Struggles with new job and depression
Good evening everyone,
Hope you all doing well. I have been a member of this group for a while now, but this is my first time writing a post in this forum. My name is Antonio and Im an adult diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome since being 4 years old. I’ve gone through a lot of struggles through out my life , but somehow and someway Im still alive. There is so much I want to share with you all , since Im looking to hear input from this group as a way to cope with the harsh realities of our society. For now , Iwant to share my employment situation. I was grateful that I was able to get a member service representative position (bank teller) working for a credit union a few weeks ago.
However , this has been the fifth job that I have held in only three years of me being in the labor force. Most of my jobs have been in the customer service and sales industry , which is one of those jobs that have been regarded as not recommended for autism and asperger people. I have choosen to work in these jobs because of the tough market outhere right now and me still not finished with my bachelor’s degree. I work for 2 years in retail working for , a couple of months in the hospitality industry and working as a student services assistant in college. Of all those jobs , working in a educational institution was the most comfortable one , since the type of people that I have to dealt with wasn’t as bad as retail and hospitality. I don’t know I have been able to survice as a cashier and salesperson working under pressure interacting with customers and fellow coworkers and supervisors under a kinds of pressure and tough situations. I have felt angry , frustrated and crying inside because of my limitations and other negative things that come with being an aspie. Right now , Im currently in the process of getting the hang of it in my new job , but right now things aren’t going as I thought it was going to go.
My bank teller position is not only about transactions (deposits, withdrawals, loan and credit card payments, cashier checks, money orders, cash balancing , etc), but I also have sales goals that need to be meet each month. Im dreading right now because even though I dealt with sales goals in my previous jobs , the goals under this job are more overwhelming and it is going to take me to talk more and create relationship with the customer to be able to sign up for our products and services. It has been a struggle in terms of reacting and communicating clearly with the branch team and members and Im very worried as to whether I be able to hold up under this fast pace and high sales environment for too long. I don’t want to be fired just because of failure to meet sales goals or build relationships with members and fellow coworkers. I have been through a lot of humiliation through my past jobs , but my limitations( fear , speech impairment , shyness, not understanding situation) has followed to every job that I have been. I don’t want to keep doing job hopping , because it will ruin my career prospects. The only thing I have clear right now is to finish my bachelor’s degree.
This is what I have at this time in terms of job and career area , so any input or advice as to how to improve the situation or overcome obstacles , I really appreciate it. I look forward to participating more in this forum and help my fellow aspies. Thank you all for the attention.
envirozentinel
Forum Moderator

Joined: 16 Sep 2012
Gender: Male
Posts: 17,181
Location: Keshron, Super-Zakhyria
Working in a high pressure environment, where money+time, such as retails sales, repping, hospitality, customer service and the like, is not easy for the majority of Aspies. We may be sharp and quick to learn, but high pressure situations can cause stress. When I was briefly in the hospitality field as a chef, I was OK as long as the guests were comparitively few. A full lodge was a nightmare. I can't handle a place where everyone's shouting instructions which need to be followed at that moment, and tend to fall apart then.
I would certainly not like to face the pressure of sales goals. It is possible to work in a retail / banking environment, or even my new work where I have been for just over a week (having lost a position I held for four years and was without work for four months following that). I'm not in the sales division but need to control stock and also maintain the website and facebook page once we have finished our move to the larger warehouse this week. It's not a retail (shop) so not many customers come to the premises, and at least the hours are shorter at the new place.
I wish you the best in your situation and hope you'll be able to take it a day at a time as I am. Not all employers are understanding. I'm fortunate in that the company is small and the owner / manager knows of my condition up front, but I still have to prove myself.
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