Pressure
I thought it may be worth posting something on pressure - or dealing with it!
Pressure is, I think, quite distinct from anxiety. The latter is something I don't like or cope with all that well; pressure can, though, be something I can deal with or even find quite stimulating providing I approach it appropriately.
I have been under a bit of pressure over the last few days: with a colleague, trying to close meetings prior to going away and, also, the pressure of not knowing where the company is going because of internal circumstances. All these seem to have cleared!
What has helped is me adopting the mental position of slowing down, not panicking and slowly working through the requirements.
Once I have succeeded in clearing requirements I feel an enormous sense of satisfaction.
I am going to try from here on in to simply ignore pressure by refusing to worry about it or the potential consequences. Instead, I am just going to work through it and accept at the end that "what will be will be". By not thinking about the possible consequences, I reduce the actual pressure!
Is this a strategy that works for others or does anyone else have an approach that they feel is more beneficial and advantageous?
Where I work (large
Where I work (large government department affected by funding cuts), the tasks we have are piling up higher and higher. When we lose staff, they are not replaced. The remaining staff have quite a high level of unplanned absences and nervous ailments. A new system is being brought in which has caused many duplications, much confusion, and slowdowns.
I've got to the stage where I am pretty much doing my own thing in order to get as much work as I can get done. I'm one of the more experienced operatives and get frustrated sometimes about not having the power to get cases finished.
Various co-workers get bogged down in little details and although they work hard, they aren't getting through many cases. They often are going into more depth than they are required to and that brings up the question are we processors or auditors?
The audit section is also very understaffed and we have gradually been expected to take on some of their tasks but without the same expertise or pay levels.
If it weren't for my aspie diagnosis and finding more confidence as a result, I would be stressing all the time instead of just sometimes. Some co-workers are in a continual state of frazzlement over the never ending work items.
Making Management Aware
Well done for coping with this.
One thing that does strike me in what you say is your - laudable - tendency to "just get on with it".
I have been in this situation before and my AS has dictated that I will be honest, play the company man and not complain.
However, I have also come to experience the fact that many people don't recognise this; they most usually don't acknowledge it either.
In these situations I explicitly inform my boss of the situation, what I am doing and how I feel. I feel that this is an important safety net and defence mechanisms if questions get asked later.
Pressure!
For me I cannot handle pressure too well and I'm not a fan of it. I tend to get lots of pressure at work these days since I had to take on many of the tasks that the prior Assistant Registrar who left had. It's not a easy group of tasks and it's not likable. I'm under pressure because I still have to be involved with my other activities, other general activities that everyone has to be involved with, figuring out certain things on my own, being corrected and being expected to get everything done right and in a reasonable amount of time.
I try to take it slow, do things one by one, not rush, not panic but it's not easy. I try not to let it get to me but again it's not easy with all the things going on around you and the expectations.