What is the difference between someone being "unique", and someone possibly having a mental illness?
Question:
When we try to politely and professionally suggest to her that her behavior is disruptive, she literally starts to cry and goes to human resources and says that we are "abusive". The rest of us then get a lecture on being "sensitive", and she goes back to meowing.
So, I guess the question is this: When is someone's behavior considered to be simply "unique" and a part of a "diverse culture", and when is someone's behavior considered to be hostile and inappropriate, or maybe even a mental illness?
Three people have quit this summer in my department, and each of them listed the "meower" as a main cause.
Answers:
It sounds like Asperger's to me. I hate it when people get in the mental health section of YouQA.com then run down people with mental illnesses by using labels like "mental" (one of your answerers did that.)
My brother has asperger's and he sings every damn jingle, at least only a few times thru. It drives my husband nuts when he has to hear "sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't!" on and on.
I dunno what you should do. Talk some more to your supervisor.
A person that has a mental illness is discriminated by others.
the distinction belongs to the social context, not in the behaviour itself. if ppl think you are insane, then you are.
where is your deparment's supervisor. If they want to keep the MeowMix lady, they need to isolate her in a separate space where she can't bother anyone.
Businesses only have to make 'reasonable accomidations' for unique people. For instance, if an employee is required to use his hands at a job, and is in a wheel chair, the company should make the work place wheel chair accessable. But, if the same employee lost the use of one of his hands, then there is no way to 'reasonably accomidate' him.
I don't know what reasonable accomidations you can make for the meow mix lady. Start wearing headphones and listening to music on the job maybe?
Maybe the meower needs sensitivity training. She doesn't realize she's not behaving appropriately. How old is she? That could factor in too. If she's even a tiny bit autistic, for instance, and never had adequate correction for these types of behaviors, she'll only experience you guys as the offendors, not realizing SHE is the offender...until someone can gently show her why it's offensive and the effects it can have on others. If I had to guess at her "uniqueness" I'd say she's got Asperger's. Not that she's "mental."
No, she's not "unique" or mentally ill, she's just an inconsiderate @sshat who needs to grow up and behave herself at work. If she DOES really have a condition that compels her to sing this song over and over, she needs to get her meds checked. And crying to HR? C'mon, now. Who needs the sensitivity training here anyway? Maybe YOU need to file a complaint thru official channels. I would document the times when she does this, and any and all actions you take to get this resolved. I had a problem with a co-worker kinda like this, and it took my pages of documentation against her word that she "wasn't that bad" to get the situation resolved.
As far as this being part of a diverse culture and uniqueness, I guess we are ALL unique. But that doesn't mean that we can't conform to certain rules society has established to insure harmony with all the other unique individuals around us, right? If she wants to do her singing at home, by all means, but when at work, the work's culture rules must apply.
Bottom line, her behavior will affect your job performance (if it already hasn't). So, you gotta look out for yourself and take care of this properly. If it IS a mental illness, she may get the help she needs. Good luck. Sorry for the long response. I guess this bothers me more than I thought!:)
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