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Email to my manager

I know one guy at my work that is self-diagnosed as Asperger's. I am not 'out' to him. There are 6 trusted people at work who know I'm autistic. Lately, I have been considering just telling everyone, but ... not yet.

I guess what I meant was, if you see people in the category being well treated and able to be open, that's a sign that it's accepted in your workplace. In the absence of this, I don't recommend 'just telling everyone ', because most people won't know what it means, and you will go from being your quirky self they see as one of them, to being 'different', 'other', and linked to whatever ideas of autism they have.
 
I don't recommend 'just telling everyone ', because most people won't know what it means, and you will go from being your quirky self they see as one of them, to being 'different', 'other', and linked to whatever ideas of autism they have.

That's the issue. Once someone is able to slap a label on you, they see you just as that 1-dimensional label, and they don't see anything else.

As I told one friend, "I don't want people looking at me funny... well, any more than they already do."
 
I have had negative reactions from managers and colleagues since declaring my Autism, after 'being let go by a employer' in my probation for reasons connected to my deficits i was advised by a employment lawyer to make a detailed declarations connected to my employ person specification of the adjustments i need, and also how my Autism presents in the workplace, this i did and have had countless incidents of discriminatory practice from my employer whose company in the uk displays the "positive about disability' tick.
I found my honesty has become a excuse for people to gripe about me, and my managers to advoid me going to meetings in case i say the wrong thing. Ironicaly i work for children who have Autism, it feels at times that society expects Autism to not be there once a person becomes a adult. I'm seriously considering not telling my next employer that i have Autism.
 
I also would not mention anything about autism. Everyone else had great suggestions. I don't tell anyone anything that could put a target on my back, I did once and it was a very bad idea.
 
Without a formal diagnosis it's likely best to wait until such a thing could be produced in front of HR. While doctors opinions can be less important than how one identifies, in formal situations they are important. Depending on where you work, the diagnosis would certainly afford you accommodations. Where I work, it technically makes me disabled and extremely difficult to fire even if they wanted to.

But you have to understand the work environment you are in. In any work environment, without the formal diagnosis it is unlikely it would be taken seriously.
 
If you haven't sent out your e-mail already, it should simply state something like:

'=========

"Hi,

I wanted to query if you could accommodate using ear headphones at work. I'm finding a lot of noises and conversations causing distress at work and it's affecting my work productivity."


'=================


I took out the word "not" because it sounds to negative.
When you say "I wanted to query", I took out the "possibility" question because you are already implying it with this phrase. The redundancy could sound like you're begging too much. Most people like it short and sweet- not something I'm always good at. Good luck.
 
In the letter, don't say "Therapist", it makes you sound crazy. Use "Doctor" instead.
 
Hi all,

Sorry for the late reply. So I have yet to write the email with all the latest updates regarding the UK shut down. I'm working 2 days from home now and 3 days in the office with a skeleton staff. I am thankful for this as I got into work today and it's so quiet. It's the perfect working environment.

Last Wednesday I went on my usual morning walk before work since my overtime was no longer allowed. My favourite part of these walks every day is the woods and lakes next to work. However, this is only 10 minutes of a 50 minute walk and never feels like enough. The rest of the walk is on pavements/sidewalks along roads and through residential areas. For the most part my walks are spent talking to my partner or parents on the phone or listening to music.

On Wednesday I walked 10 minutes to the lake and then I spent the rest of my free time sat by the lake taking in the scenery. No phone, no music or distraction. Just myself and the world around me. There's lots of water birds swimming and flying around and hearing the sounds of the wind through the trees and the birds. I found I lost myself there - my thoughts began calming down and after 20 minutes I felt like I do after a good meditation session. There was a real sense of inner calm and relaxation; the perfect way to start a day. I left myself plenty of time to walk back to work and did so at a very leisurely pace.

Starting the day as I had done contrasts starkly to my usual walks where I don't leave enough time to get back and eat lunch. When I'm nearing the end of my lunch break there's a real sense of urgency and rushing to finish my walk and get back to eat my lunch really fast. It leaves me feeling flustered.

So, on my lunch break last Wednesday I repeated the procedure - I walked through the woods and sat by the lake for 30 minutes. Now, when I was there my chest was quite tight. Anxiety has been a little higher recently, so my body is feeling tense as well. Still, towards the end of my 30 minutes at the lake I was feeling calm once again. I walked back slowly to the office and still had time to eat my lunch without being rushed.

The contrast was quite interesting - on that day the office was still full and there were the usual noises and conversations and tasks which often wound me up with ease and had me sat at my desk trying desperately to block it all out whilst failing to get much work done. Not on Wednesday - my focus was better, in fact when I heard these noises or conversations I actively hyper-focused on the work I was doing and I noticed something - the noises which would usually be at the forefront of my mind were pushed back and became fragmented almost to the point of being inaudible.

Now, I don't think it would've been so easy if I hadn't gone on my lunch break at the lake as well. I think breaking up the day into 2 chunks with a highly relaxing experience in between is key.

Today started a little different as I knew traffic would be dead with the lock down. So I drove into work 50 minutes later than I normally would. It was exciting taking that risk, but within minutes of leaving the house I knew I'd arrive on time. I get to work and the office has a third of the amount of people usually in and is very quiet. The work load is a lot more manageable and less stressful. Also, with the shut down we know that some work is being cancelled now, but that a huge backlog is coming in a few months once the restrictions are lifted.

The idea of a backlog isn't that worrying though. Firstly, working in the transport industry I know my job is pretty secure. Second - knowing that in a few months we'll be all hands on deck and overworked, I know that the company can't afford to let people go, because they have fleets of thousands of trucks and trailers to look after.

The only issue I see is that the lock down prevents people going outside unnecessarily. I saw plenty of dog walkers out this morning and I know the woods and lakes where I walk is virtually empty. Each day I walk through them I see 1 or 2 people at most. Also, I know a few spots next to the lake which are well away from the paths through the woods - so I think I'll be fine to do my lunch time walk as I'll be well away from everyone and I will still have time to de-stress and feel calm.

Speaking of calm - I'm maintaining my position of not reading the news. Whatever affects me directly I hear about directly. Apart from 2 work emails and 3 messages from my Dr's, the only thing I've noticed is some items in supermarkets are out of stock. But my partner works in a food store, so getting food isn't a problem for us. So I persevere with not submitting to worry about situations outside of my control, and I keep smiling - even when I don't feel like doing it. Seems like a trivial thing to do, but I find wearing a smile actually starts provoking happier internal thoughts after a while. Also, people have commented on it at work and ask "why/how can you be smiling" and I reply - by not reading the news and living my life as normal. My partner has encountered similar confusion to her demeanour at work too. Thing is, what would people rather see? Another person moaning and complaining or someone who is smiling and helpful?

I keep reminding myself how far I've come from my health anxiety days. Now - I just need to implement similar mental strength towards other stressors so that I gradually feel less stressed and become even more productive at work.

So, we shall see in time if the email is necessary. For now I think I shouldn't be hiding from stressors, but finding ways to face them without succumbing to anxiety.

Ed
 
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I'm meditating by the lake on my lunch break now. It seems to be helping - allbeit temporarily. An hour or 2 of calm in the office after my lunch break. Unfortunately, the main doom-monger was in the office today and boy was she on a roll with all the latest news updates on deaths and new cases etc.

I can hear the anxiety in her voice - and I know that she never has anything positive to say in general, even before this CV pandemic. Whenever she sees me and wants to talk - its always to complain about something. I wonder why she's so driven by negativity and if she realises that she's dragging other people down with her. Thing is, I don't really respond to her. I don't add to the conversation other than short answers as I don't want her to carry on talking. That old "stiff upper lip."

Tomorrow I'm working from home. On Friday I heard she's back in, as am I. With it being a skeleton staff at work I think I might just bring my earphones in regardless.

Ed
 
So I had a word with my manager today and he's letting me use earphones. I'm not sure if this is temporary whilst we're running with a skeleton staff.

The reason I asked was they're now allowing a radio in the office and whilst I can fixate on my work hard to temporarily block out annoying noises or conversations at work - I can't do that all day to block out the drone of pop music.

I joked to my manager that if I had to hear radio music all day I'd go insane. That's not really a joke though :eek:

Collecting music is a big passion of mine, but I probably dislike most music I encounter.

Ed
 
Good for you

Glad this step is taken, and perhaps the new normality will be easier for you
 
Ed used headphones

Screenshot_20200401_103046.jpg
 
Don't mention "distress" nor "depression". "Distractions" plural, generally, are what it's about, it doesn't have to be personal about you or others, only practical.

Go on proving the smile & the good performance & exemplary self-management before running anything by authorities (if ever).

Intoleration is on the rise in the UK. My old firm put me highish up the pecking order for a desk under a nice bright light which wasn't being jostled by passers by - but that was then and that was just our firm (which was expanding). When I started colour coding my boxes and trays all the NTs did so as well, and their productivity went up more than mine, so informal adjustments were popular. I wasn't seen as a "freak" (merely vaguely freakish ;) ) and they saw themselves as at best extra efficient versions of me. It's likely your colleagues see you as equally efficient to them - and themselves as equally efficient to you - anyway.

Interesting that the radio cropping up short circuited your "need" to cite anything else for the time being.

Demonstrate that the things you put on your ears don't hinder you from taking calls - voila.
 
Hi all,

So I've been using headphones since lockdown and it's been helping at work. My supervisor wasn't sure if would still be able to use them when the office is back to normal. So I spoke with HR and they spoke with the director.

Good news - I'm allowed them permanently.

Ed
 

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