Tips for functioning in a job

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I'm about to start working a retail job in a fairly expensive shopping centre and I just wanted to ask if anyone has any advice on how to function well there and not get too overwhelmed. It's a full time position (40 hours a week with 8 hour shifts) at a bakery sort of place inside of the foodhall. I'm a bit worried about it but seeing advice from others on the spectrum would be really nice!

Monitor your own internal state. Do NOT let them force you to work right through your breaks or lunch. You need those times for yourself.

In a retail environment you should remember to smile. Be complimentary. Do not talk too much. You have to balance your interaction with customers, coworkers, and your boss. In a way, it can be a little bit like theater.

Congrats in the job, Iv! Breaks are important … lunchbreak, I’d be out of there and away from the staffroom environment, if there is one. It’s good to just be allowed to out your head down and get on with the job, as otherwise, if you’re one for wearing a mask(as in putting on a certain face or persona), this will be hard after awhile and may lead to burnout and the desire to escape. Having the routine of a job and the pay that goes hand in hand with that, is what meant I could move into my own apartment at 18.

Please look after yourself, try to eat right, sleep well and if you are struggling, don’t suffer in silence. Hope all goes well .

Maybe you can become an actor, playing the part of a retail worker in an improv show that is not supposed to be funny or unnecessarily dramatic. That way, anything the customers say to you remains the problem of your character, not your real self.

Thank you for all the advice! In the end I couldn't handle it and started to lose my sight because the stress got so bad. I have a new job though! I'm a tutor for GCSE students. It's a lot quieter so hopefully this goes well

Personally, I’m genuinely relieved for you Iv. I’m very familiar with tutoring students at that level and beyond and expect it will be far more suitable. All the best

Yep…..sounds like more your cup of tea, lvpin. And you usually make more money, too.