Working a 9-5 While (Unknowingly) Autistic | AUTISM AT WORK

In this episode of Autistically Me, I talk about why it's so challenging for Autistic adults to work a regular 9-5 job and my experiences doing so. I also go into depth about my bad experience working at my "dream" job at the NFL Network and their disgusting lack of understanding and accommodations for people with mental illnesses.

Instagram: @OliviaHops

Autistic - Autism - ASD - Autism Spectrum Disorder - Autistic Adult - Autistic Female - Girls with Autism - Adults with Autism - Females with Autism - Women with Autism - Working While Autistic - Autism and Work - Autism and Jobs - NFL Network - Autism Girls

#ActuallyAutistic

[stgodd]

The social part of working always feels like more work than the work part of the job.

[maiamaiapapaya]

As an autistic person I have actually quit every 9-5 job I've ever had and now moving to self employment. The reasons I've quit don't revolve so much around the exhaustion of keeping the mask up all day, but it's usually something unethical the company or the bosses are doing and I just cannot stand by it! All my coworkers would have the attitude of "yeah, that's just how it is...you'll get used to it..." and I'm like "NO! How on earth can you all just sit here and be okay with this??!" Since us autists are great at recognizing patterns, I'm able to recognize the pattern of doing nothing about an issue and so it gets worse and worse. The thought of no one standing up to stop whatever it is becomes too overwhelming and I have to quit

[punkkimiko]

I really hate office politics. The loud mouths were always the ones that messed around all day! They didn't do their work and yet they were the ones getting promoted.

[silverlagomorpha]

“High school is forever.” You betcha. Mean girls are forever. If I ever end up in a nursing home, there will be mean girls. Diagnosed at 58. The scapegoat in a “Golden Child and the Scapegoat” family dynamic.

[MegaMind]

I'm at a 9-5 job but we're a small company where everyone knows I'm autistic and they are amazing. It's my first job where I don't want to vomit before I go to work. I can have my noise cancelling headphones on, I can be weird, I can take time off when I get too overwhelmed and I work only 4 days a week. My favourite part is that everyone knows that they can count on me doing a great job BUT they have to write everything down otherwise I'm not gonna remember a thing 😅

[oxfearless]

I’ve never been diagnosed with autism but the more I learn about it, the more I feel like everything I’ve gone through finally makes sense. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

[jennifer]

I've been fired from every 9-5 job I've ever had, not because I sucked AT ALL, but because when *my* workload was done and I felt myself becoming bored, (instead of depression) I would do *other* people's work. If _that_ was not an option, I would start troubleshooting systems, trying to streamline and make the whole process simpler and more efficient for everybody at the company. The owner of the last company that I was fired from told me that I "ruffled feathers" and "intimidated the management". 🙄
I wish I could find a job at a company that would actually UTILIZE me and what I can do... 😞

[tdsollog]

It’s so much of a struggle to be excellent at your job, but “with a smile” when you have invisible health conditions. I’ve seen social people who aren’t great workers get rewarded, and I got lectured because I wasn’t like them.

[mhairimacdonald]

To blurting things out in the interview- I responded (in total seriousness) to "What's your greatest achievement?" with "Learning to walk." Thankfully the interviewer had a sense of humour...

[jeanlittle]

This has to be THE BEST video about autistic women in the workplace! At 47 years old (I'm now 52) I found out that I was autistic. Your work experiences have been MY experiences...for my WHOLE LIFE!!! I was caught in a vicious cycle all that time...and, yes, PTSD is very real and it is excruciating!! It got so bad that I was suicidal. After many years, I FINALLY have some balance in my work/life. Even though I have 3 college degrees and have travelled and worked around the world, I now work as a housekeeper at a church. It may sound crazy, but I'm happy. It's quiet, I hardly see anyone, I keep active and can pray and listen to gospel music all day. I'm done "masking" for other peoples' sakes...too old and too tired for that. Keep up the amazing work....you're helping so many people!!! God bless you.

[kufufinmufinable]

I am an autistic female and I work in the engineering field. Numbers and logistics make me feel grounded and at ease. Finding that niche that you're good at, and maybe doesn't involve a lot of forced socializing was the key for me.

[galespressos]

All of this is so true. Feeling sick and exhausted emotionally effects the immune system as well. All of that exhaustion and physical illness eventually makes doing the work itself hard. It’s awful.

[chocoboasylum]

Highschool is forever. This is 100% true. There's always cliques and people just don't want to give you the benefit of the doubt if you're not 'One of Us', smh

[queenofthenegaverse]

I just got diagnosed with autism at the age of 26 and have struggled keeping a full time job. I mentioned this to the mental healthy nurse I've been seeing and she said that it makes total sense because I will need so much downtime to decompress and recover after my work day that I don't have time to do other things in my life and I'll end up burnt out very fast if the employer isn't accommodating. For the first time in my life I felt validated in my struggle to maintain working. I struggle even running my self-employed business because I struggle keeping things going constantly, especially when working with social media. Watching and hearing you talk about similar experiences feels so nice (although it sucks that others experience the same shitty things...)

[planetag]

I'm a 65-year-old woman. I know I have autistic traits, but was never diagnosed. I spent a lot of years going from job to job and then spent quite a few years working as a temporary office worker in a large public company. I'd work for a boss in one department for a few weeks, and then move on to another department. People always asked me why I wanted to work as a temp. Now I know why after many years. When you know you're going to be at a job for only a few weeks, you don't have to befriend your coworkers, show team spirit or deal with social obligations. Now, I've had the same job for the past 13 years, but have suffered deeply with being an outsider there. COVID sent us all home to work and we're all working from home now on a permanent basis. That's quite a relief, because I couldn't stand the 'social noise' of people chatting when they should have been working and I dreaded walking into the lunch room. I hid my social awkwardness from coworkers by remaining aloof and I'm sure they all talked about me behind my back.

[KREHedley]

Wow! This is incredible. I couldn't have said it better. I get promoted at every job because Im an excellent technician and I inevitably quit because (a la promotion) I cant be a manager of humans(!) My last job I begged them to demote me because I cant handle the social garbage. They said no, and I quit after crying everyday. Im so good at what I do, I do really unique work, I just want to work, how can I not keep a job?? I hate unpredictability, and what is more unpredictable than not knowing if you'll be able to keep your house

[jahbrianawilliams]

Before I came to the conclusion that there’s a high chance of me being on the spectrum, I was always self harming/ suicidal, having meltdowns in the bathroom at work, constant burn out, going to sleep right after work because of mental exhaustion. I thought all this was “normal” and it was just depression when it got really bad. After finding out about ASD and studying up on it, everything in my life made perfect sense. It was like a miracle; like having amnesia your whole life, but then suddenly getting your identity back. Now I have less burnouts and even when I do, I’m better able to get through them and I don’t cut anymore. I’ve come a long way after accepting that I’m on the spectrum. It’s been two years of research and now I just have to get a diagnosis which is kind of scary because it feels like they can take back my identity if they don’t agree that I’m on the spectrum.

[Claudiaf]

Can you do a video about jobs/careers that fit a person with autism?
Also maybe one about having/not having children?
Thank you so much for your work

[daisuki]

god this is so relatable 😭 working at starbucks as an undiagnosed autistic was the worst. every time i came home after a shift i was a zombie and pretty much mute. I started hating myself too, probably because i didn't understand why i'd feel so drained and also because i hated being there but i kept going back the next day. I also thought that everyone hated me, and it didn't help that a coworker actually told me that a supervisor was talking bad about me when I wasn't there. I'll never forget how obsessed i was to find out why. What was wrong with me? Why do you hate me when i'm trying so hard to not fall apart and putting so much energy into my masks? there were many misunderstandings at times too, some that got me in trouble and other times i'd just get weird looks and I could never understand what I did wrong. when I finally got into a 9-5 career after months and months of failed interviews, i was fired within 2 weeks. I really don't think i can handle a 9-5 and it's really hard trying to find an alternative, but i'm trying. it's so frustrating 😞

[sarahhernandez]

I feel this 100%
I'm 27, I graduated with a double major BA in sociology and Spanish and a 3.8 GPA, but work... I can do the JOB, it's the people and everything else, as you said. I only within the past year realized I may be autistic and it makes so much sense when I look back on struggling to cope with work. I really do feel like I have work PTSD because I wanted to help people and I've ended up in some very abusive (and violent) job positions. I'm currently just doing side gigs and fortunate that my husband makes excellent money and is supportive of me, but I almost daily have guilt that I'm not working a typical job or making money like I did. I feel like it's either suffer through horrible jobs, or suffer with the guilt of appearing lazy or unmotivated, even though I do work hard at home and through my side gig jobs.