Working in a supermarket

When I worked in a supermarket there was someone in my department who wanted to transfer to checkouts for disability related reasons but had to wait a whole for a vacancy to arise. So by transferring you could improve your own situation and, in the process, be doing someone else a favour.

I worked in ASDA for almost 4 years and although I never worked on the checkouts I can just imagine how stressful I would have found it. I worked in the Homeshopping section and I would highly recommend it to anybody on the autistic spectrum. The routine was straight forward and consistent, and we spent 90% of our time just getting on with our work by ourselves. Of course there's always some interaction with customers but it never lasted more than 5 minutes.

My mum and me once joked that i have a 'social interaction' meter, and that mine just fills up more quickly than most; and that's exactly what it is, isn't it? In homeshopping I only really interacted with my colleagues socially during break, and the rest of our interaction was based on the job we were doing at the time. That was always enough for me, and I hardly ever felt overwhelmed or frustrated (and when i did it was usually to do with a difficult customer, but you can never avoid them completely can you).

The only drawback I found with Homeshopping was the early start as we had to be in by 6:00 am, but it meant I was finished by lunch time and i could take a nap after a stressfull shift.

I agree with 'Normalish' that you shouldn't feel guilty about asking for help, and you especially shouldn't be made to feel guilty for asking for a transfer to any department with less social interaction; it's a perfectly legitimate request, no matter the reason. And it's not as if they can't hire a new checkout operator!

Hey, I just wanted to drop in and empathise with you.

I, too, work on a checkout, in Asda. I have long found it stressful and last year it all made sense when I was diagnosed as being on the spectrum. 

I told my management, but they remain indifferent and not at all open to amendments to allow for my condition. As such, I have had to manage by myself because I simply cannot find another job!

Funnily, like longman's advice, I worked out what my tolerances were, and insisted on cutting back my shifts to allow for it. Instead of two 7hr shifts, I now work four lots of 3.5hrs. This was a big change to my routine and weekly pattern, but it was worth it for the lower amount of stress to me.

I also do not hesitate now to ask to go to the toilet (persistently, if need be - I know how unwilling they can be!) just to take some down-time and calm myself a little if I feel panicked or over-stimulated.

These work for me - for now. But ultimately, you mustn't feel guilty to ask, or insist, for what you need to get yourself through a shift.

I hope things do get better for you, or have already!  

I imagine checkouts are pretty difficult places for someone on the spectrum - you have to stay put in one place for hours at a time, there are people milling around, noisy kids, people talking (several conversations at once), tills ringing and beeping, lots of background noises and smells. Must leave you feeling pretty tense even before you have to interact with the customers.

Supermarkets are often mentioned as difficult environments for people on the spectrum. I find the smaller ones difficult, cramped aisles, too many people, but also some bigger supermarkets. But particularly I find queuing at the tills difficult (but the self service tills are even worse - flashing lights and sounds - I cannot cope).

What I do in any unfamiliar supermarket is sit somewhere and listen to all the sounds - people outside and coming through entrances, people round the tills, the hums of refrigerator cabinets and air conditioning. I work out what parts of the building are worse, and chose my route and tills on the basis of least stress.

Christmas is the worst time - tacky tinny Christmas music rings out and hurts the ears - why do they think it is fun?

So I'm not surprised you find it hard. However if it is a job you need to stick with, whenever possible make an assessment. Work out if there are any tills that are particularly bad for you and see if management will let you avoid these. Or work out how long you can take of a particular till until you start to feel stressed, so at least you know when it is starting to affect you.

Would the management allow you to wear ear defenders for short periods when the till isn't busy?  Would they allow you extra opportunities to go somewhere quiet to de-stress? Can colleagues look out for you and let you know if they see you beginning to get stressy?

Hello

I don't know since am not in a job but there is a phone number on this website and you can definately talk the situation through with them. I take it you not a member of a trade union or I would contact them if you are. But please do ring the helpline number of this website and they will help you much more. Good luck