Workplace Accomodations For AS success

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Other people suggested this thread but didn't have the time to post it.
The most important accomodation for me is to not let people 'move' stuff in my work area.

I haven't worked for a long time, but I'd say that having a clearly defined role is important to me. Because in the short lived job I had, different people were telling me to do different things and I'd just get pushed from one place to the next. If my role was clear, I'd like to think that there would be no argument over what I should be doing and where I should be doing it. Though in reality, I suspect it wouldn't be as simple as that.

I'd also like people to refrain from using mind games and subtle manipulation on me, because I do notice it and I consider it insulting, but I can't call them out on it because they're hardly going to admit it are they?

Nutlog, I do not want to sound like I am talking down to you but what you describe is one of my pet peeves. It is usually writen in the job description as "an other duties as may be required by the supervisor". That basically means you can be told to do almost anything you boss whats you to do whether you are trained to do it or not. This phrase of a job description should be illegal.

My kid is just starting out in the workforce and is having absolute hell with people (as did I, years ago):

1) not giving clear communication (i.e., saying other than what was meant - "That's not what I meant!" when directions are followed precisely.)

2) not giving clear expectations of performance (i.e., " We expect you to be able to do more" - with no delineation as to what "more" is when not in a job where a countable product is the end result)

3) expecting her to be more "outgoing" (i.e., going to work, doing the job, but not being "touchy-feely" enough for office mates - "You don't seem to fit in here, you don't seem to want to be "part of the team" when "part of the team" consists of going to lunches, gossiping, etc....)

4) having bizarre expectations (i.e., "Well, you should have known xyz" when no training was ever given on "xyz". Variant of this is "Well, I think any normal person would have known not to do xyz or to do xyz" or that people would like/not like xyz." When the situation is not something pedestrian or that one is likely to have ever met in a career-to-date.)


I've learned, after 35 years in the workforce, how to parry those statements to a better end, but the kid is new and just does a "freeze/deer-in-the-headlights" pose and is seriously hampered by it all.

It was unfortunate that I, technically, did not have a job description. I was on a trial and my job title(s) were vague. If I had had some form of contract then I could have seen what I was agreeing to. Though having said that, a lot of people will expect you to do whatever they say, regardless of what you're being paid to do and what you agreed to do.

And I definitely agree with:



My boss was guilty of that and even had the nerve to accuse the rest of us of having communication problems. He wasn't even there 80% of the time and when he was he was perpetually in the middle of a phone call, having no time for anyone.

I suppose that one accomodation for AS would be:

No quick, demanding transitions.

Back when I worked in fast food, they would want me on out in the lobby, then on fries, then when I wasn't doing the fries quick enough, they wanted me pouring drinks. Then when I didn't do that fast enough, they sent me back out in the lobby. It can take people with AS a few minutes to get accustomed to a new task, so if you want maximum production, put them on one task and keep them there.

Natural lighting, no flourescents.

Either headphones are allowed, or no background noise.

Minimal face-to-face meetings.

Given complete 'ownership' over a certain area, such that the person can operate outside a social hierarchy.

Naps

I have problems with supervisors misinterpreting things that I say. Recently one of them accused me of being passive aggressive, and I'm not entirely sure that's a concept that I understand. I mean, I have an intellectual concept, but no actual idea what it is.

They don't communicate clearly about what they want and need, and even though I've explained that I take things literally they're surprised when I say "I will accomplish X by doing 1, 2, and 3" and then I actually do it.

One of them seems to think that my ASDs mean that I'm not capable of getting appropriate kinds of resolution. Recently I stayed at a hotel for a professional conference and shared the accommodation. My colleauge/friend who set up the room only set it up for one person; we got there and the desk clerk split the bill but didn't add my name/info to the room.

We paid with debit cards (which means that the bill was immediately tallied and settled) so I couldn't have my charge moved to my invoice for reimbursement. I had the accounts dept print off a record of my credit card transaction because it showed a balance, even though I realized it would be a long shot for purchasing to be able to use it, and the supervisor in question called the hotel to check and make sure I had talked to the right person... except she didn't explain to them what I explained to her about the room and she told me that I was wrong about not being able to move the charge and that I just had to give them my debit card # and they could generate an invoice. So I did this, even though I knew it was unlikely to produce the results she insisted it would. It didn't work as she thought it would, because the invoice came up in my colleague's name with my CC details.

Great answers. I agree with all of the above.

Worst thing for me at a job is contradictory orders. One boss says to do X and the other says to do not-X and if you disobey one of them you're fired. I was fired for this in my previous job. It was hell.

Second worst thing for me: crammed open space with everyone's cell phones ringing all day around me with different strident tunes.

Third nightmare: a small company where I have to interact with the same 3-4 people all the time and a lot.

I also hate dark, grim, shabby quarters and workplaces that are infamous in the market for having a nasty, abusive corporate culture and staff, and places where the bosses yell at the employees as the preferred form of training. And jobs where my main task is nudge another employee, higher than me in the hierarchy, to do a certain task that they'll never do.

Apart from all that and the posts written before mine, I enjoy everything else.

best solution: work alone.

which is what i do and it suits me,.

failing that;
1. one thing at a time.
2. own office or room away from the madding crowd.
3. DO NOT...I REPEAT DO NOT...move ANYTHING. the clutter is order.
4. lunch and tea breaks alone.
5. be clear. no contradictions,
6. written or visual instructions please.

I thought this was just me

Better is not to work at all. Cuz i haaaaaaatttte other places than home. And I won't work at home either, i just f*****g hate work.
Doesnt make me feel useful or anything like that.

There are a few things I can think of:

--Very clear job description and expectations (including unwritten ones)
--Having someone give me a complete tour from the start, so I know where all the offices, photocopiers, mail rooms, etc. are. I've noticed most people pick these things up through being sociable, whereas I can be somewhere for months and not know the basics
--Have someone agree to tell me as soon as they are displeased with something and not have it emerge later on or expect me to mindread
--Flexible hours and allowances for medical appointments
--Allowances for not participating in group lunches or social events, but to ensure I'm informed about them anyway (I'm always the last to know anything)
--A quiet place to work, preferably alone (I was once subjected to a colleague's social life and music every day while they were supposed to be working; people would visit them every couple of hours!)
--Non-flickering monitor
--Advanced warning of change, where possible
--Assistance with presentations, either with another person or speech technology
--Agreement that I use email rather than the telephone
--A bonus would be a job coach from an outside agency who specialises in autism, and a care assistant to accompany me to distant conferences

Even without accomodations, when I used to be employed, I would be more productive than many colleagues (some of whom would take advantage and get me to do some of their jobs too), but would be constantly misunderstood due to not socialising or displaying the correct body language. My stress levels would be unnecessarily high as well, due to having no allowances made for sensory and other autism-related differences.

Wow, how do you survive?

Welfare (I am not in the USA) and i still live at parents house.

Not sure if I can think of anything more than what's already been said......

How about managers using the word "the" to prefix something they've never told you about before? It's a very small error but it's loaded with presumption, and it just scares and angers me - there's this powerful maniac running around with the crazy idea that I know what the f*** they're on about.

Then there's "change propaganda" - i.e. some suits write a pretty document about how you aren't really doing your bit unless you embrace change - i.e. tolerate every disruption to your environment and rights. "Flexibility" is another weasel-word for the same thing.

Management-speak: I have a perfectly adequate language of my own, it's called plain English, and I don't want to learn another one unless it's absolutely essential, which it isn't. Managers can speak plain English if they wish.

Chopping up people's jobs into a plethora of jobs and generally overcomplicating things. I want a simple day's work for a simple day's pay: one worker, one job please.

Multiple bosses: This has already been touched on, with the idea that one boss can contradict another and the worker gets the blame for disobeying. It's called being used as a political football. It's bad enough that I have to develop coping strategies to survive the humiliation of having one inept, buck-passing authority figure, but more than one is just taking the mickey. One worker, one boss, please. And that one should have severe restrictions placed on them as to what they can do to me.

Overtime: This should be agreed well in advance, and be entirely optional. It is not acceptable to simply load up the worker with responsibilities that will more than likely overrun the prescribed working day, and then rely on the worker's diligent nature to get the job done. Also, any overtime worked should be either paid for or given back at the earliest possible juncture. Pressure to donate extra labour time is like picking somebody's pockets - it's theft. Do prisoners get their sentences informally extended like that? I don't think so.

Sneaking phrases like "team leader," "responsible person," next to an individual's name on work lists, and leaving the onus on the individual to object, instead of defining the term and asking whether it's acceptable.