Speed and coordination (related to job search)

[Sherlock77]

For the second time in two months I had a job last three days before I was let go

I'm fairly certain for both of them (I know for the second one), that it was for not working fast enough... I swear I'm trying my hardest to be a good worker, but no matter how hard I try my speed and coordination don't seem to be good enough, at least for these two jobs (warehouse related), or maybe I have been over-estimating my ability in these areas

On the walk home I had a good phone conversation with a support worker I've worked with through our provincial job agency for people with various disabilities... She gave me a few ideas about how to move forward, as I'm seeing definite trends (from the perspective of other people) regarding my ability in these areas when it comes to working with an employer, and to get back into a permanent job again

I am aware that slower speed and general lack of coordination are often markers of Aspies, even when told I'm working too slow, or I sense that I am, to pick up up the pace is difficult for me to do, because of my lack of coordination... And I know I am working hard, just not working fast enough apparently... Sorry I'm rambling now, lost my train of thought...

I've just been reflecting on what I can or can't do well in terms of basic abilities all afternoon now, and how to go forward, even in the middle of Covid

And even how to improve coordination... I have a sister who thinks I'm supposed to be "super athlete" and that alone will improve coordination, I suppose she is talking about certain exercises... But ultimately I have always struggled with coordination and there seems to be a limit with me...

 

[Major Tom]

I also think that part of the problem now is that there are so many people looking for jobs, that employers are only going to keep the best of the best. Sorry to hear about yet another disappointment in employment. Keep trying, use the resources available to you and you'll eventually find something that fits. A lot of people don't want to work at all and I think that employers should value the ones that do as much or even more than the ones who are fast, or overqualified and so on.

 

[VictorR]

I'm sorry.

Since you have a support worker assigned to you, I'm wondering if perhaps you can work with them to get you a job that works for you, at an employer who is understanding and welcoming of employees with various strengths?

 

[Sherlock77]

I'm sorry.

Since you have a support worker assigned to you, I'm wondering if perhaps you can work with them to get you a job that works for you, at an employer who is understanding and welcoming of employees with various strengths?

The lady I talked with this afternoon was the first person at Prospect I met, she got me the appointment last May to be tested for Asperger's/Autism, and was there when I got the report for my assessment at the office... I have kept in touch with her for various things but she isn't my direct support worker as such... But that is why I called her today...

From November to March I worked with a job coach from Prospect (who I only met over Zoom), he only has a certain time limit before moving on to other clients, but I learned a lot over that time

 

[Wolfsage]

I know what you mean. I have to consider those two things looking for a job.

 

[The Pandector]

I have pretty good motor and hand-eye skills, but something strange happens when I have to act under pressure: my brain issues orders normally, but my fingers turn to buttered hotdogs. It seems, @Sherlock77, you being a dedicated photographer would demonstrate a pretty good fine motor ability, and you do it well. So then, what is speed when your fingers can match your art?

I'd subordinate speed to art any day. Jobs are the same way, I think (and I left the workforce hiring and firing.) Don't know how it works in Canada, but can you sift the job leads you get before applying? Don't like seeing you feel beat down because of job mismatches. Keep hunting that match and let us know.

 

[Aspychata]

Found playing video games helped me. It's suppose to increase your response time. So l played race cars on a PlayStation console. My typing speed finally increased also.

 

[Judge]

Damn. Very sorry to hear.

It's true though, that so many jobs boil down to that saying, "I'm dancing as fast as I can." Something I've always feared about most jobs I've had. It can be rough...

 

[Sherlock77]

I have pretty good motor and hand-eye skills, but something strange happens when I have to act under pressure: my brain issues orders normally, but my fingers turn to buttered hotdogs. It seems, @Sherlock77, you being a dedicated photographer would demonstrate a pretty good fine motor ability, and you do it well. So then, what is speed when your fingers can match your art?

I'd subordinate speed to art any day. Jobs are the same way, I think (and I left the workforce hiring and firing.) Don't know how it works in Canada, but can you sift the job leads you get before applying? Don't like seeing you feel beat down because of job mismatches. Keep hunting that match and let us know.

I think that's the idea I'm thinking, how to shift a little or a lot...

I might add that I'm known to over think my photography fairly often, there are many times when I could have reacted far quicker, I evaluate everything I see, and sometimes (often) that shot disappears quickly...

 

[Sherlock77]

Found playing video games helped me. It's suppose to increase your response time. So l played race cars on a PlayStation console. My typing speed finally increased also.

Someone else told me that once many years ago, problem is I'm not all that drawn to video games, really have no interest in them and never have had interest... I can type properly, that's something I've always been able to do since high school

 

[Progster]

That's a real shame. There seems to be a trend these days, fueled by the high number of candidates for every vacancy, to demand more and more from employees, and not give them time to develop and grow into the role and prove their worth. This puts huge pressure on workers - just look at companies like Amazon - you have daily targets to fulfil and you have to be inhumanely fast just to keep your job. Not surprisingly, they have a very high staff turnover.

So perhaps not a good employer, better to look elsewhere.

 

[Au Naturel]

Issues with proprioception, balance, eye-hand coordination and fine motor control are not uncommon among people on the spectrum. I was terrible the time I tried to work a janitorial job. Could not work fast enough and couldn't get the glass completely clean no matter how hard I tried. Even later when I got onto engineering, soldering a circuit board was a trial because I couldn't place the soldier and the iron precisely enough. I had to go really slow. And no, I did not get better with practice.

 

[Sherlock77]

That's a real shame. There seems to be a trend these days, fueled by the high number of candidates for every vacancy, to demand more and more from employees, and not give them time to develop and grow into the role and prove their worth. This puts huge pressure on workers - just look at companies like Amazon - you have daily targets to fulfil and you have to be inhumanely fast just to keep your job. Not surprisingly, they have a very high staff turnover.

So perhaps not a good employer, better to look elsewhere.

The job I got this week was one person running the receiving department at a small local camera shop, even still lots of volume coming in...

But the speed factor in warehouses is intense, I was recently working in one as a temporary worker and couldn't believe how fast some people work, I don't know how they do it... And I pride myself of maintaining energy over an entire shift, and that requires pacing myself, I have always had excellent stamina

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Did your boss know you were autistic when they let you go? If so, they probably broke the law in firing you for your disability.

 

[The Pandector]

Did your boss know you were autistic when they let you go? If so, they probably broke the law in firing you for your disability.

It certainly looks like it, doesn't it? But I also see this as a very well-hidden blessing. Keeping an employee who is not up to job standards is a terrible experience for the entire workplace. I understand the need for laws to protect people with disabilities, but this type of well-intentioned proactivity is counterproductive. Let's face it, the boss has a job too; to run a competitively efficient operation. I personally do NOT want to work for someone who is chronically dissatisfied with me.

Although it is extra challenging for the HFA, putting the extreme effort into finding a job match is the best short- and long-term solution. There are people who make these matches for a living. Many of them - like the population at large - haven't a clue about autism. You are usually your own best advocate. Be selective; after all, you're the one starting each morning with the reception you get at work.

 

[Sherlock77]

Did your boss know you were autistic when they let you go? If so, they probably broke the law in firing you for your disability.

It certainly looks like it, doesn't it? But I also see this as a very well-hidden blessing. Keeping an employee who is not up to job standards is a terrible experience for the entire workplace. I understand the need for laws to protect people with disabilities, but this type of well-intentioned proactivity is counterproductive. Let's face it, the boss has a job too; to run a competitively efficient operation. I personally do NOT want to work for someone who is chronically dissatisfied with me.

Although it is extra challenging for the HFA, putting the extreme effort into finding a job match is the best short- and long-term solution. There are people who make these matches for a living. Many of them - like the population at large - haven't a clue about autism. You are usually your own best advocate. Be selective; after all, you're the one starting each morning with the reception you get at work.

Best not to push too many buttons with an employer (within reason), and just look for the right job fit, IMHO

 

[Judge]

That's a real shame. There seems to be a trend these days, fueled by the high number of candidates for every vacancy, to demand more and more from employees, and not give them time to develop and grow into the role and prove their worth. This puts huge pressure on workers - just look at companies like Amazon - you have daily targets to fulfil and you have to be inhumanely fast just to keep your job. Not surprisingly, they have a very high staff turnover.

So perhaps not a good employer, better to look elsewhere.

That's a real concern for most anyone in this job market, given the influence of Amazon's business model on everyone else. Where employees are supposed to be pushed beyond their capacity on a daily basis. Given little room to improve, and lots of room to fail.

Things that always remind me of my father's slide from gainful employment to retirement and death. After his second heart attack he was forced into retirement. When he left his job, no less than three people took his duties. All three of them, highly experienced long-term employees quit.

Had I remained in the insurance industry where they expect all underwriters to produce (move files) more than underwrite accounts, I probably would have succumbed to a heart attack as well. But after nearly two decades I got out to save my own life, and went into something entirely different. A job heavy on creativity and light on production- website design.

Fewer deadlines made all the difference in the world. But those "creative" jobs aren't easy to find, and demand you have a level of talent useful on a commercial level. Still though, the most job satisfaction I ever have was doing such work, where no one expected me to truly "dance as fast as I can". But these days who knows? They may also be applying Amazon's business model for all I know.

All made worse by the pandemic, where in so many cases fewer workers must make up the difference.

 

[SDRSpark]

Three days is NOT a lot of time for a complete novice to learn a workplace's processes (and by novice I mean novice at that company because every company has their own policies and procedures...you might be the best in the world at what you do but it's still going to take time to learn the company way of doing things).

Even for someone not on the spectrum or disabled, unless you're really messing things up, being "up to speed" in three days is an unreasonable expectation.

 

[Sherlock77]

Three days is NOT a lot of time for a complete novice to learn a workplace's processes (and by novice I mean novice at that company because every company has their own policies and procedures...you might be the best in the world at what you do but it's still going to take time to learn the company way of doing things).

Even for someone not on the spectrum or disabled, unless you're really messing things up, being "up to speed" in three days is an unreasonable expectation.

I agree, but I'm not in the employer's shoes when they determine this, even after three days...

 

[Judge]

I agree, but I'm not in the employer's shoes when they determine this, even after three days...

The pandemic may have "spoiled" any number of employers who have a sense of a vast labor pool of experienced people out there. So much so that their expectations reflect those unreasonable three-day windows in which newly hired employees are expected to either "sink or swim".

With all eyes on recouping losses that is probably another unrealistic goal as well.