Performance doesn't matter, only social capital

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After countless times in my life where I performed or completed a task beyond what was expected, only to receive 0 recognition while a popular socially co-worker would get fawned over for crap I've come to the point where I realize social capital is all that matters. It is the fuel that workplaces run on, and if you don't have it no one will give a rat's posterior about your ability or performance.

What is so depressing about this is I can function mostly well, at least to the point people who have to deal with me for long periods might say I'm like Spock and chuckle, but I realize I've never been able to understand or gain and use social capital. And I'm never going to be able to perform like I could if I did.

I know what you mean. I'm in the same situation at work. Maybe worse because half my colleagues don't speak to me. Your performance itself is not really a big factor in how well your work is recognized. People try to even see my work negatively because they don't like me.

One of my colleagues is the daughter of the boss of the department. So she gets all the privileges and people try to be liked by her. The fact that she's in our department is already a case of nepotism. It's so obvious but nobody can say anything. She is a really horrible person, but still she's the daughter of the influential person. This kind of thing really shows how a workplace functions.

A difficulty for Aspies is that we don't pick up on non-verbal clues that say we should stop what we are doing.

Doing extra work is a two edge sword--it has the be the right kind of work--and raising the bar can cause resentment among your co-workers.

I'd advise spending more time figuring out what to do and less time working hard on the job.

While fiction, there is an appropriate scene in the movie Adam, in which his boss complains that the sophisticated work he is doing is far too expensive for his company to use--he is working hard on something that is useless!

True dat, to all of the above.
It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you look good doing it.

This post is one of the most accurate ones I've read on this site. I agree entirely.

We need to work and make money to live. But in addition to being poor at workforce politics, I think many of us are actually turned off by them once we comprehend what's going on. Not just because they're unpleasant or difficult, but because we see them for what they are and playing the game seems like it goes against every bone in our bodies.

These people behave like that. And you're saying that I should also behave like that?

I know what you mean there. Nobody's horrible to me at work, but it's my birthday tomorrow and nobody's got me a card, even after I have announced it's my birthday. Usually people give each other cards at work, or pass around a card for everybody to sign. I didn't even get one of those. It can be quite hurtful sometimes, but that's what you get for being unpopular.

Well, Happy Birthday! 23 isn't much differerent though.

Yes I Have noticed the value of workplace politics and getting noticed, my dad has been doing a good job at this and his partner has filled in where he could not and both are getting promoted nicely after less then a year(more like 6 months) of work. I have watched a number of poor employees last for years leaving a wake of good honest, hardworking people to fight for the right to work. As for me? I'm at a loss, people know they can take or ask anything from me and i'll say yes everytime, I can't naturally play the game right so therefore its to risky to play at all.

I think NTs don't want to teach us these things because they're a specific sort of taboo. The sort that no one wants to be quoted having said those things. Once a woman told me that she was desperate because her son had been diagnosed with AS. The doctor told her his best chance was for her to open his eyes to the hidden motivations and games of people. She said this sort of thing is so hard to talk about that even though she's desperate, she can't bring herself to do it.