would that bother only aspies, or nts as well?

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my boss called and asked me to show up early at my survey over the phone job, so I did. Showed up at twelve pm. (I usually work four to ten at night). I asked how many hours we'll be working, and she said she doesnt know!
The minute I start working, I need to know how many hours I'll be working. it's essential for my state of mind. I went crazy, but quietly.
would that bother you too, and it this an aspie thing - or just me?
because the nts worker sitting next to me asked me, "why do you want to know?" imagine that!

That would really bother me, and I would have thought it would bother anyone with a life, to be honest! I would imagine that not being able to plan your day because suddenly your work hours are undefined would be unsettling no matter who you are, NT or not. Because you can't know when you get to eat next, what to tell a loved one about when you'll be home, whether to cancel later plans already made. Even NTs get concerned about that stuff.

Maybe the guy next to you is just exceptionally indifferent.

Your boss is a bit of a jerk for this, in my view. It's more humane and considerate to give employees clear time frames even if something unexpected comes up.

And because you are on the spectrum, legally you likely have a right to request that this kind of thing not be asked of you because it creates anxiety for you. It comes under making provisions for someone with your needs in the workplace.


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That kinda crap is the norm in my job. Were an inventory service, and physically count merchandise in retail stores for inventory. Often rooky folks in the inventory crew dont show, or the powers at be underestimate how much stuff there is to count, and a five hour store takes 12 hours or more to count. And even when things go smooth you still never really know how long your work day is going to be. Or you finnish a store on time, and they either beg, or order to drive ten miles to another thats shorthanded to count that store. Don't like it much, but Im not yet in a straightjacket and a rubber room.

What they NTs beside you could have ACTUALLY been saying is 'Oh, what are you doing today after work such that you need to get home so soon?' And yes, while this is a little nosy asking that, (they probably just want to hear gossip about your life, what's going on, perhaps you have a hot date or is someone in your family sick, etc), it could have been a great opportunity to divulge a little about yourself to them, especially since you didn't actually have anything you had to do. You could just have told them quite truthfully 'Oh it just drives me nuts not knowing in advance how long I'll be working, I like to plan things like that, it really messes me up!.' And then if you felt like it or had thought about why the co-workers spoke to you in the first place, you could add something like 'but I wish I were doing activity x tonight' or add 'I'm just doing x tonight, nothing important' as that would then convey one of your interests to these people as well, and perhaps you'd find something in common to talk to them about later.

I suspect few nt's would be bothered by not knowing when their work is ending without having a reason to be bothered by it. That said though, of course there are a million reasons why someone might want to be home early, something as simple as they wanted to get lots of things done that night, to they had or wanted to make plans with someone else, to being able to plan a budget around how much money they'll make, to wanting to know if they have to tape their favorite show or if they have time to make their favorite dinner tonight because if they have extra time they'll do that. An NT would be bothered by this contingent upon something else...hence the questions that your co-workers asked you.
Furthermore, your co-workers read that it's quite important that you know when you're done because you actually asked the boss about it, and so they *know* this is important to you and so they figure there's got to be something else going on in your life that they want to hear about.

Ultimately, I think most people generally would be bothered by not knowing what time work is ending since I think most people have busy lives, but they're probably not bothered to the extent that you are (it's one of the defining characteristics of having an ASD afterall). But a NT who leads a very laid back life might not be bothered by this at all.

just keep the thought in mind that you will be there FOREVER, and you will be fine. if your really really tired, just ask her if you can sleep in your cubicle.

lol
if i thought i'd be there forever, i'd die. and as far as sleeping in my cucible, i always want to do it anyway. wish i could just sleep through work.

If they don't know, they don't know, but the supervisor should have been able to give you an idea of at least how long they would expect to need to do the job. You would have to accept that it could be even longer.

Hi,
NT here.

My reaction to this would depend on my life situation:

Before I had a family I was independent and I could work all sorts of long hours if asked and if necessary.
With a partner only, I needed to check back with him to coordinate our plans.
Today with job, husband, kids and being "structure provider" for my 'kid on the spectrum' , I can work ununsual and unusually long hours if told in advance. Give me a day to organize the kids and once they are provided for I don't need to know for how long I have to work.

Of course, we'd discuss the situation among us collegues (I'm sure that's bad English ), small talk things like how difficult for x it was to organize, what event y had to cancel, why z can't work longer (sick child) etc.

If these kinds of demands on my time were to become the norm, that of course would be another matter and dealt with accordingly.

Greetings

Ennik

She's hardly a jerk for not knowing when they'll be finished.


OP, I think there are plenty of people who wouldn't have a big issue with that. At certain times my mother has to go in for particularly busy seasons and then they stay until their work task is done. On those days she never knows when she'll be home. She never frets over it. She just goes in with the attitude "we'll be there till we're done". Sometimes that's just how it is.

I don't think that'd be too much of a deal for me really, if we there was something we had to get done for the day.

I can only stay focused on something that doesn't obsess me, for a limited period of time. After that, I'm done, no matter what anyone else wants. If I don't get out of there, I start to have claustrophobic anxiety issues. Open-ended schedules are a big problem.

The irritating thing is, while I am staying focused and working my butt off to get the project finished so I can get the hell out of there, it's the neurotypicals who will stand around gabbing and goofing off. If overtime is required, it's almost always because they didn't knuckle down and get things done in the first place.

I am NT and would be bothered. In lieu of knowing the time I would be there for, I'd need to know the extent of the task so I could make my own estimates by seeing how long it took to complete 1/3 of the task, 1/2 and so on. If we were halfway done after 3 hours, i'd figure on being there roughly 6 hours.

I'd need to know before going in that the job was based on task completion rather than hourly so I could plan accordingly (or rather, not make any time-specific plans).

I have worked inventory before and the pay was hourly. I was not worried about how long it took because the longer it took, the more money I made and if it went past 8 hours, I would get overtime. That sort of thinking may have what kept others unworried. I also could make estimates of how long it would take by marking how long it took the team to proceed through the aisles. Also I hadn't made any time-specific plans because I knew it was a "long as it takes" job.

But if this open-endedness were a surprise, or I had no means of making my own estimates (couldn't see what then rest of the team had accomplished or how much was left) or if I was paid by the job not the hour, then I would be bothered indeed.

We got hourly as well so obviously you get more money, but not necessarily overtime. Our company calculates overtime by the whole week, not by the day. So working a 12 hour day wouldnt guarantee four hours of overtime. In fact it wouldnt guarantee ANY amount of overtime.

This would bother me too. As an exceptional experience I would accept it ...sometimes these things happen. I would find it difficult to remain in the job if it happened regularly, especially if changes to my working hours were not mentioned in my contract. NT

That would bother the hell out of me as well. What do you mean you don't know? You're my boss!
A question I wouldn't actually ask, but I would suspect lack of competence and professionalism on my boss's part for not knowing or at least giving a reason why it's unknown how long I'll be there. Whatever though, I'd take note of the situation, drop it then just get right to work. I can easily adapt to randomness as long as it's not a social situation that requires me to react immediately due to something unexpected happening.

And the workers who asked "why do you want to know?", I would probably either ignore them or if I were facing their direction, give a slight glare. It's not their business or their concern to pry.

i get paid by the hour too, and i had no way of knowing how long it would take, because i dont know how many phone numbers there are. they show up on the computer screen individually. i just want to look at my watch and say, four more hours, three more hours to go...

i get paid by the hour too, and i had no way of knowing how long it would take, because i dont know how many phone numbers there are. they show up on the computer screen individually. i just want to look at my watch and say, four more hours, three more hours to go...