Working is very overwhelming

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Hello. So I work at a pet store as a cashier part time 2-3 times a week for a 3-4 hours shift. I like working my normal shift, which is the closing shift, since not many people call the store and not many people come in. But when I work a weekend shift, I tend to want to go home and cry after due to my social awkwardness. Many customers are nice people, and I try to not act weird, but things happen.

I have a hard time understanding people with accents and I don't like it when people call with accents because I can't understand them and feel so bad because of it. I try my very best to, but I can't, especially over the phone where there is phone static and background noises on both sides of the phone.

But even in general, I try to help people, and I am considered a very friendly person, but I feel very awkward. I especially hate it when I have to look for something for someone and I can't find it immediately. I don't like people waiting for me.

Anyways, is there a way to not feel so awkward about myself at work? Many people are nice I said, but I also have social anxiety, and strangers make me anxious, and higher anxiety makes me more socially awkward. I wish I didn't have to deal with people I don't know.

Also, do many people on here who do work, or have worked in the past, feel overwhelmed by work? The only reason I feel I have a job is because I work at my mom's store, and since she is the owner, she isn't going to fire me.

It would help if you could get a cheap headset for the phone.

I think it is hard for anyone starting out--it should get easier as you gain more practice and know what to expect. It is hard when everything is new.

Could you wear a badge saying "please be nice - I have social anxiety"?

That won't help on the phone though.

That'd be a good idea if people weren't so stigmatizing about mental illness. Though I live in a nice community, people are still not sure about people with mental illness. I wish we lived in a society one day where people understand how hard it is to live with one (or more) mental illness(es).

Thanks for your response

Hello. What do you mean by a cheap headset? Like, wearing headphone type of thing instead of using the phone's speakers and microphone? I wouldn't know how to set it up, but sounds like a good idea. I know a workplace where the secretaries there have headsets.

I have been working at this job for a year now, but it's my first job. And I know, more practice will help me get better, but it's still very hard.

Thanks for your response

Is not caring what other people think a option? If not you could always, Wear a shirt that says, Beware of the socially awkward then have arrow pointing toward you face?

Hello. I care too much about what others think. It's part of my social anxiety, plus I'm a highly sensitive person. I wish I could not care about what others think. And I do have a work uniform (a t-shirt with the company logo on it). Thanks for your response

I find work overwhelming too. I have a part-time job, 3 days a week, 6 hours each shift, cleaning rooms in a care home. But even then I get stressed. I opt out of overtime, even though it means more money, but I just can't face doing any more than I already do.

I get so shy at work. I do not want to do nursing, so I just stick to the cleaning. But I sometimes find it awkward to talk to some of the residents, because most of them are deaf and I have a hard time speaking louder. But all the residents are lovely. I'm just not very outspoken.
Also there are some nurses there that I don't really talk to much. They probably think I'm snobby or something. But I'm just shy and don't always know what to say, other than hello and a bit of small talk now and again.
I talk more to the other cleaners that work there, which does me good.

Also I get distracted easily, and can easily be sidetracked. Also I can be forgetful too, especially if I have a mental to do list. Maybe I need to keep a notebook handy so that I can write things down so I don't forget.

You should also keep in mind, no matter what you do you're always going to have people who just don't like you for no particular reason and in the long run. It's better to just be yourself.

I love that T-shirt. If I was working in a factory, I'd actually wear it to work.

I just google Socially Awkward T-Shirt, and google spat it out. Here's the link.

Last edited by Pieplup on 19 Oct 2016, 12:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

great t-shirts on that site , I love this t-shirt

Perhaps you aren't working the right job and you need to find a job that is suitable for you?