Nuerodiverse colleague

[moana35]

I am having a few problems with a colleague at work. She is neurodiverse so adjustments have had to be made but these adjustments are meaning that myself and my colleagues are doing alot more than we did before she was employed.

She is very black and white about time so she will not be at her desk until her digital smart watch says the start time on her contract and again she leaves at the exact time she is supposed to finish even if in the middle of something. Lunch is an hour but due to needing to re compress for the afternoon she needs to take 75 minutes as she needs to go for a walk and eat. She has to sit in front of a window which means all our places in the office have been changed.

From Monday we are not allowed to drink coffee at our desks anymore only tea as the smell makes her gag.

Aside from this she is a very good worker and gets her work done to a good standard but it is impacting on the morale of the team. She is also exempt from training mornings if they are "small room " based as she can't sit in a room with a big group of people. She will be allowed to do her training online.

Management say as she declared her nuerodiversity at interview these adjustments have to be made for her I get reasonable adjustments and I have an autistic son but are these adjustments reasonable to the rest of the team.

If we took 15 mins extra for lunch or asked our colleague to not drink coffee I am sure we would be spoken to by management,

Has anyone else come across this in the workplace.

coffee thing is controlling and rude

One person gagging cos hypersensitive doesn’t trump the workforce needing standard hydration

they must have been desperate to fill that job.

My youngest will have to deal with shit like this, it keeps me awake at night.

Totally, imagine having the queen bee belief you could rule and control everyone else to meet your wants! Bonkers!

Is "food phobia" a diagnosed disability? If I worked with someone with an eatin disorder they would have my full empathy and I would support any reasonable adjustments.

Not a big fan of the whole 'majority' needs to pander to the 'minority' thing...... We never (& I mean NEVER) had this back just a few years - but now it's seeping into every aspect of life.
Unpopular opinion but just throwing it out there for perspective.

Op hasn't as yet explained how having this additional member of the team has actually increased the workload. How can you have a new, extra team member, who works hard and does a good job, but end up with more work.

Is ‘coffee phobia’?

This is why I am calling it out. I'm sick of this shit.

That's where the "reasonableness" test comes in.

Although I think bans on dining al desko are reasonable anyway. Pity the IT staff who have to brave your crumby greasy keyboard.

Like every other person on the planet. Or did you think NT people aren't affected by office politics and just want to live their lives and drink coffee?

Some people with autism will have this recognised yes. Probably not diagnosed as a 'food phobia' but as a sensory difficulties or for some, a diagnosis of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. It can cause people to gag, be sick and/or be unable to stay in the same room.

Do you mean we didn't make adjustments to include neurodivergent people? You think that's pandering?

No queen bee belief. I've spent my life being bullied for my differences, you have no idea. I don't want to rule and control anyone, just live my life in a way that isn't a fucking struggle every day.

l had adjustments and Access to work in 2012. So they’ve been around for years.

Then it is a perfectly reasonable accomodation.

Not at all. But it seems to be a NT person that started this thread about a petty belief that a disabled person isn't worthy of some reasonable adjustments. I love coffee at my desk but I can drink it somewhere else.

It’s also worth remembering that there are a lot of
people out there who probably do fit into the ND bracket (and would get a diagnosis if they went for one) but who, for whatever reason, have decided not to pursue that.
Not every ‘NT’ person is NT. They may actually have some very big struggles themselves that they are dealing with day to day.

Honestly, I’ve never told any employer about my Asperger’s diagnosis. Actually, I think I eventually told one manager a couple of years into the job during a general conversation about ND.
Is ND something that most people disclose now? Is this at the interview stage or afterwards?

In the same way the millions of people who don't have a desk to drink at manage?

But these people do have a desk to drink at.

As this woman has a specially assigned desk, perhaps it would have been better to make sure it was well away from anyone who may have coffee at their own desks?

What would you rather this colleague does OP? Stays at home and relies on disability benefits?
I've worked with ND colleagues in the past and have been happy to support with reasonable adjustments. You sound like a bunch of mean girls to me.

Why are you calling it petty? The OP obviously feels strongly about it. So strongly that they have started a thread. It must be very uncomfortable for her. Maybe she's undiagnosed ND..then what? Ah. That would be a whole different story and you'd be banging on about HOW HARD they have it.

Yet you’re calling people who don’t toe your exact line ‘petty’?

I only disclosed my diagnosis when I got a new manager that wanted to discipline me for things I couldn't help. This is despite me being better at my job in the other aspects than other team members.

Light a scented candle?