Do you think some people just aren't competent and won't fit into any 2022 workplace?

[majellalos]

The skills that are required in so many professions these days don’t come easily or naturally to everyone and most jobs require a fairly advanced level of technological talent and a certain set of social skills that don’t come easily to everyone.

I really am not good at anything and despite being University educated I've struggled to hold down jobs because of performance issues in many jobs since I was 17. I'm 40 now and off ill but before that was doing temp work and agency jobs but just never felt right in any workplace. I'd always make a mess somehow or say the wrong thing.

AIBU to think some folk just aren't made for the workplace?

I hear you. I entered the workplace over 40 years ago and I think that part of the issue is that IT has done away with purely clerical/admin jobs and most employers want a great deal more for their money even in entry level jobs. I suspect I am autistic and have ADHD and was always happy to take on tasks that others found boring, mundane and/or repetitive.

The thing that worries me is that people are not learning how to be resilient any more. It isn't possible to go through life without experiencing shit times. Difficult jobs. Crap bosses. People you love dying. Money worries. Unexpected ill health. All of these things happen to most people to some degree. Sometimes you just have to push through. It's not easy, but you can't just opt out.

I agree. Why do so many people these days give in after one setback? We all have them, and yes we do have to push through. Everyone has tough times, it would be a very fortunate person who went through life with nothing bad ever happening to them, and not so long ago most people understood that. Now people seem to want to be signed off for stress, or for their mental health. Honestly, I seriously worry about where the world is headed.

There is likely to be something out there. Many people who would struggle to hold down a regular job work for themselves in my experience, and can do very well.

To add, do you think you are aiming at desk based jobs because you are university educated? Free yourself from that thinking if so. You may love learning a trade, such as plumbing, or thrive working on the land, or in a kitchen. It may be worth seeing a career advisor.

I think everyone is good at 'something' but a lot of people aren't cut out for 'office work'. I hold a fairly senior, responsible position in project management and every day I have to deal with incompetence. Some people just don't seem to withhold information, some lack the most basic organisational skills and many can't multi-task. These are well paid people as well which annoys me. These same people are often completely oblivious to their incompetence and manage to move from job to job by sheer over-confidence in their abilities. I think the entire Tory Government have this trait.

I agree about the lack of resilience.
My job isn't particularly difficult (office administration in a sort of niche industry, lots of random product knowledge required that you won't know until you've been there a while), my 20 something year old colleague is okay but misses a lot of the little things that make a big difference down the line despite being told repeatedly they have to be done. She then loses her shit for being told (again) that she missed doing it and according to her it is ALWAYS someone else's fault. It's like watching an overgrown toddler having a tantrum at work 🙄
The worst part is she will spend all day telling anyone that will listen how well she did at school! Apparently she is very bright and far more intelligent than most people she meets. She just can't translate that into doing her actual job which ends in her having a child like paddy and the cycle continues.
Most people are capable of working, some people may not be capable of doing certain jobs regardless of intelligence. I agree with a pp that it is a great shame to have lost a lot of manufacturing and labouring jobs etc as people could do them, work their way up and still have a nice lifestyle.

I struggle massively. Huge yeasr long gaps on my cv and the few jobs didn't last long.
I'm autistic and find so much of the workplace baffling and confusing, from the people to the various softwares to the culture.
Learning to just embrace being a housewife but it's quite crushing mentally.

@BlueWalnut

Agree, I think university become such the normal progression( almost anyone can get a degree now) that it doesn't really set you above anyone else, no matter how intelligent you believe you are.

People should ask themselves what intelligence means? Because learning an academic is great but not being able to hold a conversation or work with other people or hold basic information shows very low intelligence to me.

But there are jobs for people with varying levels of intelligence

15-20% of the UK is neurodivergent, and given Brexit has left a gap for a lot of manual jobs, there should be something for everyone

I've had my struggles. (I suspect undiagnosed ADHD).

When I was younger I used to be incredibly disorganised and bad at turning up on time. I also consider myself socially awkward and I used to prefer warehouse work so I would n't have the pressure of dealing with people.

Then I became a welfare rights advisor and I was so good at that, that people were willing to overlook the lack of more "basic job skills" like time keeping and saying the right thing. Gradually I got better at those things.

Then I got my dream job in that field and fucked it up by being unable to take criticism or manage relationships.

Then I was a trade union organiser for a while and although I was good at each individual task, I had trouble prioritising tasks and project managing. I wasn't terrible at it but it stressed me out. So I left that and went back to welfare rights.

Now I'm a carer and home ed mum to my neurodiverse kid. So I'm back to more "basic" jobs I can fit around those responsibilities. I work the checkouts and some shelfstacking at a supermarket.

I'm finding (once more) that basic jobs are harder in some ways. If the job is easy enough that most people can be taught it- you can't rely on being "good at your job" to offset an awkward personality.

What is your degree? What job roles/experience have you had? What have been the ‘performance issues’ in your previous jobs?

This is a very common thing with adults who have undiagnosed neurodiversity.

Has it ever been suggested to you OP that you might be neurodiverse?

I do... all the time.
I am a firm believer that no one grows in their comfort zone. I am not young (early 40s) and my issues have been life long.
Trying to talk to someone in a shop is not going to fix things.
Cutting my benefits safety net wont suddenly make me be ok, anymore than cutting an amputee's benefits will suddenly make their leg grow back.

I've met people who are a poor fit for their current workplace, but think those who genuinely aren't suited for work are far and few between (not talking about situations where illness and disability prevent working in any capacity).

I truly believe that only the severely disabled are unable to find a decent job. Seek help through a careers advisor via whatever the Job Centre is now called. Warehouse, retail, packing, kitchen, cleaning, caring etc all have basic jobs that need doing, that with training you could do, could become 'the best' at, and valued by your employer. Not everyone is destined for the most challenging, difficult jobs. There is a job for everyone, you just haven't found it.

I am definitely ND. Graduated with a first class OU degree that I did with my eyes shut. This was after leaving school with zero GCSEs. After some serious reflection it’s because I felt trapped at school. I used to think it was akin to being a prisoner being within those walls. Many, many times I would escape by climbing over high fences. I still remember the euphoria I would feel whilst running down the road embracing my new found freedom 🤦‍♀️.

I’ve recreated that feeling many times over in adulthood by never returning to jobs (good jobs too).

I now work for a teaching agency whereby I have to tell them when I can work. I just cannot have someone else tell me when I need to be in work, I’ve never been able to get my head around asking for permission for a day off etc.

I doubt I’ll ever be rich with my philosophy but I sure am a lot happier.

The fact you don't know what the Job Centre is called now is telling. They do not help anyone with finding a job... they just sanction you for not trying hard enough.
And anyone working as a carer, cleaner, kitchen staff etc would still be on benefits as a top up, and could still be subject to sanctions for not doing more hours, or doing too many during one month and having all benefits stopped.
There are people losing out on the Cost of Living payment because they went pence over the threshold to get it in the space of one month.

Yes, I think not everyone is suited to the position they hold. But I also think there's a broad pool of job types, with a less standard job though you may just have to be more creative in finding work that fits you. What kind of workplace are you referring to?

Some people pay very well to have their pets groomed for example, which probably just requires a strong affinity for animals, pet grooming training, a tub or hose and barbering tools, this is a service i really value, I used to pay 90 dollars to get my cat groomed, it took about 2 hours so the groomer made more hourly than I do. The groomer only did cats and she wasn't accepting new customers when i last saw her because she was so busy. Bee keepers probably don't do a lot of paperwork (this is an assumption my part, apologies to any bee keepers if this isn't true) but they're keeping us all alive. Chefs provide an experience that nurtures people and brings them joy.

What do you enjoy OP? What are your skills?

I don't drive.

I guess the thing is that most of these are not ‘decent jobs.’ Have you ever performed any of them? They’re extremely difficult with minimal training or support, for a wage you can barely even live on. If you have workplace stress I would put caring to the very very very bottom of the list of jobs. Cleaning I have done and didn’t find too bad, but that was just people’s houses - I imagine it’s very different doing it for a big company.

@XenoBitch I've always disliked the comparison people make on these threads about mental health being akin to physical health. Because with mental health issues there are solutions, there is a way out, you can change you're behaviour and learning whereas someone with 8 weeks to live has fuck all opportunity to get better.

If you really had no safety net you would jump in to survival mode and find a way to live, it's human nature. The person with a severe physical disability would most likely die.

As a society we have done a lot to address our mental health issues but I fear we also have pathologised a lot of normal human conditions ( lifestyle, diet, hormonal, low moods are normal sometimes, situational anxiety)

People who don't "have the right social skills" because they are ND, have MH issues or personality disorders will struggle in most workplaces. They have a disability which requires employers to make reasonable adjustments, but few organisations seem to be able to make those adjustments for people whose disabilities make them appear rude, or sweary, or who simply cannot bear being in proximity with others.

If the "safety net" is removed, some people with problems like these will die, or beg on the streets, or possibly resort to crime in order to meet their basic needs.

I'm intrigued as to how you think people with lifelong, untreatable, intractable
conditions will be "forced" to change, especially when MH services have been cut to the bone, and services for ND adults are next to non-existent.

@XenoBitch

As above, have you considered just not having a mental illness? I mean it’s not like you have terminal cancer with 8 weeks to live so basically you’re fine. Just don’t be mentally ill and get a job xx

I think a lot of people struggle to find their fit, yes.

@Kanaloa

@adderuppity

Riiiight okay. Have you ever met a person suffering an episode of psychosis? If you truly
knew about that subject and had experience with service users who get very ill you would know it was very very difficult for them to maintain employment whilst unwell. Give me a broken leg over a psychotic episode ANY day of the week. The former being much less disabling than the latter.

You both come across as very ignorant on this matter. Whilst I appreciate I am talking about severe and enduring mental illnesses are you two referring to garden variety depression and anxiety? If so I take your point….. to a degree. Work can certainly be beneficial for getting back out there and social cohesion etc but please don’t assume you can just decide not to be mentally I’ll. it’s just lacking hugely in awareness.

@XenoBitch

Am I right in thinking you’ve had hospital admissions? Don’t listen the ignorant people on this thread. Working is not always the right choice for people with mental illness to such an extent that they have been hospitalised. It is hugely, hugely disabling.

@DarkKarmaIlama

I was being sarcastic in response to the posts above me. I thought it was pretty obvious.