Avoiding Politics Completely
I was at a small company yesterday. It was mightily informal: very run down offices; quite grubby in fact and four enthusiastic guys beavering away in casual dress on a project that they were both interested in and passionate about.
I felt well at home in there and that made me think. Not only am I coming to the conclusion that large companies, which are filled with politics and related machinasms, contain many of the things that someone with Asperger syndrome finds not only difficult but, at times, impossible - formal routines, dress codes, hierarchies etc, - to deal with, but small companies provide the exact opposite!
I am beginning to wonder whether it is right for someone with AS to work for large organisations. Would appreciate any insight anyone may have about this?
Something to think about...
Sounds like a interesting place you visited. It can be difficult to say whether a smaller outfit is better than a larger outfit. The reason why I say this is because both have their advantages and disadvantages if you think about it.
At times working in a small place is very tempting but again when you're used to certain rules, routines and etc the adjustment can be a little more difficult plus in a smaller place (in most cases) everyone knows you and your business. I don't know if I personally would actually jump at or jump away from a opportunity in working in smaller place myself, even though it's very tempting.
Big Company's and Routine
I think that the key point with big company's and someone with Asperger syndrome is having time to fit in, learn the ropes, get on top of the job task and get to understand the politics!
If you get time to do all of these things then a large company can be a very good place to be and one [with AS] can deal with the polictical shenanigans that inevitably go on.
A good personal example for me was the BBC. A very large - obviously - organisation and one with a distinct culture. However, the attarction for me as someone with AS was that it was (relatively) stable and not as overtly agressive from a profit generation perspctive as other organisations. Once I had settled in, it was quite a good environment for me.
If you get into an established routine and the organisation and its position is appropriate, then I think that there are very strong reasons to hold fort!