u/AdMindless809

I was at Starbucks the other day. It was pretty warm in there and I'm sensitive to heat, so I took my little handheld fan out to cool off.

After a few minutes, I laid it on the table and turned to pull my laptop out of my bag. When I turned back, the fan was gone. A kid who was maybe three or four (and who had been wandering unsupervised around the tables) was carrying it about.

When his eyes met mine, I held my hand out for the fan. He immediately screamed blue murder and ran back to his mom, who finally had to look up from her phone. I said I needed it back and the kid cried even louder, so she said, "Just let him have it and buy another one."

This mid-60s couple at another table chimed in with the usual "You're an adult and he's just a child... be more understanding" crap.

Um, no. My parents made it clear when I was a kid that I couldn't have something just because I wanted it.

Mom said something along the lines of "Don't you have kids?" She guessed the truth when I dodged the question and said, "If you did, you would be more understanding."

I said that had nothing to do with letting her kid help himself to other people's property. Then I just grabbed the fan and let her deal with the screaming fallout. But as I left, one of the baristas gave me the thumbs up. Maybe there is hope for the future generations.

Let me preface this post by saying that I myself have been diagnosed with anxiety. Specifically autism / ADHD with anxiety subtype. I'm saying this because I've seen too many posts like mine get derailed by comments like, "You don't know what it's like to have anxiety, etc." Believe me, I do, which makes this harder.

I'm a freelance content creator. Because my business is growing, I recently engaged a young woman (let's call her Pam) to help me with blog posts. She's a friend of a friend and a pretty good writer already, and I hoped that by working with her directly, I could help her master my clients' preferred style.

I told her that this could not be a remote position while she was learning my business. Once she was brought up to speed, we could discuss a different arrangement. She's a contractor, so it's not like I can MAKE her come in, but I emphasized the importance of in-person onboarding.

Pam agreed to that, but admitted that she has anxiety. Been there, experienced that, so I didn't hold it against her. We agreed that she could have a desk in a secluded area at my co-working space.

Problems began after less than a week. Here are some examples:

• When I asked for some minor revisions to a blog, she came into my office and began crying hysterically. Other entrepreneurs in the area were shocked. When she calmed down, she apologized and said that the feedback was fair but came at a 'bad time' for her personally.
• She took a week off without notice because problems with her boyfriend made her an emotional wreck. She did not respond to my messages the entire time. Then rent came due and she was suddenly available again, but said she couldn't come into the office because her boyfriend needed her car for his new job and she was too anxious to take public transit.

I've since found out that Pam has been on ODSP (an Ontario programme that supports adults with disabilities) and basically stayed at home due to anxiety, although she does go out for grocery runs and visits with friends and family. But ODSP doesn't pay much at all, which is why she applied for the position at my company.

This is so difficult for me. I'm a sole proprietor, not a big corporation with other resources to get the work done. If she can't do the job for any reason, I have to find someone who can.

Have any of you run into a similar situation: a contractor or employee who can't do the job due to anxiety, and you're simply not in a position to accommodate them like a bigger company can? If so, how did you handle it?