Why Autistic People Can't Work

Heavy on my experience in this one huh

[IceCreamed]

I work with an autistic guy. He doesn't work well with anyone in the building except me. I just let him ramble about his hobbies for 8 hours while we work the day away. I don't have any interest in 3D printers, but he can spend nearly every shift talking about them. I've mostly been around talkers my entire life, so being a good listener comes naturally to me. I think that's why he's able to talk and work with me so well, is that I actually listen to him.

[BlueMoonCircus]

“It’s not that we can’t work. It’s that work environments don’t work for us.”

I felt this in my soul.

[Dmitrij-nlsc]

Autistic people can work. Just not in an environment where bullying is normalised and strict hierarchy exists...

[naomistarlight]

It just seems to me like the mainstream jobs most people consider "easy" or "entry level" aren't designed for us, in fact can be sensory/social nightmares.

[siobhanboyle]

I related to everything you said! Especially these parts:

1. Interviews are torture and they expect you to put on a performance.

2. Having a strict morning routine and having to wake up extremely early to get somewhere by 9am

3. Stocking shelves being too social and not wanting a manager to tell me how to do it faster

4. Hating phone calls

[Rumpelstiltskinsdaughter]

I met an autistic person who worked as a car wash clerk. I was asking for too many thing and he said “mam, I’m high functioning autistic, don’t ask me for more than three things at a time!” So I said “ok”, and kept my instructions simple. I think it was nice he communicated that with me, so when I went to that car wash, I was prepared.

[EmperorZaph]

Autism really is rolling the dice on employment prospects. Either youre lucky enough to get a STEM special interest, or just perish I guess

[RenegadeContext]

Careers are worse than just a job. Careers mean you have to compete with NTs and some of them are cut throat nasty. A job you can turn up to, do and leave behind. A career you have to have 10x the social skills and be able to watch your back. I used to be able to hold a job for about two years before I burnt out. I had a "career" job and they turned on me within a year, if you're in any way competent, and autistic people often are, they will use their Machiavellian social skills to get you out of the way so you're not competition

[PcCAvioN]

What drove me crazy, was complaining to coworkers about poor managers, specifically a mean spirited verbally abusive passive aggressive manager. They looked at me like thinking we shouldnt be treated this way was insane. As if demanding the store manager treat his employees with basic respect is completely out of question. "Just shut up and take it, youre overreacting, he's just like that."

[shiveringnerve]

remote work should be a guaranteed option for everybody.

[drop_messages]

Hello, I appreciate this video. I am a high functioning autistic man.

I used to work an office job (tech support). One thing I noticed about working in an office is, where I treated it as "just a job", neurotypical people treated it like an extension of their social life, such as taking co workers out to lunch, office gossip and so on. I was often single shamed (more often by men, then women). I cannot fully understand this, but I guess neurotypical people have a hunger, to not only be in a relationship, but judge other people based on their dating/ relationship status. I

Another issue, was how to socialize with co-workers. I never saw the point in outside of work activities like company picnic, or other company outings. No thanks, I go to work to get paid, not to socialize. Someone had to explain to me, that you get promoted based on how well you socialize, not how hard you work.

I switched careers and found something that works better for me.

Can anyone else relate to this

[investertiger]

I was on Benefits and stopped because friends said I don't need it. When I became broke because I had no benefits my friends abandoned me. Don't listen to these people because ultimately they don't care about you. Do what makes you happy and live your life for you.

[KeeganAWhite]

As an autistic (as well as other things making daily life difficult) person I can confirm that being forced to lead a "normal" life feels like being waterboarded for 8 to 16 hours a day for 5 to 7 days a week. My mind is not built for a normal job, and even if I am able to do my job amazingly well, I suffer mentally so much every day.

[neon_berni]

For me (autistic and ADHD), it’s the other people at work that I struggle with most. It’s like being on high-mask-mode for 8+ hours. I can deal with nice, understanding people, but if anyone is even just a bit of a dick or inconsiderate, I can’t deal with them. I worked in an office for five years and got horrendously depressed as a result. I am now self-employed and work from home and am so much calmer (but I do wish I could have a small, lovely team of colleagues to see once or twice a month).

Modern work culture is toxic for neurotypicals, so it’s gonna be worse for neurodivergents and anyone with a long-term mental or physical illness or disability. 😔

[anapaulaalmeida]

This made me cry, I'm 35 and I haven't been able to do it. But I'm not diagnosed yet. I've suspected I am autistic for so long now, but when I talk to my parents or the few people I know they always seem to invalidate it. And I cry because I don't know what to do. I have been looking for jobs left and right, but I cry at every single interview. I feel like I'm loosing my mind. My country isn't the US, there isn't a whole lot of information about this in Portugal, let alone about autism in women in particular. I've only learned about masking recently, and I started crying because suddenly everything made so much sense. Is that why people can't tell? I'm completely lost. I will try get myself an appointment with a new doctor, I just hope they believe me and don't just shrug it off like everybody else. Thank you so much for your video. Thank you.

[Davethebuilder]

I believe the reason it’s difficult for neurodivergent people to work is the intolerance of neurotypical people, and it goes beyond the job performance, it’s all about fitting in with the rest, if you don’t have those generally acceptable social behaviors, then you’re an outcast. Neurodivergent people can actually do their job very well if it weren’t for intolerance.

[gmlpc]

There are certainly autistic people with jobs or who have had jobs but sadly bad employment experiences and a difficult employment history are the norm. The interview is often a huge hurdle as employers - whatever they claim officially - are making social judgements on who they think will "fit in" and that massively favours neurotypicals. Too often they just appoint someone similar to themselves or their current staff which is why in many jobs you find people of similar age, gender and social background. Anyone who is different (this doesn't just apply to autism) tends to be rejected. For some jobs the interview is less important and nor is past experience as they are desperate for workers but these tend to be really challenging, low status jobs with poor conditions - ironically the ones that those least suited to them tend to be directed to. This often - predictably - leads to failure and then the job has to be filled again, usually with the same results.

The phrase "be careful what you wish for" is too often true, especially in employment and there are sadly too many cases where people (neurotypicals as well) wish they had never got certain jobs. The workplace is really challenging for autists due to all the social issues as well as the practical side of the job. A minority of autists do well because they have very supportive managers, colleagues and service users or they somehow find a job that chimes with their interests and special skills. For most though working life is hard. It's not enough to find a job and keep it, the most important thing is not just to survive but thrive. By this I don't necessarily mean being a big success at work and "getting to the top". Sometimes just being in a job where you feel comfortable, are valued by those around you and don't approach every day with dread or have bad memories and harrowing experiences that can haunt you even years after you've left.

I think what is really needed is some kind of agency that specialises in finding suitable employment for autists - not just getting them into any job but a good job that is right for them. I'm sure it can be done but the will from those at the top isn't there. Work - or not having it - is a big part of life and it can be so much better handled so that far fewer people have bad experiences and far more get so much more out of it.

[jb_]

My very first job experience was, I washed flour at a warehouse using a special machine. There was a cleaning lady who worked alongside me. I thought that if I'm efficient and get the job that was on my contract done quickly, then I should be able to just rest, until someone orders me to do something. I never refused to do anything, I just did as much as I was obliged/asked to. Then I sat around and waited for more work to do, happy that I was efficient and able to fulfill my duties faster than I was expected to. After some time, the atmosphere at work grew sore. People started to ostracize me. It turned out that the cleaning lady had a huge issue with me not helping her (which was not what I was hired to do; I operated the machine, she was doing other things) and she probably spread gossip about me. The thing is, I totally would have been happy to help her, if she ever said anything before doing this to me. It's just that in my mind she had her job, and I had mine, and I was doing my job just fine. It doesn't keep me up at night, it just shows how weird things can get. Granted, it was my first job, so maybe it could have happened to anyone. I don't know.

[KaiaKooking]

My favorite baker had an autistic man selling the goods and it was honestly such a relief to not have to mask there. I always was so happy to go buy there but I could see the other employees micromanaging him and correcting even though he did nothing wrong and was super polite. I swear some neurotypicals just have knee-jerk reactions towards the way we are. Long story short he was let go after only a few weeks and I don’t go there anymore.
I am convinced that the reason so many autistic people are unemployed is because neurotypicals don’t know how or sometimes plainly don’t want to work with us.

[RubyCooper]

PSA: Benefits are not actually that easy to get when you are autistic. Time after time, people like us are overlooked because maybe the assessment caught us on one of our good days, or maybe they write you off as being "high functioning" (ew) or "not that disabled" (also ew) and it's just assumed that we can just fit in with society with just a little push in the right direction.

I'm autistic and work a 40h a week retail job. I've done it for 5 years and I hate it with a passion but I have slowly and painfully adjusted my routine around it. Wake up, coffee, meds, relax until an hour before my shift starts then get dressed, brush teeth and hair, clean face and then walk the 20 mins to work, and still get there 20-25 mins early. I work with the general public and I hate it, but my acting skills have never been so good. I have regular customers come to me to ask advice on things they think I'm an expert on but honestly I just bullshit my way through it all lmao.

The worst part is making small talk when I'm serving on the till and I have to wait for a barcode. "If it doesn't scan does that mean its free?" NO IT FUCKIN DOESNT but I can't say that so I have to laugh and try to not be awkward because I don't know what to talk about. My job is fine for a neurotypical, or someone that enjoys socialising, but I have to mask so heavily I feel like nobody actually knows who I am. My body often hurts because I have to stop myself from outwardly stimming whilst I'm at work. It's a blessing I have found some good friends in the other people working on my department, one of whom is also autistic.

What people never talk about it affordability as well. I can't afford to drop down to less hours or get a job elsewhere because firstly, that means changing literally like 50% of my WHOLE LIFE, and secondly I can't risk the job instability by going somewhere else, because I might end up homeless if I can't afford to pay my rent anymore because I got sacked for being shit. So I have to suffer in a job that literally requires me to be a completely different person just to survive, because, and I refer back to the start of my comment, benefits are not that fucking easy to get, and the process is more often than not incredibly long-winded and invasive.


God it's nice to get some of this off my chest. Thank you for the video, it made me feel like someone actually understands for a change :)