To feel unsupported and misunderstood by work

I agree that managers should be sympathetic to any difficulties that an individual employee is experiencing.

They also have to be as fair as possible to all their other staff. If changing one employee’s work pattern has an effect on other staff (e.g. changing the ratio of phone to admin), then it’s not something most managers would do, unless the circumstances were exceptional.

I think in this situation most managers would take the view that the OP needs more experience on the phone, not less. If I were the manager I’d try to find a way of temporarily reducing the expectations (e.g. more time between calls, easier calls) if possible. Hard to know without knowing the role, but there’s usually something that can be looked at.

So yes, employees should be treated with respect and sympathy. But sometimes they ask for things that managers aren’t willing to give them because of how it would affect other staff.

This thread is not good. Op accusing posters of bullying is not good. Many posters have a lot of understanding of ASD and many posts have been sympathetic.

But clearly this is not the right job for op and probation probably won't be passed. Once training has been completed and extra training requested, after 10 months if someone can't do the job, and kept referring to the need to 'revise', despite some reasonable adjustments having already been implemented, most companies would call time. Talk to manager one last time? How is the search for a new job going?

This is overall sad, because the op can’t see that she cannot necessarily do the job. If 2 days didn’t help, why would a week or 2? If the procedures change all the time, it’s not learning them that’s needed but learning how to rapidly take on board updates. Which hasn’t been mentioned as your focus.
And as others said, none of this really helps your colleagues. It only helps you. It’s not doing your colleagues a favour to switch up your tasks so you try to improve, it’s your colleagues doing you a favour.

op if in general you find this harder to learn than most people, then if this is the job you want I’d expect you to have to try harder than other people, and put in some extra hours. That’s not you doing them a favour either. I’m sorry if that’s hard to take. You should also remember that not being good at a particular job is not in any way a judgement about you as a person, but it is easy for it to feel that way.

I'm really sorry you're struggling op, but I think you should look for a new job.

If you're on probation at this point it's likely you will not pass.

It'd be better for you long term to leave of your own accord than be let go.

Hey OP, I’m so sorry you’re in this situation! It sounds really stressful and as someone who has continually had probation periods extended in almost every job I’ve had, I get it.
here’s the tough part- unfortunately jobs are sink and swim. Employers need the job doing and accommodations, extra training etc will only go so far.
also doing the bits of the job you like meaning everyone else does more phones impacts everyone else negatively. Usually people need their mix of tasks and your colleagues may like their down time of admin. If you’re doing that, and they have to constantly be on the phones, it will cause resentment. Saying that now, people will be bothered by it unfortunately.
if you’re having a meltdown etc at work basically you’re only going to be seen as a liability, it’s really harsh but it’s the way it works, and I’m saying this as someone who’s been in the same position as you. I’ve done customer service in a call centre, the expectations are high and I got negative feedback all the time! Passed my probation by the skin of my teeth but it was difficult
all things considered, I’d maybe look for a different role in admin in the council or a charity. But maybe spend some time doing some self reflection first- negative feedback is awful to hear and trust me I’ve had so much of it over the years. It’s too easy to shrug it off and say no, the problem is x or y or z but sometimes you need to just self reflect and think actually I probably am part of the problem. It’s hard not to internalise it but it’s not a measure of your self worth. Oh, find a work coach/mentor also to build up your confidence! Best of luck!
last thing I’ll say is some of the replies have been harsh, some of you need to admit you enjoy winding people up a little too much. Op is in a vulnerable position, a little tough love is fine but people have gone overboard here and are absolutely loving sticking the knife in, just walk away!

@Riversideandrelax you have to be off sick

It won't work because your probation ends on June 10th? Say, they do give you two weeks (which they will not) it brings you up to the 2rd June and you then have only one week to show them that you can do the job (which isn't a certainty either). This extra training/lower targets is something that should have been addressed four months ago. It is too late.

If you haven't learned what to do on six months, why do you think a couple of extra hours will make much difference?

Also, how do you know those couple of hours off the phones doing asmin aren't what keeps your colleagues sane and able to do THEIR jobs to the best of their abilities?

I'd think you were a right cheeky fucker wanting to interfere with my workload because you couldn't do the job 6 months in. I'd wonder why you were still in post and what you were being paid for.

I'd get job searching if I was op.

I doubt the probation will be passed.

Which means your colleagues take more stressful phonecalls while you do the nicer part of the job?

When you say you are working overtime, do you mean that you have a target or a specified amount of work to do and while your colleagues complete it during their normal working hours, you don't and therefore you stay behind to finish it off? If so this isn't really unpaid overtime.

What jobs have you had before that you didn't feel stressed in?

Look for another job. High levels of stress can result in sorts of problems:- high blood pressure, anxiety and insomnia.

This! Can you not see that the common denominator here may be you?!

What do you do if you have no voice then?

As you are still on probation it's unlikely the workplace will agree to a short term measure of a change in role nearing the end of that probation (how long is the probation period?). They'll want confidence you can do the standard job over the long term before they approve the end of probation.

People disagreeing with you does not make them bullies, or mean that they aren’t listening.

You are not being ripped to shreds. Points are being repeated because you aren’t taking them on board and seem unable to see any point of view other than your own.

Entered too fast. I know someone similar. She ended up sacked. We all thought she'd made the biggest mistake of her career. But guess what she landed her dream job and couldn't be happier. This job isn't for you but the right one is out there.

It seems like this is not a good fit for you or your employer. Honestly it's a business and they need someone to do the job. Maybe this is a good time to figure out what type of job you can do and be happy with.

You've been in the role for 6 months.

You're asking for an extra 1-2 hrs per day for the next two weeks on admin instead of phones to "hone" your knowledge.

Do you realistically think 10 hrs will improve knowledge you haven't gained in the 1000 odd hours you've already been in the role?

That's how your manager will be looking at this. They need to balance additional assistance with a short term request suddenly becoming the status quo. Because people do that. They don't know you well enough to know if you are one of those people, but your expectations regarding backing off the phones, someone asking how a personal medical appointment went and other things in your OP, make experienced managers nervous.

What can you do to keep your job? I'd recommend speaking with your manager and noting the recent feedback. Clarify what is expected to improve and ask for guidance on how to do that. If 10 hours doing admin will make a substantial difference, you can knock that over in one weekend.

I am autistic and work in a call center, not because I love it, but because I have bills to pay and also I would not survive in many other environments if I'm being quite honest.

Employers are not very clued up on how autism works.

They don't understand that autism means that you might require a strict routine or schedule, that you may have issues with executive function be that task initiation or task completion or both, they don't understand that because of rigid thinking it can be hard to switch between tasks, and they don't understand that what NT people can do as routine or a singular task flow we see as individual tasks ie. Answering the call, answering each individual query, writing the notes, completing the notes, placing orders, visiting individual tabs, swapping between talking to typing and typing to talking. They are all tasks. They also don't understand sensory overwhelm. We use our 8 senses every day. Touch, taste, smell, sight, sound, interception, proprioception and vestibular. Because our brains can often lack the ability to filter out the information being delivered to us through these senses it is easy to become overwhelmed and overstimulated.

An example from my own workplace that I'll give is that my workplace use a central knowledge base for all important updates but in order to catch people's attention they use bold colours, a lot of pop arty style graphics, use a large variety of different texts and backgrounds and a lot of hyperlinks to other sources of information which means sometimes we have to have multiple tabs with all of this visual stimuli on, and they want us to read through this while we're in meetings or on a call, and I have to point out that I can either process what I'm seeing or I can process what I'm hearing, it's really hard for me to do both at the same time with the level of focus that they require.

It is the method of delivery of this information and how they allow me to process this information that is indicative of whether it's successfully implemented by myself.

Too much stimuli and I will go into shut down mode and nobody will get much from me.

The thing with autism is it is a different neurotype and whether some autistic people believe it or not, it is disabling and therefore a disability.

I have worked in other areas and found that the call centre work from home environment allows me to control a lot of sensory input to perform my best but the job itself is really difficult to do because I am autistic.

I, like you, sometimes, or often, rather, spend time out of my contracted hours playing catch up for things people do in their working hours, and a reduced workflow was requested as a reasonable adjustment as I work for a large organisation, international even, and the workload can easily be spread with it making very little difference to any ones day. However what I really need are better tools and strategies provided to me by my workplace to level the playing field. Both things can be achieved with things like requesting breaks are spread out across the day, access to urgent personal time offline when I am overwhelmed, better training and understanding of the effects of burnout for management so they can better manage my performance and work with me to achieve my targets, and less micromanaging as it is very square peg in a round hole. I am capable of doing the job, but if they aren't willing to provide an accessible way of viewing their procedures then I need my own processes for this and if it reaps the desired outcome they need to get off my back.

Sadly, I am off sick, again because my needs at work aren't being met however I do fully recognise that my employer could do their absolute darndest to try and meet those needs with the resources they have available and sometimes it still won't be enough, as thar is par for the course with autism.

My employer does value staff welfare, and holds regular welfare meetings and I do think more employers should hold welfare meetings, but they don't pry for specifics, they just make sure they're following the right procedures for time frames for occupational health referrals, sick notes etc.

- I would have just thought that if someone has found it hard to cope you make sure they can before throwing them back into a pressure cooker.

I think it's on you to say if you can't cope and to not go back into the pressure cooker. They gave you the opportunity to do that in the conversation about whether you were suited to the job. The truth is that you're not and want an admin job, which doesn't exist at this company. You need to look for one elsewhere. Like it or not, the job you were hired for is what you're seeing as the pressure cooker. They're not throwing you into it. If you don't want to do it, they won't make you. But there isn't really this other option to stay in your job while not doing your job. Certainly not while still on probation. I would assume that you're unlikely to pass probation which will be upsetting but ultimately a relief and the right thing so you can start pursuing more appropriate and less stressful roles right away. Good luck.

Surely you know that a certain portion of MN posters enjoy berating and scolding people when they’re down? They love getting a good kick in. The key is to ignore them and focus on the sensible advice.

You mentioned an autism assessment. Did you know that perfectionism and sensitivity to criticism can often be part of the autistic mindset? Both may be working against you at work (and possibly even here on MN). But if you can get an assessment asap then you have grounds to make a request for reasonable adjustment. Struggling to retain information might mean you have a corresponding SpLD as ADHD is often found in autistic people.

If you read up more on both of those, then you can find helpful advice on managing at work. The main thing now is to keep doing extra hours to revise because you want the job and you want to pass probation and you need to convince your line manager that you can do the job. Best of luck 💐

Realistically I've found it takes around 3 months to really really crack a role if it's a bit of a tricky one, but during those 12 weeks you pick up a lot going forward. To be fair you've had 6 months and you're still pretty much wallowing and expecting more and more support at the expense of others.
Maybe this isn't a good role for you. If I were you I would start looking around for admin only roles in case they decide in June that you're not quite up to the position anyway.
I once took on a role as a personal shopper to accommodate a particular happening in my life (the hours suited).
I'm an intelligent enough person who can easily master admin and various software programmes but I was bloody hopeless as a PP. Each to our own strengths.

OP, I think it might be time to step away from this thread. It's clearly not helping you. Might it be worth seeing your GP again?

On the work side of things, I think you can see the very large majority of posters have said a similar thing - that you don't sound suited to this role. Now they may all be wrong. But that's a lot of people who have a perfectly independent view who have given you the same advice. I really try to reflect on opinions that I'm given, especially when it's so many saying the same thing. I might not want to hear it, it may be something I disagree with but usually that's the most important one to listen to.

Good luck

I live by this: if it’s literally everyone else - actually, it’s me.

The job’s not for you OP. Your employer knows it already, time to catch up with their thinking pretty quick and plan your next move. Getting signed off with stress isn’t going to save you either. I’m not really sure what you’re hoping to achieve by going to your GP, but waving it under your employer’s nose wasn’t a good strategic move.

I hope you find something that makes you happier and healthier.

Op, no one is bullying you here, and you seem to be completely incapable of any kind of self-reflection. When basically everyone responding in this thread is trying to tell you the exact same thing, you may want to pay attention.