S.O.S. work situation help

[chinita]

Hi! I started in a new temp job at the beginning of February and I need help as it's going from bad to worse.

It's a home based job, in which I'm supposed to read corporate reports and then give the company a rating based on the quality of their disclosures on various issues.

One of the ways in which my ADHD manifests itself is that I simply *cannot* work in something that I find boring. Well, the corporate reports I'm supposed to be reading all day every day are probably the most boring thing I've ever come across in my life... I'm able to focus on them for approximately 5-10 minutes in one go and then my mind starts to wander, I need a break and I end up checking my WhatsApp and email and Facebook...

And because during my break I do something that actually interests me and engages my mind, I lose track of time and what was supposed to be a 10 or 15-minute break becomes a 45 or 60-minute break... So I end up having more breaks during the day than I spend working. 😳

As a result I'm doing really poorly in the job, I'm constantly getting really bad feedback, which has really destroyed my self esteem (I also have PDA which makes it worse) and I'm just generally so ashamed of myself all day every day, it's starting to really affect my mental health.

I would have already quit the job, but I'm pregnant and I need to stay in employment in order to qualify for Maternity Allowance (I'm UK based). I posted my Maternity Allowance claim papers yesterday and hopefully I'll get the decision soon so that I can then leave my notice - although the thought of that really terrifies me. And somehow I'll have to survive in this job until I find out whether my claim was accepted (which can take up to 5 weeks). I don't know how to, when every day is such a struggle.

I could try seeing my GP and ask them for sick leave due to depression and anxiety. I could just call in sick under whatever pretext and try to use that time to find a part-time job that's better suited for me. I can't think of any other options.

Continuing to "go to work" and then only being able to work for less than half of the hours isn't really an option - it's too embarrassing and I feel utterly rubbish filling in timesheets claiming that I've worked all these hours and getting paid for them when in reality I haven't (even if it's just minimum wage). I just can't keep doing it it makes me feel too crap.

I'd love to hear your thoughts or any advice please.

Many thanks in advance ❤

[STEM_Dad]

Regarding the current job, is there anything you could do to make it more interesting for you? Perhaps make a game out of it, such as:

* Time how long it takes to read one complete page... Then challenge yourself to read the next one faster.

* Use this non-stimulating reading as an opportunity to learn a new skill: speed reading. (Find a tutorial on speed reading, and practice the techniques

* Do a little character acting...take on the persona of certain archetypes, such as: The College Professor, The Book/Movie Critic, The Professional Coach, The Motivational Boss.

* When a passage seems to be poorly written (dry, hard to understand, long winded, poor grammar, etc), challenge yourself to write it better.

* Conduct an experiment: use Chat-GPT, to see how it can help you get though your work assignments.

Adding variety and novelty might help you to do this job better, and might even help you develop skills and experience that you can apply in a future job.

Best of luck to you with your pregnancy, maternity allowance claim, and with raising your little one!

[chinita in reply to STEM_Dad]

Thank you for the tips. I think the situation would be quite different if this job was a permanent job and something in which I'd be interested in succeeding and building a career in - i.e. if I had motivation to do well. However, this is just a random temp job lasting 4 months that I took out of desperation as I was scared that otherwise I wouldn't be able to accumulate the weeks required for the Maternity Allowance. It's not a job that I'm interested in, and in all honesty my number one priority at the moment is getting away from it, not succeeding in it. In fact, when I'm working in a role that I find interesting and motivating, I usually don't have these kinds of issues except maybe very intermittently.

[STEM_Dad in reply to chinita]

That's very understandable. ADHD isn't due to an attention "deficit", as the name of the disorder says. What we have is an interest-based ability to pay attention.

It's so much easier to focus attention on what we are interested in at the time.

In that case, I hope that some other, better-fit opportunity presents itself to you.

[Michi-can-draw in reply to STEM_Dad]

Great ideas! Very creative!

[MrsPF1]

#1, never take a job like that again, I actually do well in the type thing you are doing but you've got to avoid it. Since you are pregnant, medications may be off the table but you could check into it. Another think that might help is getting a therapy lamp or just get outside to get early morning sun. That can help your neurotransmitters reset.

I really feel for you because I was in this situation in my last job. Working from home can exacerbate the situation. Maybe try working from a coffee shop, library or co-work place if you can afford that. Other suggestion, if you have a friend or relative who is available during your work hours, ask them to be your accountability partner. Text them every hour what you need to get done and then report to them at the end of the hour. Maybe install one of those anti distraction apps on your laptop and phone that can notify your accountability buddy if you get on a no-no app. Good luck, I feel your pain!

[STEM_Dad in reply to MrsPF1]

Accountability partner is a great idea...so is having a "body double" (online or in-person).

[chinita in reply to MrsPF1]

Thank you and I absolutely agree. The job description didn't reflect the actual content of the role almost at all - I now realised that I should have asked more questions in the interview. On the other hand, when I took the job my main worry was that I wasn't going to be able to accumulate enough weeks in employment to be able to qualify for the Maternity Allowance, and this was the only job available with an immediate start. So I probably would have taken it even if I'd known what it is (I always overestimate myself)...

The tips you list sound very helpful. I think I'd love to try them if I could see some kind of future for myself in this job, and had even a glimmer of motivation regarding it. However, this is just a 4-month temp role that I could quit any day and it wouldn't make any significant difference in terms of my career or aspirations. It's got to the point that I simply hate this job and have zero motivation to do well in it. My main priority now is just to get away from it in a way that will allow me to keep accumulating "weeks at work" in case the Maternity Allowance claim requires it (I've spoken to lawyers at a maternity charity about it and they said I shouldn't need to accumulate more weeks, but I don't dare make drastic changes before I hear whether my application was accepted). So I either need to change into another, less stressful job (but in order to apply for such jobs I'd need to take time off work as after a 9am to 7pm day I don't have the energy to do so). Or I need to get sick leave through my GP which would allow me to get my stress and anxiety levels down and hopefully even hear back regarding the Maternity Allowance application - if successful, I could then simply hand in my notice. If not successful, hopefully by then I could have applied to another less stressful job that would allow me to continue accumulating weeks towards the Maternity Allowance. I hope that makes sense...?

[80HDLife]

Hi there! I work from home on Tuesdays and I struggle with very similar issues. I find that I work best when other people are around me (body doubling). Would you be interested in trying to do a virtual body double with me? We could set time up to jump on a Zoom call, not to interact with each other but to hold each other accountable. I'm thinking we could even schedule like 30 min check-ins, where we come off of mute and be honest with each other about how on track we are. No judgement, what so ever! I totally understand not being able to stay focused on boring tasks. Let me know

[chinita in reply to 80HDLife]

Thank you so much for responding and for your kind offer. I don't think the issue here is that I'm working from home - I was working from home also in my previous role and I was doing pretty fine. But that's because I was motivated and interested in my previous job, and its nature was also much more collaborative and varied, so it kept me engaged. However, I have zero motivation regarding this current job and it's got so bad that I've started to really hate it now. I just want to get away from it, everything about it makes me anxious and frustrated. It's only a 4-month temp role anyway, so it's not like there would be any future in this job for me even if I was doing really well in it...

I would have already quit the job, if I wasn't still waiting to hear whether my claim for Maternity Allowance will be accepted or not. I spoke to a lawyer at a maternity charity who said that I should qualify already, but this is not 100% sure which is why I want to cover my back by continuing to accumulate weeks in employment until I hear back whether my application for the Maternity Allowance was accepted. However, I would still accumulate the weeks in employment if I was on sick leave. Or I could try to find a less stressful (ideally part-time) job with an immediate start so that I could continue to accumulate the weeks in employment without the stress and anxiety of this current job... I actually tried to get an appointment with my GP today to discuss the option of going on sick leave, but unfortunately the next available appointment isn't until the 14th of April which feels like light years away when every single day is such a struggle... I'll keep calling them every day to see if they've got any cancellations, I guess that's all I can do. Unless I just call in sick in order to buy myself some time to figure out next steps.

[Mimmy12]

If you feel that going to your GP is your only option, then that is s what you should do but honestly, I would try the tips and strategies that have been suggested in the meantime. The job is only for 4 months. Yes, it is a long time to struggle at something but maybe with these strategies you can do better, even if it isn’t the level of work you’d like to put out. Maybe take something visual like a picture of a baby or a baby booty and hold it while you read to remind you to stay on track and the purpose of why you took this job. Make a list of all the strategies that were suggested. Try them out. If one helps a bit at first but doesn’t work anymore. Go back to the list and try another one. Good luck!

[TurquoiseSunrise]

Use a text to speech program. Then doodle or draw while listening?

[NYCmom2 in reply to TurquoiseSunrise]

that’s a great idea!