Is this discrimination?

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I brought this up in another topic but I think it might be worth its own thread. I won't go into the details of my job again suffice to say that it is both monotonous and stressful. On the rare occasion that I'm caught up I might jump onto Facebook or something for 2-3 minutes just to relieve a little stress before continuing with my job. Let me clarify: EVERYONE DOES THIS. At any point I can look up and see my coworkers on non-work related sites. Some of them don't even wait until they're caught up. They'll use one of their three monitors for nothing but Facebook.

Now over the past couple of months my manager has gotten really upset with me for using "third party websites" as he calls them and will chew me out in front of the whole team every time he catches me on one. He's even told other people to watch me and come tattle to him if I do it when he's not there. I've explained that it's not hurting my productivity and I only do it when I'm ahead of schedule but he doesn't care. He doesn't do this to anyone else. Even the ones who leave always have Facebook or Netflix up, he just ignores them. When he chewed me out yesterday I actually stood up and pointed to everyone else who had "third party websites" up and he just shrugged and said "This isn't about them, it's about you."

I told my parents about it and they side 100% with him. They say it doesn't matter if everyone else is allowed to do it, if I'm breaking a rule then he's within his rights to punish me for it. Honestly I wouldn't have a problem with the rule if it was enforced all across the board. But since he's singling me out I take issue. Does this count as discrimination?

you haven't really suggested any reason that it's motivated by something that could be discrimination so it sounds more like he's singling-you-out... which could just be because he doesn't like you for other reasons... it's very risky to claim discrimination as a reason for mistreatment because it's very hard to prove.

Should you stop using facebook and other sites? YES...

Regardless if it's discrimination or not, if the company has a problem with you using company equipment for non-company use and has corrected you for it then not doing so is insubordination. It's just not a good idea, even if you can justify it as not detracting from your productivity. I'd say, use your phone instead if you absolutely must check facebook during the day.

Now... if your fellow co-workers are not producing because of their misuse of company equipment and your leader isn't taking action... then you have a couple of options... The first, and more risky one that will probably make you even more of a target than you already are is to give your boss' boss feedback that he's not managing the entire team effectively. In my company we call this "escalation" and it's generally not considered very nice to do. It absolutely has social backlash. The less risky but probably less satisfying option... is to try to ignore that they're doing it, keep your behaviors in check as best as possible, and plug away at the work. When an employee rises above the social norm's of misusing company time and equipment it can show that they're committed and loyal.

Also... take your proper legally mandated breaks. If your job is boring, and you're not already doing it... LEAVE YOUR WORKSTATION for your legal break. Get out, stretch your legs, go to the bathroom... whatever you need to clear your mind and refresh yourself. If the job is intense enough that you need more than your legal breaks to stay focused then share your concerns with your boss in terms of ergonomic improvements. We use the 20/20/20 rule for some of our workers that do more monotonous computer work for example

Good luck! be a better worker than the rest and show them how it's done... if your work standards are sub-standard let leadership/HR know so that they can help make it better!

Isn't singling someone out the definition of what discrimination is?

close but not quite. If you take singling someone out, and add it being based on the categories that the person belongs to then it's discrimination.

Quick examples:
Treating someone badly because they treated you badly in the past = Not Discrimination
Treating someone badly on the basis that they have dark skin = Is Discrimination
Treating someone the same as everyone on the basis that they have dark skin = Not Discrimination
Treating someone well because they share the ability to speak another language = Not Discrimination
Singling out an employee's behavior because they've psychologically become convinced that this employee is wasting company resources = Not Discrimination
Singling out an employee because they are autistic = Is Discrimination

Where the problem really comes into play... it's VERY difficult to prove that the root cause of why you're being treated different is based on discrimination. Even if you do succeed it can cause enough drama to make it difficult to go back to the environment before the problem occured.

The best thing to do is to out-perform your coworkers. This way if later they find a different way to single you out it might be apparent to their boss. Also the good example may rub off on your co-workers and they may start to do better work as well

If your job is so bad that you cant stand to do it without complying with the expectation, then you should try to get better accommodations or find a better job.

I know that it sucks... I've been where you're at. I HATE being the short end of a double standard too. The only way to get around it is to not compare your privileges to other co-workers. Instead decide what you need in order to make your work environment suitable and productive. If the accomodations you ask for help you be more productive, and could help others be more productive, then you'll look like a process improvement star which is not a bad thing.

Thanks InfiniteNull
It depends on the situation and where your boss is coming from but it could be for other multiple reasons in the following:

1. Yes, he could be discriminating against you and if that's the case, you could document down every time they get privileges and you don't and talk to someone who has authority over him about it. If they don't listen, find someone who will


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2. He May do that because he might know that you are different and thinks that he needs to be straightforward with you while using passive aggression with the others. Perhaps he's singling you out so that other people in your workplace get the hint that they aren't supposed to be doing that which most likely isn't working. Does he know that you have Aspergers?
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3. It could be that he doesn't like you very much and is giving you a hard time because he's trying to get you to quit or has nothing else better to do than be a smart-mouth.

Either way, here are a few tactics that might help and I agree with Infinitenull.
1. If you are stressed out, maybe take a few minutes, go for a walk, get a stress ball and take a little time for yourself, or even to find a restaurant and grab lunch
2. Instead of going on the internet while you are working, get your work done because while you are being called out, it also will give you a chance of setting examples for the other co-workers. Otherwise, you could use your phone during your lunch break to take some downtime. Once that time is over go back to work.
3. Look at it this way, it will give you more of a chance not only prove that you are responsible but also to develop some really good quality skills that your co-workers aren't doing because they are allowed to goof off.
4.Most importantly, if feel angry with your boss and your co-workers, switching from anger to crying is fine. Yet, that's when you need to find a quiet place where no one goes and cry for a while.