Ways in which aspieism conflicts with your job

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Hi. I'm interested in ways in which aspieism conflicts with your job. For example, in my part-time job as a guesthouse night time receptionist, the ringing of the phone and of the door can be quite problematic for my anxiety since I'm quite sensitive to sound.

I've read a lot on here about the problems with social rules/games, and I was hoping to find out what other problems there are than social games in this thread.

for me, it is just a general limitation in mental energy.
i can ignore most if not all sensory issues if i need to, at the expence of energy, which is limited to begin with.
this is not really a problem for most employers. if i mention i need to expend lots of energy to be around (for example) fluorecent lights, and need some time to recover every now and then, they usually understand, and give me a recharging break, somewhat equivalet of the smoking break most others get

Yeah, that's a really good point about mental energy. I can totally handle a whole bunch of things up to a certain point and then suddenly I can't... I've just been using too many spoons/too much mental energy (google spoon theory for a truly excellent metaphor for mental energy depletion).

I find things like changes of plan are alright purely because I'm at work and changes of plan are to be expected, so it doesn't throw me... But at home much more slight changes of plan are able to rock me quite a lot, depending on how much mental energy I have.

I actually find that at work I tend to bring a whole new set of spoons (i.e. my mental energy resets), which makes life a lot easier than it would be otherwise.

Things that have driven me crazy on jobs:
-people wearing perfume or cologne and giving me headaches
-people playing music on radios in their cubicle (unless is is very quiet and calm classical music or Spanish guitar)
-people interrupting me too much
-not being able to control the thermostat and getting too hot
-smokers stinking up the place and giving me headaches
-open plan offices where there's no sense of privacy at all
-having to answer a busy phone line
-not having planned breaks at specific times
-having to "look busy"

The list could go on and on! I was happiest selling books online from home.
Amelia

The bloody office politics! (In addition to SaveTigers' list!)

Loud, harsh sounds.
Plans changing without warning.
Getting interrupted.
Having to leave things unfinished because something else have to be tended to, if it happens too frequently.
Being around people for too long.

Oh yes, the office politics; something I am totally blind to and sometimes the victim of. Plans changing without notice throws me big time; I walked out of a meeting recently because of it. My plan is to just stick to my knitting. Some people are rooting for me to move up eventually, but I just don't see it. I am happy at the level I am at. The politics higher up would just kill me, spiritually anyway.

I keep thinking about all the other things I could be doing. I can't pursue any interests except in a most superficial manner because I have to devote so much of my time and energy to an endeavour that I don't really care about other than the $$ I earn to pay for a house that I didn't choose to live in and a car I didn't want to buy.

In my last review, my issues were eye contact and personal space issues ( occurs mostly by the photocopier or when I put packing slips in the slot by the receptionist) the issue is mostly standing too close to others. I was NOT disciplined for this. Overall my review was positive and I got a pay raise. My boss has been pretty good. He used to be a teacher so he might be a little bit aware. I have somewhat got around most of the issues by just not going to an area when there is a line or group of people all crowded in an area....back parts counter or the copier. I look at a person' s face when talking to make it look more like eye contact. I have issues with faces and names but that is not much of a problem since everyone has their names on their shirts. If not, I match the name with a certain attribute or personality.

Oh man, my biggest problems in my new job right now are the things that change without warning and being forced into unfamiliar situations. Getting a huge delivery to my store on a semi truck without knowing the package was coming and my boss not being there to help me was soooo overwhelming. Luckily my boss showed up just in time.
As far as changes, I had to paint the store recently and I didn't know I was expected to paint. :S But I also hate that the store is always too hot! Noises and lights I can handle, temperature is my enemy. I have to sit all day in order not to overheat which drives me NUTS because I feel a compulsive need to clean/straighten up/do something.

I am in shipping and receiving and work in a warehouse. I only go to the front parts are to bring up urgent packages or submit papers to the receptionist or to retrieve printed waybills

My biggest frustration is the lack of consistency in rules enforcement. Some rules are not enforced on higher ups (like safety rules) and some are not enforced at all (no smoking areas) yet others are only enforced a fraction of the time (parking). Drives me up the wall. If you aren't going to enforce a rule DON'T HAVE IT! Of course, I am only a worker bee because I can't stay the phoniness, backstabbing in higher levels. I might be not be rich but I like being on the ground floor with the other honest working class folks.

^^^ Or the only times they enforce the rules are to punish ONE specific person they want to squeeze out of the workplace... everyone else can continue to violate that silly rule at will.

Many of these rules were only made by managers who need to make rules in order to convince everyone they're in charge - and it's their job to make rules and tell people what to do.

I have worked in High Tech for over 20 years, but am currently unemployed. The things that drove me crazy included:
- Plans Constantly Changing - Yesterday’s plan (which were just modified because the prior’s day plan was invalidated), are no longer valid.
- Constant Overload - Being unable to get my work done. As things change constantly. Feeling as if I need to work 12 hours days just to catch up.
- Ethical Lapses - Having bosses or executives coerce you (or your team) into doing things that are unethical or go against your standards.
- Feeling Manipulated - Having bosses set expectations or asking you to do things (beyond what you deem reasonable), causing you to feel manipulated.
- Constant Interruptions - Everything has to be done ASAP.
- Constant Politics - People do what they do out of self-interest or self-preservation, instead of trying to optimize the organization. Which for me causes confusion (i.e. why do they do what they do).
- Lack of Quality Focus - Being unable to complete tasks to (what I consider to be) an acceptable level of Quality.

Unsaid expectations get me in serious trouble all the time.