How are you treated in the workplace

Post Reply New Topic

People think I'm a bit weird, but I don't mind it.

I consider myself very, very lucky - I've been in my current job a few weeks now after a long period as a carer, and my work environment is great. I work in a processing team for a large financial services organisation - the pay and conditions are very decent (particularly considering the dismal local job market), we have a union, pension, health benefits, annual bonus and plenty of internal job opportunities as well as a disability-positive HR policy, and my colleagues and line managers are all sound - I seem to have gone down well as an autie because despite my difficulty in multitasking (i.e. - 'I can listen to you, or finish what I'm updating properly, but not both. Can you give me a sec?'), I pick stuff up in a flash and can recall it on demand - useful where half the team are new like me and still picking up the procedural stuff, so can help out my supervisors and teammates, and frequently do - and spot errors and problems most wouldn't. So I'm part savant, part spaz and nobody seems to mind. Technical admin jobs seem to be a good fit for our kind.

Well, I barely talk to anyone I work with, so I imagine they probably think I'm a weirdo, or that someday I'm gonna snap and kill everyone who works there. I have no intention of doing that.

I now work from home after requesting it from my boss. My coworkers were kind, and I responded socially when they would talk or share things with me. However, one of them took this as a "we are best friends now" concept, and I didn't pick up on that. She would invite me to lunches and to go out at night, but I rejected almost all of those stating being busy, having to go home, having a lot of work... generally, I didn't much want to go out with her.

She snapped at me one day. She started spam typing me in all caps on our chat window, then stood up in the office and said we needed to "chat" in the other room. I just sat there, completely confused as to why she was doing this. I shook my head and said no, I can't do this right now, I need to be alone. She pushed me to tears. After that, I asked to work from home, and now I don't have to deal with her.

At other jobs mostly the same thing happened. People liked me, I think, wanted to be friends, but I didn't pick up on the depth of our relationship. They felt like acquaintances.

I don't know and frankly don't care how others treat me at work, as long as the Generals are pleased, I am most peachy.

Bullied and put down, by a manager no less.

I started at an insurance company this month, after 3 years of being unemployed. I was so happy I got this job. the manager there knew my name from my previous job and wanted someone familiar at his new company (at my previous job he and I had only talked over the phone, so he didn't actually know me that well personally), I guess he assumed I had gained good work experience at the previous job which I could contribute to his company now. in the beginning my new coworkers (its a small team of 3 people I'm mostly working with) were really friendly and very welcoming, but slowly but surely they are getting more distanced and hostile. yesterday when I came in and a girl from my team saw me her reaction was (and she said it out loud) "what are you doing here?" I tried to just smile at her and pretend it was a joke but she was not smiling, I felt so humiliated. from the beginning I tried to be really friendly and nice but they seem to begin to hate me. they are friendly towards me whenever the manager is around, but I get the sense they are wondering why I got this job and whether it was really good idea. I'm sharing a small room with another guy who was also welcoming first, but I just never know what to say or talk about other than job-related stuff and I can sense how much he hates sitting in this room with me all day. I just can't to small talk and never know what to say, it's like my mind goes just blank and nothing comes out. I wonder how much longer I will survive there, the manager will soon realise what an idiot I am and that he made a mistake, I fear I have to leave by end of this month. I'm feeling so sick with fear, and there's nothing I can do to change the situation. it's just so frustrating. I'm trying to work really hard and do a good job, but if my coworkers hate me there's nothing I can do really. what should I do, quit myself and stop annoying other people, or wait until I'm let go? I feel so helpless....

Aside from the one workmate calling me a Mongoloid and a couple workmates being touch happy, I like to think I am treated well enough.

everyone's really nice at my work, and I think that's because they have a good understanding of autism (I'm working as a learning support assistant in a school). Kettle's always boiled, and there's always a good laugh to be had. Boss is lovely as well.