Asperger's, I.T. and Guy

Early into my teens I was diagnosed as having Asperger's Syndrome; Asperger's is a form of Autism, I have often been described as a High Functioning Autistic. For me personally Asperger's is not a disability or condition, and, in fact, the word Syndrome is a misnomer; not for the dictionary definition but for the perception that a syndrome is a mistake or failing.

As a child who was schooled in the 90's I went under the radar of most teachers and I didn't fair too well, in class I was quiet and did the minimum that I needed to get by. By the time I was 16 I was playing truant a couple of times a week as anything was better than being in school. I finally left school with just a single GCSE of grade C failing and an idea that I wanted to be in a STEM industry, for a couple of years I flitted between jobs and college courses never staying anywhere for more than a few months. I finally landed a job in a .com company called WebFreight, in this role I was all things I.T. a system administrator and a web developer. It was amazing, I was in a company of just 15 and an office with just one other, I loved the work and for the first time enjoyed going to work more than being on my own.

The people that worked there were a diverse group I got to observe how Sales people interacted and the confidence they display. How organised and prepared Project Managers are, how Directors are constantly trying to predict the market and what they need to do to keep the company going. I learnt a lot about what it is like to work in I.T. where you bring all these people together with systems and equipment, things that they rely upon more and more. This is a great way to be a part of a larger team whilst being apart from the larger team, for me this was a win win. Suffice to say in 2000 the bubble burst and company when under and I needed to look for a new job.

Since then I have worked in various roles in I.T. and gained huge amount of knowledge. Yet throughout my career I have always found it difficult to interact with those I work with. People are an enigma and one that needs to be studied to be understood. Often the people that do the best in I.T. aren't the most technical or astute but those that exhibit the least features on the spectrum. When you look at job roles advertised for technical roles you'll often see "must be able to communicate with all levels in the business" or something to that effect. My question would always be "Why?", why does a developer, a tester, a server engineer need to be able to communicate to all levels in a business? Surely that is the role of the Scrum Master, Project Manager or Line Manager.

Money doesn't buy happiness, but poverty causes worry and stress.

In a lot of company's financial reward is often given to the most outspoken people leaving the quiet, shy or reserved on the least financially, because they don't speak out and ask for more they are on what the company can get away with paying them. In school I was shy, quiet and reserved, in work I am loud, outgoing and forthcoming. The problem is I'm not a natural people person and balancing the line of banter and rudeness is one I often walk and often fall off on the wrong side. I must make a conscious effort to observe and correct my behaviour as I learn about the individuals I interact with, it doesn't come naturally, and it takes a huge amount of energy that can leave me totally drained at the end of a day.

I have had to change who I am to fit into a world that I am slowly trying to understand, in an industry that I love. Wouldn't it be great if companies rewarded their staff for the work that they do and not the personality that they have? Equality is about more than a just surface metric, it's about the all the dimensions that make people who and what they are. Money doesn't buy happiness, but poverty causes worry and stress. A recent survey by Oxford University has shown a marked increase in productivity when staff are happy and valued. In fact Henry Ford increased factory workers salaries from $2.5 a day to $5 a day, this increase reduced the staff turnover and increased productivity. If you have a staff member that you know is amazing and will never leave, reward them for their loyalty and see how much more they can truly achieve.

Asperger's has been a gift and a curse; I have been able to focus on and really learn things that I enjoy but I really struggle in my daily interactions and often go home exhausted. It's very difficult to see what is going on under the surface of someone's persona so maybe we all need to be a little more honest about how we feel.

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