So I have a bit of a situation, I work at a manufacturer again – but this one is a lot different than the one I used to work. The problem is I’m getting very overwhelmed with the hours I’m getting, plus all the noise.Working 10 hour days in this really noisy enviroment with all these alarms and forklifts backing up, plus the repetivive noises and the awkward ‘shop talk’ that I’m trying to get used to got very overwhelming. Mix this with me getting married and the overwhelming situation from that and it becomes a problem where I can’t sleep.
Yesterday my fiance and I went to the ER – I had got 3 hours of sleep because my mind would not quit spinning. I work in a place that would make steel toe shoes act like open toe sandals – hunks of metal that weigh about 500 pounds don’t care what they hit, its still going to do damage and because of my lack of sleep I felt my safety was at risk
Now the bigger problem. This is a full time job, great pay, benefits after 7 months – something hard to find in this economy, and definitely a great thing when getting married. I can’t afford to loose this job. I’m on my probationary period right now – which means they still haven’t fully hired me yet and can let me go for any reason or no reason at all.
To tell or not to tell
Aspergers has most definitely had an effect on my job performance, to the point of where I may be getting fired Monday. I have a note that says I am not to work Saturday from the ER doctor – but hes going to want to know why….. Should I tell him I have Aspergers, and are there any reasonable accomodations others in manufacturing have asked for?
I really need help!
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
From what I can see, you have nothing to lose by disclosing Asperger’s, although it is most likely the management will not understand. When I got my current job, I told the interviewers I had difficulty interviewing and even told them I had autism straight out. Amazingly, they still hired me.
Anyway, the hours in the last seven months have really gotten onerous as sales of the product are up. I was at my wit’s end and ready to do myself in, and was telling others so. Had this happened on my probationary period, I probably would have been fired, I will admit.
I got together with a union rep and some management, and I ended up getting an hour restriction. I adamantly resisted this because of social pressure, but when we were working seven days a week, and they were using a 12-hour force to avoid hiring sufficient workers, I cracked. I should mention that newer hires underneath me in seniority worked several months with few 8-hour days. I had this feeling I should be able to deal with it as most others are, but I lost my interests and with it, my will to live.
Few understand much of anything about autism, and most people are not willing to learn anything about it. But there are some who will take the extra step. Good luck on your employment.
That’s a real pickle. I’m sorry you’re having such a difficult situation. Uh, I really wish I had something helpful to suggest… the only thing I can think of is this. Is your work environment the kind of place where you could safely wear some decibel-reducing earmuffs? The kind people use for construction or blasting equipment, that kind of thing, where they are exposed to hearing-damaging level noise all day and have to wear the earmuffs as a safety regulation thing?
If it wouldn’t interfere with your job it might help, but I don’t know how much of those loud noises are things you *have* to hear…
Wow… that is a tough place to be. I can see where you are torn… if you had a physical disabilities they would be required to make accommodations, but because you have difference that are not easily seen to the outsider they don’t know what you go through daily.
What does your significant other think?
I hope you blog your decision and good luck.
Have you tried earplugs or earguards?
If you’re already having these types of basic, integral issues with the work environment; you are highly unlikely, in my humble opinion, to stay employed there long-term. You may last for 3 more days, 30 more days, or 90 more days, but, from my own experience in a few similar situations, they always find a reason to terminate you.
And when you hate working in a place because of similar reasons to what you described, your ability to cope decreases daily, despite the high pay. It is impossible to tolerate the negatives of the workplace, thus, you start showing up late, calling in sick.. etc. When you hate your coworkers(awkward breakroom chatter) and the job is stressing you out to where you can’t sleep, termination is coming soon.
You’re better off just getting diagnosed and going on disability.
Well I am currently awaiting diagnosis and find myself in almost an identical position but you cant just tell him to do that, I feel like crying because of my stress and frustration at my failed attempts to intergrate myself into the working environment but I just think screw those people that dont take time to get to understand you dude, if they dont know you and they talk to you badly they’re obviously bad people, grit it out until you find a job you like and find a hobby that lets off steam, i chose muay thai. Chin up.
I don`t know what country you are in but if you are in the UK TELL your employers HR dept-you will avail of the very good UK disability discrimination legislation.
I know its a little late but one suggestion I can give you and that I would suggest for all the readers of this website is contact the bar association for the state or county that you live in. Typically Lawyers are required to provide a certain amount of free legal assistance about 30 minutes. The quality of this assistance is actually quite good. An example from my area is:
http://www.smartlaw.org/
But as always make sure to contact a lawyer that has a licensed to practice law in your state.
I would keep your mouth shut about having Asperger’s syndrome since if your job is well paying, you would be disposed so fast you won’t know what hit you in this economy when normal people can’t get work. If you are going to be a space cadet, you will be removed when competent workers are having trouble finding work. Is your wife also special needs? She probably is, since you would not have the dating skills if you truly have Asperger’s syndrome. You should both just collect disability cheques and live in social housing. There is no fault in this, if we can’t find jobs in this market, a special needs couple not finding work is more than forgivable. I respect you for having had tried, but you need to know your place and step aside before you get yourself hurt for not only your sake, but your wife’s sake so she doesn’t lose you.
umpatan
Normal people?
Are blacks and gays `normal`.
Space cadet?
Competent workers-yes Nts are very competent -I observe them neglecting their work while they go for a chat while getting paid to WORK.
Special needs-we don`t have the special need to talk **** instead of getting on with the job.
Know your place?-our place is the same place as any other citizen you bigot.
We are better and more consciencous workers than NTs and legal protection for us against your type of bigotry is increasing.In my current employment it will be the NTs laid off first.
1.Because I am a better worker and spend less time chatting and skiving-no time in fact.
2.Because I have the extra protection of the Disability Discrimination Act.
We are equal and we intend to assert our Rights -live with it bigot.
I got canned this past Friday for basically being “an unquantifiable brand of weirdness”. Since the whole matter sprung from a series of (very minor) unfortunate events, I thought briefly about explaining myself. However it was break room chatter that got the ball rolling, and I was confident that by the end of the discussion (and possibly with my job still on the line) my private business would become public knowledge. I could easily imagine the round of discussions to soon follow…….”i knew something must have been wrong with her”"…. “thought she was just crazy”…some sort of psycho…schizo….weirdo….don’t want to work with her anyway. So much for embracing diversity and individual differences.
Think about the big picture. If your boss fires you or not, you won’t be able to do this job long-term. Acknowledge this to yourself and to your wife. Then give your boss the note and acknowledge this to him. If you are a good worker, perhaps reasonable accomodations can be made or he can use you in a different way. At the least, ask if he will keep you on while you evaluate your life and start looking for (or training for) a more appropriate job. Good Luck to you!!
I know this is really old, but it is still timely. I created a website specifically for people with Asperger’s and their employers. It has a section for the employee, one for the employer and one for the people who advocate and support the person with Asperger’s.
I know it won’t change anything overnight, and it probably won’t change my nightmarish work situation right now, but hopefully it will help someone.
I wish you the very best.
Dear Umpatan,
If you adivice to keep someelse mouth shut, do you forgot that we too have a freedon of speech? I hate when someone assuming that some with a disability, can’t do everything and lables is define who you are. Also, I hate when someone asuming that said,” if you/ she/he/they do this and that, you/she/he/they, don’t have autism/Asperger Ssyndrome/PDD/whatever/”. It is wrong that you attacking someone that you telling them omeone step aside. Why don’t step aside and quit hatin’?
Also Umpatan, please you need to know your place, step aside, and don’t judge before you get yourself & everyone else hurt for not only your sake, but other people sake so they doesn’t lose you. Show some love. I know that the bad emcomy and finding a job sucks, but we should encuroge each other, not putting each other down.
I’ve been wrestling with something similar – based on my negative work experiences, I’m grappling with whether to seek disability or not. I can’t get jobs easily, and when I do, they do not keep me long. Eventually they either fire me for undisclosed “performance” reasons (odd, because I am a hard worker, and always commended for this initially). In all the jobs I’ve had, the only ones that keep me longer-term were the ones for which I never mentioned anything about my Asperger’s. I have taken the “up front” approach in some interviews, but those prospects never hired me. So I stopped doing that, and eventually places started hiring me. One time I mentioned my disability after being hired, and the employer gave me the impression I was being “dishonest.” I was fired a few months later. Still, most of these people I work for (and with), always notice I am “off” in many ways, and even so I am still covering even more oddness they don’t even see. I’m able to obfuscate and blend to a fair extent by using a memorization-based catalog of “if, then” social equations derived from past experience. My last firing experience took me so much by surprise, I had gotten comfortable in a routine I thought was working for me and my employer, and I thought I was going to be OK. I had been working 12 months at a “health food” store, and I had even earned a paid ‘vacation week.’ Then, an isolated incident occurred when I was under too-many-customers stress while working by myself. A customer asked “can I pay for all this tomorrow?” and because the manager had allowed them credit in the past, I granted it too without even thinking of the whole context of the idea. The customer assured me it was OK, and I fell for it out of my own social illiteracy. The following day I was interrogated, insulted, chewed out and then fired. This was an experience I never want to have again. It hits me hard because they had this impression of me as a good employee, and when this perception changed suddenly, people get angry, suspicious and said all these blunt and accusatory things. Almost as if some latent paranoia about my weirdness came gushing out “I always knew there was something odd about you” – “How could you do that?” – “How could you possibly think that was OK?” – “We’re so ashamed of you” … It’s really abrupt, and even scary. They made me feel not only wrong, but also dishonest in my own skin ::::: These are all retail jobs – that whole “team player” “socially capable” kind of work at which I gather that most ‘Aspies’ find very difficult. I would have sought higher education to get out of retail, but education and I never agreed. So, I don’t really know what to do. The economy is terrible, and I am now self-employed, but I cannot remain independent in this manner as the price of everything is increasing. I am reliant on others and feel like a burden to them, but have been quite independent for 5 years. I can’t imagine going back to live with the parents at my age (28). Yet, I don’t feel like it would be honest for me to go on disability since I do not really feel disabled, and there are jobs I could work at theoretically. So you know, hypothetical ideal employment does not pay the bills in the real world. I don’t know what to do. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
It’s interesting reading other people’s experiences. I’m working for a construction company and, although it was great to start with, it’s gone downhill rapidly since I’ve ahd to work 7-day weeks and long hours. It doesn’t help that on this project I was put with some very selfish people who had their favourites and made it very clear I wasn’t one of them. I’ve been with them just over a year now and am exhausted, slip into involuntary mutism quite frequently and dislike the way that banter is expected from me. I enjoy overhearing the banter, but I am rubbish at participating!
I have no answers; I have had many different types of job over the years – admin, teaching, even security, now engineer – and none of those have gone too well. My self-diagnosis of AS a couple of years ago helped me explain myself to myself, but ingrained habits die hard. I does help me, at least, to read how other people deal with these things. “At least I’m not the only one” springs to mind.
I’d tell them what you have, but depending how much you know, I would try to not make it sound like a excuse.
I have apbergers as well, but to what degree has never been clear.
And because of that I have mentioned a bit of what asbergers does and how it affects me which changes from one day to the next.
Don’t be afraid of it, I was and that made working worse than it was.
There will be days that you will hate having it, but you see things differently that could be of help.
We see the world differently than other people, and in work, that can actually be a good thing.
I hope everything goes well for you.
I have a related topic. I was recently diagnosed with AS. I am 46, and this diagnosis has made my life history make sense in so many ways.
I have held the same job (help desk-type work) for nine years, and, while it’s not the most upwardly mobile job in the world, after reading some of the comments above, I feel very lucky to have it. There have been some minor incidents through the years, one of which brought me close to losing this job, and AS explains both those problems and those I’ve had on previous jobs.
So here’s my question. I have a blog, and I often link to the posts on Facebook. AS has inspired me to use this blog to share the way I see the world through AS. I am a bit reluctant, though. While I have a sizable network of Facebook friends, few of them are co-workers (by design), but they are there and they might read my blog entries. What if it gets through the grapevine at work that I have AS? Could this jeopardize my current job, or keep me from finding a better one? Have any of you dealt with this issue?