Asperger Life: The Highs and Lows of an Autistic Person in the Workplace
By: An Anonymous Aspie
I didn’t know I was autistic until seven years after I left the traditional working world – by that, I mean 9-5 office work, with the commute and the team building and the office politics and the competitiveness and the goal setting and the performance management. Ok, so writing that last sentence, as an Aspie (who is now more self-aware, and respectful of self) gave me a bit of an anxious-Aspie heart-squeeze.
I was 35 when I was diagnosed with autism/Asperger’s Syndrome. I had suffered an episode of autistic burnout, which had led me to diagnosis. As a woman, this is rather common. Coming out of burnout, I had become basically non-functional, non-verbal, flat and my senses were out of whack. I thought (and it was said to me “If you were working, you would never have the advantage of sleeping all day to recover like this!”). Nice.
As much as it hurt to hear that, and invalidated my experience and abilities, it got me thinking. It was true. The traditional workplace was laden with neurotypical expectations. It was designed for it. Think about it.
Open plan workspaces (to encourage collaboration. Cringe)
Arbitrary performance goals, reviews and instituted competitiveness (meant to encourage competition and thus, performance. Sigh)
Team Building (packing bags to run for hills over here)
Office politics (and as an ND woman? Argh!)
Office romance misunderstandings
The job itself. I was in IT, as a Business Analyst. My job definition was basically the “communication bridge between technical development and the end user”. I will leave you, dear Aspie, to your deductions.
This was one of the most awesome companies to work for at the time, but I cringe to think how I would function happily there now, now that I had “gone full Aspie”.
Fast forward to this year. I have the best office – my couch. I have the best coffee machine – my own. I have the best colleagues – my ESA cat. I have awesome lunch breaks – think Star Trek and hot dogs with spaghetti. I have the best physical environmental conditions – 16 degrees Celsius always, dim lighting, and the opportunity for a shameless power/depression nap. My dress code is lit! PJ’s! My boss does need to “meet” with me sometime and, it’s NOT a video call! Always a voice call and/or screen sharing! My performance management? I don’t have to compete with anyone! I just deliver. Heaven! I am a part time freelance technical documenter and software tester. I run a small online vintage clothing store and I do volunteer work in the community almost every day.
By my standards, this is the best. Even if it doesn’t conform to the neurotypical version of success.