I have a wonderful job I love. I have been doing it for 20 years and though every year my annual review says I need to work on communication, I have been able to navigate the pitfalls. Now I am being repeatedly disciplined for how I talk to people. I am afraid I might lose my job. I have now disclosed my diagnosis and asked for accomodations in an attempt to keep my position. The HR person, after reading the recommended accommodations told me they would look into getting training for neurodiverse employees but I really need to work on my communication. My write ups even clearly state that my intentions are good but the words I use are inappropriate. I attended a crucial conversations class and I now see that the issue is that I am not making the situation "safe." How can I make it safe if I can't really tell that the person is uncomfortable? When my boss said, "assuming positive intentions," I thought she meant she was assuming I had positive intentions. In reality, she was feeling threatened and was asking me to assume she had positive intentions. When I have to do something new, I like to know why I have to do it that way, so I explain to other people when a policy or standard practice is violated why the policy or standard practice is important. I am told not to be abrupt and now when I try to explain why I am bringing the issue up that the explanation is threatening. Does anyone else have ideas how I can navigate this? Can they fire me for manifesting my disability if it does not impair my ability to do my job?
30 May 2024, 8:35 pm
