Traditional employment as a kind of prison

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Hey all,

I am new to this forum but since I think I have Aspergers and a few other things that make me stand out from the average person, I thought I would post a few of my thoughts here particularly about employment. A lot of people might think this point of view is unusual or perhaps even a form of laziness but it's how I feel. I've always felt that traditional employment where you go to a job is a form of prison. Whenever I go to work, I feel like it's going to jail because I feel like I lose my freedom to be me. I can't come and go from the job without being penalized in some way and since I find being around people stressful in general, I find that virtually all work situations drain me to some extent or another. For me, I have always enjoyed spending time on my own and doing my hobbies. I like to collect statistics and read atlases and this gives me pleasure but since I can't really seem to find a job where I can do that which doesn't require specialized training, I'm stuck in jobs that I hate with people who I feel don't understand me. It often causes me to either get fired from jobs or in time to quit as I can't take the psychological stress anymore. I eventually get depressed and the cycle keeps repeating itself. I'm not sure if anyone on here has similar experiences or can relate to my situation in any way. I really hope that one day in my life, I can find a way to live life on my terms instead of always doing what society expects me to do. I feel like I can never be me and I have to always put on a mask..
Anyways, any thoughts and ideas about this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Damien

Welcome to WP!

I think that's part of the human condition. You're lucky if you can find work doing what you love. I have an awful job by society's standards but the structure of it suits me well. I get to move from site to site. My hours are flexible, which is useful for a single mom. Once I'm done I can go home. It is so completely brainless it's like getting paid for moderate exercise. I listen to my MP3 and I'm free to let my thoughts roam. I clean offices. I have a Bachelor's in Fine Arts.
People always say do what you love- well, I love to read and stare off into space. How much does that pay?

Aimless is right. I've been working for 10 years and I've spent a good portion of that time crying in bathrooms, but that's just the way it is. I'd like to drop out of society altogether, but I don't for the sake of my parents. I would suggest trying to stay with the same company for a few years, because at least you will have the respect of your superiors and they will defend you, if necessary. I just look at it like selling my time, but I used to be really cynical and think of it like prostitution. In reality, we have it pretty easy, if all that is required of us is 8 hours and we can go back to doing what we want. I'm trying to be positive, but believe me, I know how you feel. Don't worry if people don't understand you, because you're only there to make money...

Sadly, we are a nation of "wage slaves."

I've worked in a state prison (briefly). It's basically like a public school except you can't go home at the end of the day.

Kids are being conditioned to think and react like prison inmates, and most of the workforce is being conditioned to respond like prison inmates.

Interesting thoughts so far. I'm amazed that people are able to get through it themselves. For me maybe it's somewhat more difficult as I have very little support with how I'm feeling. My parents are dead and I have no siblings. The rest of my family barely talk to me....so it's been very difficult.
I often feel like there is no purpose for my life anymore as I never seem to fit in anywhere and it's hard for me to even to keep a job....I'm not sure what to do.

I can really relate to this.

I've been fired for no ascertainble reason from a couple of jobs other than hostility from my co-workers who misperceived my Aspie-ness as arrogance or something.

One time a co-worker was so angry with me that he stood up and called the boss a "coward" for not firing me, he was so angry that I thought he was going to punch me. To this day, I have absolutley no idea what I did to make him so angry.

There was a point in my life when I truly thought that I would never be able to hold a job, and for me this would mean homelessness.

Fortunately, I finally fell into a job that suited my AS perfectly, and it ended up turning to a reasonably-successful career.

Having said that, my experinces have led me to think that entrepreneurship (or at least self-employment) is the best long-term strategy for security. Although, I have found a group of colleagues who have accepted my "quirks" I don't think it's a good idea to depend on this understanding to keep me off the street.

Hang in there, the most important thing is to not give up, especially when the situation seems hopeless.

I'll try and hang in there as best as I can but I often feel that I'm always being forced to do things I don't want to do. The idea of selling your time for money is good if that is what you want to do, but for me, I find it hard to even want to exist in society. I'd rather live in my own world because I find it hard to integrate and enjoy living in the society that we live in because we often have to force ourselves to do things that we don't want to do for no purpose at all. As an example, one is essentially forced to "sell ones time for money" and "have a career" because society is set up in a way that if we don't do these things, we can't survive. It's not a question of laziness, it's just a question of not really wanting to interact because the way the world works makes me feel like I'm living in hell. I find unpredictibility very difficult to deal with and as such it causes me immense anxiety to be out in the world.