Do Aspies have trouble in fast-paced work environments?

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mr_bigmouth_502
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19 Mar 2014, 6:57 pm

jetbuilder wrote:
I can't stand working in a hectic, fast paced environment. I easily get stressed out in that environment and just can't keep up. My first job was in fast food (in the kitchen) and I hated it! My current job is not exactly fast paced, but it is sometimes stressful because it's loud and sometimes a car may come in that needs to be done at a specific time and I need to stop what I'm doing and work on that car :evil:


I was actually talking to one of my coworkers the other day while I was on a coffee break, and he told me about how crazy it is to work in fast food. I applied at a few fast food places here when I was first looking for work, but I actually feel fortunate now that I was hired as a grocery cashier instead. The pay is supposed to be better in fast food, but considering how difficult the pace of cashier work is, I would probably not survive fast food work at all. :P



T_taylor
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23 Feb 2019, 3:58 am

Welcome. I completely understand what your experiencing. Like you I am very high functioning and you probably would not know I have autism unless I told you. For many years i worked in kitchens. It was extremely difficult for me to focus and keep up with everything around me. It was always very frustrating watching all the other cooks and prep cooks multi-task like it was nothing and have the grill full of food and it all came out great and right at the time it was supposed to. Something i struggled to do even when at full focus and trying my hardest. Honestly, i eventually started thinking i was kind of stupid in a way. When i got my diagnosis a few years ago it suddenly made sense to me. Clearly nothing was wrong with me, i was just working in the wrong field for how my brain works. Eight months ago I got a job at my local library, something I’ve always fantasized about but never did. I definitely still struggle at times with certain things, but its not like before. It’s a very slow paced, no pressure, laid back work environment and I find my work days completely manageable. Total night and day scenario. In my opinion, this is most definitely an autistic trait, because i have met a lot of people who dont like fast paced kitchen work at all but can still cook just as well as those who love it.

Anyone struggling to find a work environment that goes well with having autism, I definitely suggest trying your local library.



auntblabby
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23 Feb 2019, 4:15 am

i can handle fast as long as it is not ever-changing. unpredictable bugs me.



Joe90
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23 Feb 2019, 4:25 am

I don't like fast-paced, pressurizing jobs. The last job I was in I used to get stressed a lot because I worried about not getting everything done. They were tough on everything being done, and could make you stay behind (unpaid overtime) if you didn't get a chance to do everything. It was a care home, so when you're working around elderly people with dementia and physical problems, anything can happen at any time. Also there was too many rules and I've always hated too many rules.

Where I work now is less pressurizing and more predictable. You're kind of your own boss; you work out among each other what needs to be done that week and it's not too repetitive but it's not unpredictable, if that makes sense. I enjoy everything I do there, and I don't get anxious about anything. I like a change of tasks and sudden overtime, if I'm happy and I enjoy being there and don't mind which tasks I do. So it's not change I dislike, it's whether I can handle types of pressure or if the task makes me anxious.
Also here they are more flexible; if you've been working hard but didn't get a chance to complete a task in time, others help you out or say that it can wait until the next day.


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Dear_one
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23 Feb 2019, 4:43 am

On a production line or construction job, I was slow but high-quality. I seldom got into a situation with intense human interaction, and never let myself get "trapped" with a boring camp. I generally avoid meetings, because processing even a slow one can keep me up all night. However, when I get a chance to run things myself, I can be highly productive after taking some extra prep time.



nick007
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25 Feb 2019, 5:42 am

I never liked feeling rushed or pressured either. My 1st job was a dishwasher & I hated when things got really busy. I hung in there & just stayed focused on my work & didn't stop working until everything was caught up.


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SmoresCat
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25 Feb 2019, 5:53 am

I certainly did...



kraftiekortie
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25 Feb 2019, 10:27 am

I'm pretty sucky in face-paced work environments.

I have a sort of a minor dyspraxia sort of thing. I just can't "do two things at once."



Magna
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25 Feb 2019, 11:10 am

I was very bad at fast paced unpredictable jobs. Now I know why. Back then, I had no idea.

I waited tables over a period of years in three different restaurants. My performance was marginal at best. I tried very hard and I took my work seriously and I could handle a certain amount of the executive functioning and prioritizing required to wait on people at multiple tables in various degrees of their dining experiences. When it was manageable I would say I even enjoyed it at times. The problem was when it got to be very busy.

I understand now, for me it wasn't just the vastly increased number of different tasks that a lunch or dinner "rush" forced me to try to prioritize in real time that was overwhelming; it was also the increased sensory overload (sounds and movement) in a busy restaurant environment that further reduced my ability to think clearly and quickly.

I would continually prioritize and re-prioritize my tasks as needed and just when I think I'd have things planned out, someone would wave me over and ask for something like a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. I would then have to start over in my mind as to how to incorporate that into the tasked I already had.

Another job I was not good at and only now do I understand why was fast paced data entry, inputting data into a computer from looking at manual hard copy medical and dental claim forms. Most of the work involved the 10 key on the computer keyboard and required me to learn how to 10 key without looking at my fingers. The problem is that I was exacting in my work and wanted to make sure that I processed each form accurately to minimize my mistakes. The number of forms I processed was only average as a result. We were "audited" on both the number of forms we processed daily as well as the accuracy. I received outstanding marks on accuracy but fair to poor on production. I met with an auditor who told me that I had to boost my production and the way for me to do that was to focus less on accuracy and that making mistakes, doing inaccurate work, was something I was going to need to start doing. I had such a hard time accepting that.



Last edited by Magna on 25 Feb 2019, 1:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Dear_one
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25 Feb 2019, 11:26 am

Magna wrote:
Another job I was not good at and only now do I understand why was fast paced data entry, inputting data into a computer from looking at manual hard copy medical and dental claim forms. Most of the work involved the 10 key on the computer keyboard and required me to learn how to 10 key without looking at my fingers. The problem is that I was exacting in my work and wanted to make sure that I processed each form accurately to minimize my mistakes. The number of forms I processed was only average as a result. We were "audited" on both the number of forms we processed daily as well as the accuracy. I received outstanding marks on accuracy but fair to poor on production. I met with an auditor who told me that I had to boost my production and the way for me to do that was to focus less on accuracy and that making mistakes, doing inaccurate work was something I was going to need to start doing. I had such a hard time accepting that.


I'd have a hard time with the ethics in that situation. Did the company at least encourage accuracy in the life-threatening areas?
I was always slow when I had a job making toys, but when kids looked at the ones I made, they learned how to properly stamp a terminal on a wire so it would last.



Magna
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25 Feb 2019, 12:55 pm

^ There were no life threatening related issues pertaining to the data entry work. However, like you, I had a problem with the ethics of them telling me to make more mistakes with the result being faster production. A mistake in that job would mean that the medical or dental claim wasn't paid to the provider correctly. A mistake would assure that a second bill would be sent in by the provider and/or a phone call placed resulting in wasted time for numerous people involved and multiple mistakes would also reflect in poor job performance. Catch 22.



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25 Feb 2019, 1:07 pm

^^ Well, kudos for seeing the larger pattern and being socially responsible. Behaviourists are delighted when infants or chimps spontaneously help them pick up something they dropped and "can't reach."
Sadly, another pattern is that the mistakes are good for employment and profits. A really well-managed economy would be able to reward true merit.