Tag Archives: work stress

Insights from the 2024 Global Workplace Report

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The XYZ of Work-Related Stress: 

Commentary on Gallup 2024 State of the Global Workplace report

Hi folks,

I was reading this week’s “Nightingale” – Data Visualisation Society eNewsletter (named after Florence, Nurse-Statistician-Legend) and there was an interesting article breaking down the 2024 State of the Global Workplace report by Gallup.  The report was arguing that people’s mental well-being has deteriorated in the past ten years (I’m finally trendy! Yay!). 

However, in her article “the XYZ of Work-Related Stress”, author Shanfan Huang, makes a great point that different generations have different expectations of mental health as a priority at work.  They also have a different framework around reporting and talking about workplace mental health.  Overall, the trend could be quite good as it suggests that there could be a stronger conversation on mental health challenges and firmer boundaries.  We also need to take into account that different generations have differing priorities for a number of reasons.

It’s worth having a look at and poking around the Nightingale site, if not for tips and “horror stories” then definitely for the beautiful Information is Beautiful award that the DVS is famous for!

Have a great week
Heath

Chart explaining the top 3 stressors of Generation X, Y and Z

Design by Shanfan Huang

Resources

  1. Shanfan Huang (Dec, 2024) The XYZ of Work-Related Stress, Nightingale, Data Visualization Society
  2. Jon Clifton etal. (2024) 2024 State of the Workplace, Gallup.com
  3. David McCandless (2024) Information is Beautiful, Data Visualization Society

Navigating Burnout: Resources for Neurodivergent Individuals

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2024 update

7–11 minutes

Hi folks,

Following on from the post last year[1], there have been a solid quantity of new articles on avoiding and dealing with burnout. Considering we are in the Holiday season we thought it might be worthwhile to share a select number of them with you. Please see the previous (above) post for the definition of burnout, the differences between Workplace burnout and Neurodivergent burnout, and tips for recovery*.

Dora Rainmaker and team have been key researchers into neurodivergent burnout in recent years. Their 2020 paper “Having All of Your Internal Resources Exhausted Beyond Measure and Being Left with No Clean-Up Crew: Defining Autistic Burnout.

Autism in Adulthood defined it as the result from chronic stress in life and a mismatch of expectations and abilities without the right supports, which is characterized by pervasive, long-term exhaustion …, loss of function, and a reduced tolerance to stimulus[2]

One of the main issues with burnout is that it is often coupled with depression and lowered self-worth.  Prolonged masking of ourselves is not healthy, and the downward spiral of productivity due to exhaustion will leave a person wondering their capabilities. It can be additionally difficult as neurotypical friends, family and colleagues may not understand what it is we are going through, which affects the efficacy of their support [2].

Last month Diversity Council Australia hosted a panel discussion unpacking the evidence that burnout is a inclusion issue[17]. A key concern was the compounding impact of systemic barriers, microaggressions, tokenism, or outright discrimination, experienced by marginalised people. It was highlighted that for neurodivergent employees, these factors can add additional cognitive and emotional labour, leaving them more vulnerable to exhaustion and burnout.

One of the key takeaways from the event was the need for proactive, inclusive solutions to prevent burnout. This pervasive issue is not just a personal problem but a systemic one that can be prevented by fostering more inclusive, respectful, and supportive workplaces. As organisations seek to build resilient and sustainable workforces, it’s clear that prioritising inclusion isn’t just a “nice-to-have” – it’s a necessity for the health and wellbeing of all employees[17].

In his recent Art of Autism article, ND Therapist Robert Schmus[3] does a great job of highlighting some of the key differences and additional load, separating Neurodivergent burnout from the classic workplace definition. For him it was an intense brain fog – a difficulty of linking ideas together in an extensive executive function breakdown, coupled with heightened anxiety.  When burnout is left unchecked, these symptoms build up and can lead to shut down for an extended period of time. Robert’s experience feels very familiar in my recent experience of burnout as a downward spiral.

Robert goes on to highlight some of his key drivers of burnout, including prolonged masking, trying to meet unreasonable deadlines, being in hyperfocus for long periods of time without the necessary recovery time, and having far too many urgent deadlines at one time. Unclear targets and goals, and trying to hit targets in suboptimal conditions are some of the key stumbling blocks for ND folk. A poorly set up environment can make “deep work” difficult to achieve. In order to “catchup” people report working late at night or during holidays in addition to their regular hours. This can eat into recovery and social time, and further eroding support networks.

Devon Price gave a sobering account on research into the permanent effects of late-stage burnout.  However, the recovery process is not about going back into the grind.  It is about embracing different ways of achieving your goals, and sometimes setting different goals all together[4].

So, what do we do about Burnout?

Over the past year there have been a number of high quality resources and supports from within the neurodivergent community, as well as mainstream organisations, like Arts Centre Melbourne’s Arts Wellbeing Collective, and Black Dog Institute[18]. In this post I’ll highlight resources from within the ND community.

Rachel Worsley and Kate Hardiman’s podcast “Neurowork” is a collaboration of Neurodiversity Media and Unify 360’s workplace DEI consultancy. Neurowork focuses on managing creating inclusive environments, and has a number of recent episodes focusing on avoiding overload and recovering from burnout[5]. The importance of taking short and long recovery breaks is often overlooked. It’s important to short circuit fatigue, exhaustion and burnout before it becomes entrenched, and addresses Robert Schmus’s warning about multiple competing priorities and long chains of hyperfocus.

Neurowork also advocates for the need for clear communication[6]. Understand the steps and context of the work you are undertaking is essential to achieving better results with less stress. Regular open communication is essential for solving unforeseen issues promptly as a team, and supports individual DEAI based accommodation needs. Neurodiversity Media has some great resources and advice for creating environments for neurodivergent individuals and teams to thrive at work[6].

Kristen Hovet is a medical researcher and Science communicator behind the Other Autism podcast. In her episode “Autistic Burnout, Shutdown, and Social Hangover” she points out that flexible working arrangements are a big piece in reducing overload and burnout. Working from home arrangements can be perfect for deep work, and reduce social hangover and sensory overload[13]. This tracks well with the DCA Burnout and Inclusion findings that flexible working arrangements have been proven to positively impact employee mental health[17].

Reframing Autism’s Intersectional Advisory Committee released the exceptional Welcome Pack resource[7] in March this year. It’s a 200pg guidebook that is easy to read and paired with a 30pg workbook to help getting the clarity on what needs you have by asking the questions you may not have considered. It was very much needed and filled a gap that has been talked talked about in the community for a long time.

Reframing Autism also has a large variety of other resources and training webinars including a webinar training series on Autistic Burnout Resistance and Recovery for individuals seeking to understand the topic as well as managing their own and others recover from burnout. There is also a separate training module for mental health professionals[16].

ASAN AUNZ released their Self Advocacy guide last month[8]. It’s a document to help with the communication of needs, accommodations and boundaries. They have also released an app to help with communicating support needs and listing support services. ASAN in North America has equivalent resources to help guide the process to equity[9].

And it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention two incredible books that landed this year, Jessica McCabes “How to ADHD: An Insider’s Guide to Working with Your Brain”[10], and Ludmila Praslova’s book “the Canary Code”[11]. Both of these are game changers and both are packed with resources.

Ludmila was featured on the Ted Podcast “Fixable” by Anne Morriss and Francis Frei[14]. Fixable has become one of my favorite go-to podcasts. Apart from their exception podcast on fixing work issues Anne and Francis have published “Move Fast and Fix Things”[15] which incorporates much of the advice here at the executive, primarily the communicating and trust building aspects.

That about wraps up the updates on burnout from 2024. There is a growing acknowledgement of burnout as a serious issue, with neurodivergent people being more heavily impacted. Workplace reform, including hybrid and remote work, and clearer boundaries are beneficial for all, with a growing range of mainstream professional and individual resources being created to increase support.

If you feel that you need support please see your General Practitioner or Mental Health Professional where you can, and trusted friend or family. It’s important to be proactive about your emotional wellbeing, speaking up about mental health is a great start. If you want to start at home, then the Black Dog Institute has a self care plan[18] as starting point to manage symptoms of burnout by helping you evaluate your coping skills, identify your daily self-care needs and replace negative coping strategies with positive alternatives. 

Hope you had a wonderful Holiday season, with all the types of rest you need.  Looking forward to pushing boundaries in 2025.

Reposted from Neurodiversity and Mental Wellness Tessitura Community - Shelly Binkley & Heath Wilder

References

* When I’ve mentioned neurodivergent burnout, I’m including many neurotypes and the variety of challenges non-exhaustively. Speaking with people throughout the neurodivergent community, I’ve found a similarity of experience and overlap in management that warrants the title. There are of course more specific focus areas which are named as such. The previous post highlights burnout and fatigue with more specificity.

  1. Shelly Binkley & Heath Wilder (May, 2023) Burnout through many lenses – Neurodiversity and Mental Wellness Tessitura Community (reprinted)
  2. Dora M. Raymaker, Alan R. Teo, Nicole A. Steckler, Brandy Lentz, Mirah Scharer, Austin Delos Santos, Steven K. Kapp, Morrigan Hunter, Andee Joyce, and Christina Nicolaidis (Jun 2020) “Having All of Your Internal Resources Exhausted Beyond Measure and Being Left with No Clean-Up Crew”: Defining Autistic Burnout Autism in Adulthood
  3. Robert Schmus (Aug, 2024) Autistic Burnout The Art of Autism 
  4. Dr Devon Price (Oct, 2024) You Might Not Recover from Burnout. Ever. What grows from the ashes of your old life? Dr Devon Price Substack
  5. Rachel Worsley & Kate Hardiman (Dec, 2024) What are your recommendations for managing energy levels and burnout in teams/environments that demand high performance? Neurodiversity Media and Unify360
  6. Rachel Worsley & Kate Hardiman (Dec, 2024) How to Fix Neurodivergent Burnout At This Time of Year Neurodiversity Media and Unify360
  7. Intersectional Advisory Committee (IAC) (Mar, 2024) Welcome Pack Reframing Autism
  8. (Nov, 2024) ASAN Self Advocacy Toolkit ASAN AUNZ
  9. (Dec, 2024) Autistic Advocacy Resources AutisticAdvocacy.org
  10. Jessica McCabe (Jul 2024) How to ADHD: An Insider’s Guide to Working with Your Brain howtoadhdbook.com
  11. Ludmila Praslova (Oct, 2024) the Canary Code the.canarycode.com
  12. Shelly Binkley & Heath Wilder (Dec, 2023) 7 Types of Rest Neurodiversity and Mental Wellness Tessitura Community
  13. Kristen Hovet (Aug, 2024) Autistic Burnout, Shutdown, and Social Hangover – The Other Autism
  14. Francis Frei & Anne Morriss (Nov, 2024) The power of neurodivergence in the workplace (w/ Master Fixer Ludmila Praslova) – Fixable
  15. Francis Frei & Anne Morriss (Oct, 2023) Move Fast and Fix Things – Harvard Business Review
  16. Autistic Burnout – Resistance and Recovery Community Webinar – Professional Webinar (2024) Reframing Autism
  17. Why Burnout Is an Inclusion Issue (Nov, 2024) Diversity Council Australia
  18. How to use self-care planning to improve your emotional wellbeing, even when you don’t think you need it (May 2023) Black Dog Institute

Mental Health Monday: Burnout through many lenses

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(This piece of writing was created by my incredible friend Shelly and myself for our Neurodiversity and Wellness, Arts and Culture community that we chair)

You might hear the term “Burnout” talked about a lot and maybe you’ve felt that way yourself. 

But what is burnout?

How does burnout differ between different communities?

And what can you do about it for your co-workers, friends and yourself?

Defining Burnout

The World Health Organisation (WHO) points out that whilst burn-out is included in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon, it is not classified as a medical condition.[1] 

Burn-out is defined in ICD-11 as:

“a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterised by three dimensions:

•  feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
•  increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
•  reduced professional efficacy.”

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (MAY, 2019)

However, as the boundaries between work and home have blurred throughout the covid years, the occupational distinction has also become less fitting.  Evidence shows that burnout makes no distinction between paid or unpaid work and people undertaking unpaid home or care duties can also be impacted[2]. 

The Black Dog Institute and the UNSW School of Psychiatry[2a] have carried out studies into factors that commonly concur with burnout, including:

  • Anxiety/stress
  • Depression and low mood
  • Irritability and anger
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Lack of motivation or passion
  • Lack of concentration, memory loss or brain fog
  • Withdrawal from others
  • Physical symptoms such as aches, headaches, nausea and low libido
  • Emotional fragility

It raises the chicken v egg question on whether these factors are a cause of or caused by burnout, or whether they are all a symptom of an underlying issue. The same researchers are also undertaking a followup study to further investigate the features of burnout and its relationship with depression.

Neurodivergent Burnout

In the neurodivergent communities, conversations about burnout are quite common.  In fact many neurodivergent people come to uncover their uniqueness due to the burnout of trying to fly under the radar.  The challenges of living and working in a society not designed for us can mean frequent overload that can push us into meltdown, shutdown, and burnout.  Also life-changes can exacerbate challenges, for example transitioning from school to work, experiencing a mental health crisis, or the death of someone close[13].  Stigma can make prevention and recovery even harder.  

So how does neurodivergent burnout differ from the WHO defined burnout? 

A notable difference is in the causes of burnout [6]. Some of factors that lead to burnout for ND folk are:

  • Repeated sensory overload
  • Long term masking
  • Having social/sensory needs minimised by others due to appearing “fine” (i.e. “successful” masking)⁠
  • Not having access to the appropriate level of supports & accommodations ⁠
  • Difficult or unreachable expectations from family, school, work, or society
  • Executive Functioning fatigue following a number of stressors or transitions
  • When the overall load exceeds abilities + supports = burnout

But impacts of burnout can also present differently, including [7]:

  • Loss of skills
  • Loss of interest in dedicated interest areas
  • Emotional regulation issues
  • Added anxiety and depression

A study by Dr Dora Rainmaker at Portland State University[11], involved interviews with autistic adults. Whilst her studies have been in the autistic population, the sentiment aligns with other neurodivergent communities. Findings included:

 “… struggling with independent living, loss of self-belief, and being frightened that the loss of skills from the autistic burnout might be permanent.”

Dr. Dora Rainmaker

The results also pointed to a “lack of empathy from neurotypical people, who had difficulty understanding or relating to the autistic person’s experiences.”

What can we do about it?

Policy

On a policy level, it may be good to know that groups such as the Black Dog Institute are campaigning for workplace reform through methods such as their White Paper[9]. Actions your organisation can take include:

  1. Evidence-based training for managers regarding the resources available and actions they can take to recognise and respond to mental health risk factors in the workplace.
  2. Building mentally healthy workplaces.
  3. Taking immediate action on bullying, sexual harassment and assault.

Self-care

The most important way to recover is prioritising self-care as a protective measure against burnout and other mental health issues.  However self-care is often the first thing that gets sacrificed to work demands and stress.

So what is self care? 

“Self-care refers to the activities and practices that we deliberately choose to engage in on a regular basis to maintain and enhance our health and wellbeing.  Regular practices may include exercise, reading, meditation, disconnecting from technology, or talking with a friend or family member.”[10]

“When you take time for yourself to rest, reset, and rejuvenate you will actually have more energy to meet the demands of daily life as well as reduce or avoid the symptoms of mental ill-health.” 

Dr Jan Orman

But what does Neurodivergent self-care look like?

For Neurodivergent folk there are a few ways to recover in addition (or instead of) neurotypical burnout recovery.  In fact it’s worth noting that many neurotypical recovery techniques and interventions can be ineffective or even more overwhelming. Social support can add to overload, and even mindfulness may need a special touch as described by Sue Hutton[14].  

Neurodivergent affirming recovery methods can include [8, 11, 12]:

  • Deliberate reining back of tasks and responsibilities
  • Prioritising rest, recognising the necessity of healing, and equitable productivity
  • Careful unmasking where appropriate
  • Slow refocus on areas of interest and energy giving environments like nature
  • Outsource executive functioning tasks
  • Attending to sensory needs

Self-care Strategy

Prevention of burnout comes with increased awareness of needs and accommodation for those by workplaces, family and community.  Clear boundaries and formal supports are also key to keeping the overload at bay.

The Black Dog institute has a comprehensive self care template designed so that you can craft a personal self-care strategy that works for you. It will guide you through the 4 steps of self-care planning:

Step 1 | Evaluate your coping skills

Step 2 | Identify your daily self-care needs

Step 3 | Reflect. Examine. Replace.

Step 4 | Create your self-care plan

You can download a copy HERE [10]

Follow up

If you are feeling burnout, run down or depression it’s worth talking to a mental health professional starting with your doctor.  But if you are feeling that that’s a big first step try reaching out to the people around you and in your communities. Talking can help and it can make that journey more manageable by taking it one step at a time.

Go well!

PS– what to learn more? Check out this upcoming workshop on Autistic Burnout:

__

Resources

  1. Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases World Health Organization (May, 2019)
  2. Experiencing burnout? Here’s what to do about it BlackDog Institute (Feb, 2023)
    1. Burnout diagnosis one step closer with new clinical checklist and predictor of which personalities are most at risk BlackDog Institute (Jul, 2021)
  3. The Cost of Workplace Stress in Australia Medibank (Aug, 2008)
  4. Importance of self-care planning | Black Dog Institute 
  5. Autistic burnout, explained https://doi.org/10.53053/BPZP2355 Spectrum News (Mar, 2020)
  6. Autism and ADHD Burnout Recovery — Insights of a Neurodivergent Clinician Dr Neff, Neurodivergent insights (Jun, 2022)
  7. “Having All of Your Internal Resources Exhausted Beyond Measure and Being Left with No Clean-Up Crew”: Defining Autistic Burnout | Autism in Adulthood  (Raymaker et al., 2021)
  8. Navigating Autistic Burnout: Self-care strategies to recover and recalibrate – Reframing Autism Justine Field, Reframing Autism (Jan, 2023)
  9. Modern work: how changes to the way we work are impacting Australians’ mental health Black Dog Institute
  10. Importance of self-care planning Black Dog Institute
  11. CharWrites info graphics on Burnout recovery Char (Mar, 2023)
  12. Neurodivergent Dawn on ND Burnout and Recovery Neurodivergent Dawn (Jun, 2022)
  13. Understanding autistic burnout Dora Raymaker, National Autistic Society (Mar, 2022)
  14. Learning to Celebrate Neurodiversity in Mindfulness Sue Hutton (Oct, 2020)

How do we make work sustainable?

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I came across Katherine May’s new blog post at 2 am on a Sunday trying to finish up work. As my life is more irony than substance these days I think it’s worth putting up.

It’s an important call to action. How do we make our work more sustainable? There are a couple of points in there for me

  • How do I automate manual tasks
  • How do I delegate with the goal of improving the work outcomes and career growth of others
  • How do I set up cross collaborations to distribute the load and remove bottle necks
  • How do we upskill for self-service and empowerment

Sustainability of work is easier to handle (and harder to refute) if it becomes about raising others up. Whilst I might be “essential” if I’m the sole knowledge holder I am also limiting my ability to take leave, adding risk to the risk matrix, and stopping others from understanding my needs. And sharing information can lead to great collaborations.

So perhaps there is something in that. Collaboration and advocacy can be used to create a healthy work structure.

One last thing though is the Black Dog Institutes self-care template. It’s a guide more than a prescribed set of marketing fluff, so common with these themes. You set the tasks that work for you at a rate you can take on. Well worth a look.

How to use self-care planning to improve your emotional wellbeing, even when you don’t think you need it

Distraction ≠ Anxiety

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This blog post arrived from Hero’s Journal (the product of whom, I love) about distraction. It seemed to infer that distraction was the result of anxiety. It’s not that I’ve not heard that before (it’s quite a common trope in the “How to destress” pop-culture circle), but perhaps it struck me as odd here because the it was making distraction the subject rather than anxiety. The other reason it raised my attention’s right eyebrow was because I was talking (aka info-dumping) with a work pal this morning about the difference between working in the office and working at home.

Anxiety is not the primary reason for me to be distracted. IN FACT anxiety is a great driver of focus. In the office I tend to hyper-focus a lot because the excessive noise and human electricity-pollution creates such a atmosphere of stimulus stress that I usually have little choice but to burrow into work. Similarly task urgency makes me push into hyper-focus easily.

Additionally I’m more inclined to daydream when I’m in my home office working with much lower distractions and sensory pain.

Look, I’m no stranger to Yerkes-Dodson curve. I know that pressure leads to performance to a point. BUT I’m much more likely to hyper-focus with higher stress even when that stress is damaging.

Nancy Doyle – Assume Competence: Neurodivergent Staff Don’t Need Kid Gloves

It’s an ADHD thing (I’m pretty sure). I get distracted at low stress points and highly attentive at high stress points (until I meltdown). Heck, I went into business mode for a week when I arrived in Cairo the morning of Arab-spring when liaising with Australian and Canadian Governments (and the beautiful people of Egypt) saved our lives.

There’s also the judgment call on what we call performance. Free associating is great innovation work. It’s essential to me making innovative ground on projects.

So “No.” Destressing is not a solution to my distractedness. In many cases it’s the exact opposite.

On the other hand do check out the Hero’s Journal. I love mine and I’m using it to my personal mental health project. More on that soon

Combating Overcommitment & Monotasking: Good tips on hacking my job

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How to ADHD has really been on the money lately with incredible work tips that have really sung to me.

Taking on too much work. 

Ah YES! Over committing is a huge challenge for my life for a number of reasons.  Living a life in line with your values seemed a bit like the title of a pop psych book from the 90s (and personal baggage for another time). However stepping back for a minute and looking at what life values I need to prioritise was really great. Instead of fitting in one more request for other people, I really need to hit pause and take time out for myself, and the things on the top of my value list that I’m ignoring.  Things like personal health and relationships.

One way that I’m looking at that at the moment is by monitoring my emotional health using the Daylio app.  It also tracks potentially related stuff like healthy eating, exercise and personal timeouts.  Because the best way to get an over committed data junkie to take time out is with the lure of more data.

The other thing is Trello.  I talk about this a lot.  I have a personal Kanban for projects that I need to achieve and hard and soft deadlines for that.  For other work requests I’m building in two times a day of 30 minutes where I clear &/or prioritise those requests. Of course I can’t ignore everyone (as much as that sounds like heaven) but it does mean that I can block out times to focus and on what task knowing that the alerts will get dealt with in their own space.

Monotasking

That’s a great segue into the other great vlog –  Monotasking.  It’s a great reminder about the illusion that multitasking is somehow good.  I’ve known for a long time that my brand autistic neurotype deals with interruptions by crashing my brains hard drive.  It’s no secret that changing my focus requires a good 5-10 seconds to shelve what I was doing and making the turn.  Even then it takes a bunch of effort to do.  But split focus is also a pain for other neurotypes.  

Monotasking is a great way to do lots well.  Blocking out slabs of time to get things done.  It’s also good to block in slabs of time to do social or answer people’s questions.  It’s an idea I want to try out more and see how it goes.

Here are the two quick YouTube eps that I’m talking about.  Love to hear the ways you are hacking your work for your brain.

Belonging

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I get the message. I don’t belong.
I know that people would be upset to know that their words say that, but it’s there.

A work conversation recently to a group of colleagues was along the lines of,
“it’s so much better for you to go into the office and have those organic conversations; to be able to catch someone in the corridor and get an answer to a question. We were all in yesterday and it was so easy and we got so much cleared.”

I know what they mean and I know that they mean well, but what they are actively telling me (and people like me) is that your authentic self is not welcome and your personal health is not important. ie: you don’t belong.

That’s a pretty strong statement for me to make. But it’s necessary because it’s in direct contravention of disability equity and inclusion goals. The act of having to prove fundamental truths about ones experience, and having to prove the barriers for disability is part of the problem. Milton’s double empathy problem1 states “when people with very different experiences of the world interact with one another, they will struggle to empathise with each other.” The issue is the lack of equality in the relationship creates a paradigm that, as the autistic experience is not able to be felt by others, it is frequently questioned, dismissed or disbelieved, despite evidence to the contrary.

Conversely we understand and accept the needs for a large portion of neurotypical & allistic society to need spontaneous interaction to function at their peak. If you need that to be at your best we support it (if it could not be at our expense that would be great too). Many of the needs of the widest part of the neurotypical (and frequently white, cis-male, heteronormative etc) community are baked into the work culture. But often that is at the expense of the minority.

Too many times in the past when I’ve come up against group pep talks (or group reprimand) I’ve approached the speaker to clarify what I’m doing wrong or explain the difficulty in doing what was asked. Every time I’ve been told “Oh I wasn’t talking to you”. What that DOES tell me is that I’m rarely, if ever, talked to. Like the opening speech. Hence my problem. What has been said in those moments are a general statement establishing general expectations, ie: the status quo. I exist outside of that ie: I am siloed.

“when people with very different experiences of the world interact with one another, they will struggle to empathise with each other.”

Damian E.M. Milton June 08 2012

So why is the office environment a problem?

Inherently it’s not, but a couple of issues are2:

  • Autistic folks keep a lot of information in conscious memory. On top of that we are asked to performatively mask in order to fit into the work culture taking up additional resources. Screening out background noise, smells and UV lighting takes even more resources. As a consequence there is not a lot of conscious processing left to focus on what we need to do. Therefore social interruptions and “can I just grab you a moment” can be crippling.
  • Masking leads to suicidality and burnout3. Reason being is that if you succeed then you have just proved that a persona is more valid than your authentic self. If you fail then you let slip your authentic self to your detriment. Additionally the effort to maintain that persona takes energy and focus that you need for your basic work and self.
  • Multiple conversations at the same time like in a lunch room, or corridor, require screening out of background noise and stimulus. That takes effort. That’s not even starting on eye contact and body language.
  • Not having time to prepare information for a conversation means that a lot of processing power will have to go into dragging that information into conscious memory, and shelving the task that you were on.
  • Often the spontaneous conversation will require an answer that hasn’t been scripted. Yet again this increases the amount of conscious thinking to
    • a) parse the information and formulate a response,
    • b) judge the position and personal status of the one you are talking to in case they need a specific tone or level of detail,
    • c) edit that response for generally socially acceptable norms,
    • d) keep looking for facial and/or body language cues from the person you are talking too. NB/ I have to do this in conscious memory.

We are expected to do all the above AND not rock the boat.

By existing outside of that I am excluded. So isn’t existing outside of the rules a positive accommodation? No. I’ll explain.

To fit into the work environment I’ll need to subject myself to exhaustion and pain OR not be in the room where decisions are being made. Not being in the place where the organic conversations were being had means being excluded from the decision making process (bad for me) and having ones knowledge, skill and experience removed from the decision (bad for the business).

Because I am rarely in the room when these decisions are being made I am frequently coming up against last minute deadlines. These scrambling for deadlines and approvals further impact mental health as well as business outcomes and can lead me to working 12+ hour days.

People don’t want to deal with disability and so they work around it and create a silo. This leads to more forceful insistence and begging, which in turn leads to more alienation.

So there’s got to be a solution right?

Sure, I’m not going to just complain and run (that’s no good for my own mental health at the very least). The solution is to be prepared. Set meetings with an agenda (or create them in the moment) and write stuff down. Designate someone to take minutes. Follow up and inform. Plan. Respect boundaries.

But there are other things as well. Celebrating team wins need to be done in a way that everyone can participate in. Staff x-mas parties are excluding, and if I attend I do so at my own health cost. Team building activities are the same.

So keep in mind that (despite what pop-organisational psychology might suggest) we are not all the same. You have a diversity of colleagues and reports. Treat them with equity (not just equality) and find the way to come together. They alternative is loss of talent and headaches – but also depression and burnout.

  1. On the ontological status of autism: the ‘double empathy problem’, Damian E.M. Milton June 08 2012
  2. The Dark Side of Autism in the Workplace, Marcelle Ciampi June 10, 2019
  3. Autism Masking: To Blend or Not to Blend, Rebecca Joy Stanborough, March 10, 2021

Neurodiversity vs Martyr Complex (aka gaslighting)

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I work a lot I’m told. I’ve often been accused of having a Martyr Complex and frankly I’m a bit over it. This is something that a lot of neurodivergent and autistic folks I’ve talked to have experienced as well and I think I understand the reasons.

Hyperfocus and special interests are things things that are very central to the way neurodivergent people experience the world. Being focused on a single topic for a long period of time is very common to me. Hyperfocus is a state of being where I can keep attending to a single thing for hours and/or days on end. In the work environment it can mean working on a single problem for a week until I finish it.

Breaking out of that is aggravating to the point of painful. Having that done for me by people banging my desk or waving in front of my face for attention, is frankly aggressive and violent. Saying that “but they were only trying to be friendly” is no more a reasonable statement than it was in the 80s when it was used by grabassing men. It needs to stop. Ashlea McKay has been incredibly eloquent in here covering of that here and here when she says “Good intentions do not negate not-so-good impacts. They didn’t mean any harm, but they caused harm and that harm has an impact.”

Good intentions do not negate not-so-good impacts. They didn’t mean any harm, but they caused harm and that harm has an impact.

Ashlea McKay – LINKED IN

So let’s talk about the Martyr Complex.

  1. I know my limits. I know how much I can take and when to back off, and I build those into what I can take. Most ND adults are the same. We’re good. Believe us. It’s part of negotiating our spoons budget. Hyperfocusing a task for me is a low cost way of working. I can do a lot of focused work and spend less energy. Let’s say it’s like getting on the freeway – I can zoom away without having to stop and start. But everytime someone interrupts to save me from working to hard I have to get off the freeway and stop – and it costs me more energy. And starting again to get back on the freeway is intense. What it effectively does is blow out our energy budget and can lead to burnout, frustration and meltdowns. All because someone wanted to save me from overwork with their funny tiktok dance.
  2. I don’t work for the same reason as neurotypicals. I don’t do it to earn credit or as a badge of station (sorry Vu). I do it because it is a task that has to get done and it holds my interest. Of course I deserve acknowledgement and I deserve to be respected, but that has nothing to do with a Martyr Complex. Mainly because as an outsider to the social hierarchy there is nothing to gain there. The work gets done because the work needs to get done.
  3. Burnout looks like Martyrdom. So ND folk tend to work different hours to NTs. We work when the flow demands it but hyperfocus doesn’t discriminate. When you are on you are ON. We don’t get halfway through a task and go off to work with the team and pick it up later. HOWEVER we also feel an incredible pressure to conform to what the status quo demands. This is called masking, and many an autistic has written articles about the dangers of masking. So you’ll often find us showing up 9-5 (or in my case 7:30-6 to avoid the public transport peak hour sensory overload) and then also working till midnight while I hyperfocus on a task. In fact working outside of the hours of NTs in open office environments is less energy due to the interruptions and sensory overload being absent. All this masking and extended hours lead to burnout.
  4. Autistic superpowers. Ugh this is hard. The toxic positivity and the need for us to prove ourselves leads to overwork. There is a burden for us to appear infallible as a reaction to the tragedy narrative, and it’s a pressure that leads to overwork and burnout. Dr Nancy Doyle puts it better than I here.
  5. Our Spikey Skill Profiles. A friend reminded me that we get resentment often (and sometimes irrelevant praise) for being great at stuff. Riffing off Nancy Doyle again “Whilst everyone has strengths and difficulties, for neurodiverse people the difference between them is significant.” Of course that depends on what you attribute to the normal that you are different from, what does occur is that we can really shine at some things. This is the superpowers at work. In this case though they can create a friction with colleagues when this is looked at as competition. Us being good at something, and sacrificing ourselves to be good at it, can leave them feeling inadequate. They don’t understand we’re not competing with them, we’re competing with ourselves.
  6. Work social functions are a nightmare! I get panic attacks at staff BBQs and social functions. There are too many conversations to focus on, incredible amounts of sensory overload and social games that I’ll never be able to understand. The amount of focus that requires is incredible and I hate it. But not attending these functions can have serious implications on promotion and advancement, as has been documented by the feminist and BIPOC movements in detail. Also not attending tends to attract Martyr labels.
  7. Personal time. What I do with it is my business. What neurodivergent people do with their time is their own business. If I have a special interest in (for example) organising mental health forums for in arts and culture and that gives me energy and satisfaction then that is great. I’ve been told that I’m hopeless and that I can’t help myself [being a work addict] because I follow my special interests rather than “go out with friends”. This is just gaslighting. One might not understand a person’s interests but there is no need to minimise them because one doesn’t get it.

So can we agree not to do this? Using the Martyr slur against neurodivergent and autistic folk is gaslighting. No one is wanting you to feel bad. By and large that wouldn’t even occur to us. The more you can help us shake off masking and stop gaslighting the easier it’ll be for us all.

Special thanks to Carrie Beesley and Mel Granchi for their input

Foxtel - Cold Blooded
Foxtel – Cold Blooded

“I never consider myself in competition with anyone, and I’m not saying that from an arrogant standpoint, it’s just that my journey started so, so long ago, and I’m still on it and I won’t stand still.”

idris elba

2017 **PHEW**

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So that was a year!  New job and career change for me and a BIG change of strategy for my new work.  It was a great upgrade in my work life but a massive responsibility.  We came through it fantastically but at 65 hours a week plus travel I’ve been exhausted.

The good thing is that my second job is related but in the coal face; something I’m really good and confident at.  I’m in a big organisation there which gives me a place to look at best work practice. And I’m great at that stuff which helps with the confidence and planning.

To be honest I was dreading coming back to work after the break.  It seemed like though I’d put a mountain behind me there was a mountain range stretched out in front.  A couple of things though helped me get back on track.  The first was sitting down on the first day back and working on a Trello board.  Trello is an online Project Management tool that I’d been introduced to during the planning for the business ticketing/website launch.  I set up columns for each department that had me in their sights and listed every think I could think of with a reasonable delivery day attached.  Inside each of these columns I put Job “cards” that hold the deadlines, Checklists of things to do, and comments.  Truth is I actually I set this this online during job 2, in the quiet moments before I got back. Once i had that done the panic dropped a bit.

Just something that I’ve said before.  I find that my panic levels drop when I chunk out the work.  Then it’s just putting one foot in front of the other.  My partner does this with backs of envelopes to great effect.

Anyway back to the mountaineering. Try Trello if you get the chance.  I’ve used it to even organise my Dungeons and Dragons game so it can’t be too nerdy right?!