Still unemployed. Anyone else?

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I sincerely do cheer for those employed. It may not be easy, but you all are earning so many points! In my view, I think “Wow you are autistic and you have been employed for years? You deserve endless gold trophies and many, many colored ribbons!”

I wish I could be employed. I was for a while. But then people said “Wow you seem so overstimulated, do you make time for yourself?” One person said “Alone time is sacred, you should really treat it as such if you don’t”

But then I burnt out so bad I forgot to eat, shower, and all those basic things. My mind was constant circles.

I will probably be employed again. But only for a while. But who knows. I wish those who were on disability could be payed a lot more. Disability is a really big hardship. It is something we cannot help and we did not choose this prior to our life. We just want to be happy like everyone else.

There's a lot of job listings out there right now, but a lot of them are just trying to take advantage of people...they'll mislead you by promising good wages and 40 hours, when, in fact, you'll be over-worked and under-paid.

I haven't worked since I caught Covid. I wouldn't be able to, but it's a lot better if I'm the one who stays home and takes care of our kid.

I can't believe I worked almost 8 years making less than $12 an hour. I mean, I guess I could afford it at the time, but now that I have a family, it's just not worth it. Plus, all of the stress and the physical exertion I had to deal with, it's kind of nice to wake up every day not feeling like I've been hit by a truck.

I have been jobless for all my life even though I was a straight-A student in high school and college and graduated with honors.

Last edited by Texasmoneyman300 on 19 Dec 2021, 12:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This.

I agree.It hurts when are blamed and shamed for being jobless and chronically unemployed like I have my whole life.

Yes, everyone has their reasons for being unemployed. Mostly it is because employment conditions are discriminatory for disabled folk.

Ya true.People think I am a lazy bum for giving up on independence when I make 0 dollars and dont even have my own bank account and cant get a job and have 0 dollars of my own.I would like to see them try to get an 30 year mortgage under those circumstances

Precisely.

The system is not helping you in any shape or form. You have no reason to be sorry for not achieving independence if you cannot achieve it reasonably. You are not lazy for this specific reason (I have no idea what you are like in person, or in general).

Capitalism has winners & losers - mostly losers.

Omg I can relate! Trying to hold a job was so stressful for me I couldn't sleep at night and it caused me physical pain from all the constant tension in my body. I was always late for work, I could never get there on time, it took me all day to prepare. I just have had to accept I just can't.

Same for me. The more we had to work, the harder it would be for me to get out of bed the next day.
I didn't even know it was auto-immune, I just thought everyone felt that way.

Recently fired, i was only employed for two weeks but working myself to the point i was constantly sleepy and exhausted amounted to nothing.

Yet you've bought and sold companies in the oil patch.

I am a manager in an office currently, though I have had long stretches of unemployment for sure. Unfortunately in my company, 90% of the people working in management won't take the extra time to really get to know their employees and work around their needs and challenges. The higher you go in a corporation, the more accepting people are about your quirks and idiosyncrasies. When you are first starting out, it's highly likely those same quirks will either get you fired or make you want to resign. I've seen the same in a few places I have worked, and it's quite sad. Fortunately now that I finally am in a position with some authority, I can act 75% like myself and no one complains.

One of the great pleasures of my work is finding new employees and treating them like people rather than cogs in the corporate machine. I rarely beat around the bush; if someone is struggling on my team I pull them aside and ask them straight up if they are having any mental health challenges that are making things difficult for them. It's amazing to see their faces light up when they realize they can talk to me about their issues and not be worried they will be labeled.

Been unemployed for ten years now. Live in a small town with few opportunities. Fortunate to have disability benefits, which pays more in Australia than unemployment benefits. The only work here is a couple of months of fruit picking per year, which would be enough to kick me off disability if I took those jobs. Then for the rest of the year I'd be on less benefits and spending more money on fuel in meeting the requirements for unemployment benefits, so an even bigger financial loss.

No. If I'm to ever work again, it won't be by playing the 'do whatever casual job is available' game. I'd need to take control and come up with a viable career option. I've just never come close to identifying a candidate that ticks enough boxes.

I've experienced long gaps in unemployment since I graduated from University.

Since moving house, I have been reassigned on to welfare benefits, and they have attempted to force me into looking for work again.

I feel like a burden to be honest. Almost as if I'm seen as an awkward nuisance, because they cannot cross me off their list and permanently rid me from their books.

The problem I have is, the work related to my degree is (and always will be) fiercely competitive and sporadic due to its freelancing nature. It is however, where I find similarly like-minded creative peers, who are more accommodating and understanding of how me and my ASD affects me on a day to day basis.

I'd be happy to take 'any old job' they'd bestow on me, but it's first attempting to overcome the interview process. You name it, I've tried it. I'm either given the job out of pity or quiet desperation on their part, or I'm simply seen as curt and uninterested and subsequently rejected, being once told not to disclose my ASD or University degree, as "They scare employers off."

Once over this obstacle, I experience more chides, discriminatory behaviour and workplace bullying, regardless of if I disclose or undisclose, mask, or unmask. I've given it my all for the last 8 years, and I'm frankly sick of never finding that like-minded understand or genuine compassion and empathy in the menial. An oxymoron, I know. I am happy to accept to work as a cog in the machine, if I am not demoralised and bullied for being Autistic in the first place.

From my experience in the workforce, interviewing (whether for a new position or a transfer/promotion within a company) is 60% luck, 30% who you know, and 10% skills/knowledge. Most hiring managers have an incredibly difficult time assessing who is going to be a good candidate for a position, and their choices are largely based on 'gut feelings' and random selection. The best use of your time IMO should be applying for as many jobs as possible. Given enough time and applications, you will find a hiring manager you can actually enjoy working under. Once you are in a company and looking for a promotion, it really helps to try to be friendly and 'easy to manage'. Those are the people that get promoted. My last 2 promotions had almost nothing to do with my competence; they were a direct result of me spending time to get to know my boss and make their lives easier. They weren't able to see my talents until they liked me.

Not sure if any of that was helpful, and if it wasn't you have my apologies. I hope you eventually find a career working with people that make you happy. Cheers.