Not adapting to new workplace :(

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Hi all. I worked very hard to get a good job and achieved that 6wks ago and was delighted. However, things were great for the first month but nosedived. I'm asd and DON'T do well with ambiguity and it feels like theres no structure, systems or rules to work from. I am used to bending rules from previous workplace, but this is insane, theres no rules TO bend, its whatever anyone decides at that moment, and a henpecking colleague is enjoying whipping the rug from under my feet at every opportunity. It was suggested at interview that i could make the role my own and they wanted to grow the company, smarten it all up. I now see thats not the case and long standing staff would not cope with expansion. ONE of the directors is pro change, everyone else likes their cushy place exactly as it is. What they have now is not scalable. In addition, there is not enough work. I am paid too much for what im doing and ive blasted through what i promised in interview in 6wks rather than the predicted 6mo (current team is v old fashioned and takes the long way round everything -a few filing reshuffles and spreadsheets was all it took in the end). I feel like im exploiting a small company thumb twiddling for wages far higher than the role should demand imo.

So, i feel like my dream is destroyed and im trapped because the deepening recession will make job hunting EVEN harder!! :( i go home with a headache every day and was almost in tears at work this week which isnt like me.

I guess i just wanted to vent really, few ppl around me understand, they think im just being precious and intolerant, but my work is really important to me, i work hard and take it seriously. I'm dreading getting back on the job market :(

I could go back to previous company at the drop of a hat, bit does that look even worse on a cv? As i wouldnt want to stay they forever, they were extremely exploitative.

1. Do they know you have asd? It sounds as if its the culture of the workplace rather than one poor manager.
2. Cv. If you can go back to your old place then I wouldn't even put the new job on.

Go back to old place and never mention new place on CV, just list as continuous employment. No one will care.

Have you had a supervision? Or spoken to the director? Are you still in probation?

If it was me I would give the new company 100 days - spend it evaluating what’s happening and how - don’t think you’ve understood everything in 6 weeks. see then what needs to change and work out how to change it. If people are change resistant work out how to help them change not do Change to them. Accept that growth may need to be slower than you thought. That’s how you’ll earn that salary, not by instigating quick wins and only doing true obvious.

I would say to raise your concerns professionally if you can.

Maybe organise a meeting with the pro-change director and have a discussion about what you’ve observed so far, obviously in the most constructive, diplomatic way possible.

Ask if there is any more work you could take on.

Worth a try before jumping ship.

What made you want to leave your previous job?

Thanks all - its most definitely the culture rather than one bad manager; i don't have a manager, i report to the directors. The reason i dont think implementing x y z will work is it is literally only one of the directors who wants to sort it out - the other says he does but in practise is obstructive, and he has the rest of the workforce firmly on his side :/ im thinking going back to previous company and scrubbing this from cv is perhaps better than engaging in a fight im very unlikely to win. Its so different from what i was sold at interview.

The pay, terms and hours of previous job made me want to leave, along with lack of promotion opportunities. I did enjoy the company itself though, and the vast majority of team (one person i hated lol, but in a big team thats good going). I enjoyed what the company did and how, if not my exact role at some stages (i changed around a bit).

OMG I coulda written OP's post two years ago, word by word..! That work place just didn't suit me and no it did not get better after 100 days, or 2 years so please be kind to yourself and leave while they haven't destroyed your self esteem and work ethic. Yes they say they appreciate you immensely and that you have achieved so much more in short space of time than they ever dreamed of etc etc...but essentially they just don't know how to utilise someone with your skills!!!
Yes it may be possible for you to fit in but you will need to change A LOT about you, so it's your call if it's worth it or not..x
In my case the whole 'carve out your own role as you see fit and keep yourself busy as you please' just didn't work out and I was bored senseless every day (I invented mini projects for myself to earn my keep but they never added true value as intended as the company as a whole wasn't receptive to them). My old company has now been wound up as clearly their business model didn't work out (and paying shed load of money to 3x the staff they needed probably was a factor).

Go back to your old job for now. I once took a job I knew wasn't the right fit and within 3 months I had left. You can just leave this out of your CV or detail it as a secondment

Can you do something else on the side? Have you discussed it with the on board director and asked what he expects to happen next given the resistance to change?

Sounds like a place I worked , I knew straight away it wasn't for me .
The staff hated change and were very suspicious of me . It was like you always done it this way etc .
The MD loved me because I saved him money but again like you op it wasn't difficult and so many other things were blocked . I stayed for 2 years but only because the MD would give me a pay rise and bonus . I left and I'm much happier in a job that is harder work but I feel is much more rewarding.
Some would say it's madness to leave a cushy job with good pay but for me it's much more than that , you work for 37+ hours a week you need to be able to enjoy your job like your colleagues.

Wow. I wish this was the main problem with my employment.

Ive had the 'oh wow paid to do nothing, great' comment many times but honestly its torture for me, im pretty hyperactive as a person so bum on one seat for 9hrs a day trying to invent shit that will go nowhere is dreadful. At the previous company i was worked to the bone, maximum productivity for minimum spend...i felt i derserved more reward, at this place i dont feel like i deserve what im getting!

Well quit then? Offer to work two hours overtime every night and weekends for free or tell them you’ll take a 50% cut in your wage and you won’t take no for an answer.

I can quit. I probably will. But im gutted and my asd is putting me back on the job market in a recession. Boo. Not something i feel i can talk about irl.

Implementing change is very hard work unless it's done slowly and - crucially - the people who need to change have to work it out for themselves. If you can facilitate this, change will happen.
If you try to impose change (because you can see clearly exactly what needs to change and why, and you want it to change NOW), you'll fail. That's a specific skill. I speak from experience.