seriously think having shifty eyes is proof of criminal intent.

So I would imagine working in the police force with AS symptoms and no diagnosis as a means to explain it, pretty hard work. OK I know it is fiction but I watched "The last detective" where it was made very obvious that because he was a little different, ridicule, name-calling and bad treatment were considered OK. As a representation of the police nothing seems to have changed since "The Chinese Detective" which really showed police racist bigotry in the workplace for what it is.

But that said pretty well everywhere difference isn't treated with dignity. I worked in both industry and academia and had a tough time (often because my face and manner didn't look right). About ten years ago a survey was carried out of Scottish university staff, and appalling levels of abuse of the disabled were revealed, far worse than any other workplace.

You should have a staff representative dealing with discrimination and hate crime. Make interested enquiries about disability discrimination and how effectively this is being monitored in your particular nick. Sometimes just taking an interest in equality issues in general is enough to make people stop and think.

Hi Sgt R

I am now retired, thankfully, but I did work for most of my life with mixed results. I was in the civil service and went through some very bad patches, but things changed and improved throughout my working life.

I think all aspies have problems with working life in general, because we have difficulty with people. Don't be too quick to assume there is a better option out there. The old saying "the grass is always greener on the other side" applies here. When we have a bad day, we often think there must be a better job, but sometimes it is better to persevere with what we already do.

If you get your diagnosis, then you can dicuss with your boss how best to proceed. I would have thought that a large employer like the police would have an anti bullying policy and also policies on accepting diversity. Many smaller employers do not and pressures to perform and conform can be high. The police are also a large employer and I would have thought would have use of the aspie skills of collating and analysing and technical skills. I obviously don't know what your aptitudes are.

You don't say what has been going wrong for you at work. Sometimes if you air your problems here, there may be advice available. You have a very good job at present. Many aspies have a successful working life, but some aspies have no job. I would suggest that you keep a low profile at work for now, if you can and persue diagnosis and see if that helps.  Don't do anything hasty, that you may regret later.

Best wishes