Help - work problems and I don't know what to do.

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alessi
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14 Mar 2012, 9:53 am

I am hoping someone might be able to give me some advice.

A few months ago I disclosed to my employer the fact that I have been diagnosed with AS.

Today I got given a performance review, saying my performance was below expectations. I was not expecting this - I thought I was doing a good job. I asked why and they said that I had communication problems. Not only that but they are making me redundant.

Of course I have communication problems. I am autistic. They know about it.

This seems really unfair. It seems that I am being blamed for something that isn't my fault.

I don't know what to do.

Can anyone suggest anything?

Thankyou!

Alessi



cathylynn
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14 Mar 2012, 10:27 am

a good performance review will give specific suggestions on how to improve. if it didn't have these, it's fair to ask for some specific ideas on types of communication you could practice. i'm 55 and still learning social skills.



Nick9075
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14 Mar 2012, 11:45 am

cathylynn wrote:
a good performance review will give specific suggestions on how to improve. if it didn't have these, it's fair to ask for some specific ideas on types of communication you could practice. i'm 55 and still learning social skills.


I never get these suggestions. I always feel like I am intensely disliked not for any specific reason, I just am.. I know it because I am always out of the loop, no one wants to give me any work or Include me discussions even though them themselves are working 12-15 hours a day. I barely have enough to keep busy for 7 hours. I usually get let go (this position is a temp job ) with a vague explanation - they didn't feel comfortable or have "confidence" in my ability to do the job even though I never get any feedback or suggestions on things I need to improve. Then again, I am ADHD and taking Adderall and a high dose of Prozac 80mg a day. I feel like I have improved but for this assignment it is too little too late. The others will probably all be offered perm positions and I will likely be disposed of any moment.



Looneytunes
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14 Mar 2012, 11:49 am

Usually, when I am being discriminated against, I walk out the door, slamming it along the way.
I tell everyone to go get bent, and I find another job.

I think you ought to watch the movie Angus.
A real good scene at the end - where Angus is at the dance with the most beautiful girl in school and they are picking on him because he is different and he tells them all to go get bent - because there is no such thing as normal.

All people in this world has some kind of hangups.
I read this forum and I realize that my life might be messed up, but there are people out there who's lives are really messed up.

I am real good at giving advice, but I don't always like taking it from others, because opinions are like bung holes, everybody has one and they usually smell.

I would look at the positives - you are employed, you are not being fired and you can still come and go as you please - because no one owns you and you are not beholding to anyone.

Take this as a learning experience.
These people are not your friends and my opinion is that they are judging you not on your performance, but on how you perform compared to others.
Now that you realize that these people are not your friends and are not on your side, you have two options.

You can continue to work for them for now, meanwhile using this time to look for other employment,, or you can just keep your mouth shut and continue working for these people, hopefully they will not drag you down in the process.

Now that we know that even though it is against the law to discriminate against someone because of their disability - that it goes on all the time.

I had a job interview two months ago, I should have just went in, kept my mouth shut, not said anything, let them do as they please and walk out of the interview - which probably would have been blown anyways - because they were pumping me for information about their competitors - which had formally employed me.

These people knew which buttons to push and were pushing them. As a matter of fact - they knew about my one automobile accident and was asking if I was in anymore.
Truthfully - they are not allowed to ask, and the insurance companies are not allowed to tell - BUT THEY DO!

Use my mistakes as a lifes lesson.
Now that you have told this one employer about your disability, it stands to reason that when you go to apply for the next job, that this employer is going to bring up the fact to the next employer that you are disabled.

In retrospect - it is going to be like as if you never worked for them at all - because they are not going to be a very good reference and in the end you have dug yourself deeper, then trying to get out of the hole you had been in - before you got the job.

Is this making sense - because it doesn't to me, but is what I have seen happen most of the times when one employer calls a previous employer for a reference...



cathylynn
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14 Mar 2012, 12:59 pm

don't do what the last poster suggested by making a scene on your way out. that could get around and make it harder to find a new job. it's a bit immature anyway.



androbot2084
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14 Mar 2012, 1:02 pm

When I got my bad performance evaluation because I was autistic I started to flirt with my Bosses Boss and that solved the problem.



alessi
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14 Mar 2012, 6:43 pm

Thanks for the feedback.
However I am losing my job - they are making me redundant, and they are giving me a poor review so I won't get a good reference.

They tell me it is to do with this vague thing called "communication skills".
I did some searching and I think I can maybe make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission as it seems to be directly related to my disability.
They have a complaints page here http://www.hreoc.gov.au/complaints_info ... dging.html

Would this be a good idea do you think?



androbot2084
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15 Mar 2012, 1:50 am

You are being fired because you are autistic. Your Boss considers you a ret*d who can't possibly do a good job. This is discrimination because many autistics are gifted and can do a better job than a neurotypical. Do you have anything to lose by filing a complaint? Would it be fair if an autistic Boss slammed people with bad performance evaluations for not being autistic enough?