Like seriously if there is an online guide, article, website, book, etc. that explains how to navigate the social landscape of the young adult world for an autistic (especially the workplace!), please let me know I NEED IT!!!

I have major issues in dealing with coworkers and managers whenever I am in employment. I completely fail to understand the social dynamics of the workplace and I misjudge the difference between having workplace acquaintance style relationships and actual friendships. I have never been able to form an actual friendship in my entire life, it has always been formed FOR me by the other person. And this has resulted in me basically being unable to make friends at work which is a horrible experience. Your coworkers will literally gossip behind your back and treat you like an outsider who doesn't like them, even though I make an active effort to keep talking to them every time im on a shift. Ive been unemployed for like over a year now, whilst still in college and it's making me go insane. I really want to work but at the same time, I have such a huge amount of anxiety from the workplace and dealing with coworkers and managers that I feel like having a panic attack just via simply applying to jobs.

I feel like my main question literally is HOW DO I MAKE FRIENDS???? How do you transition between an acquaintance style relationship where you are friendly with a person but not really friends to finally actually becoming friends? What sort of language do you use with managers, compared to coworkers? Are you supposed to talk extremely formally to higher ups in a corporate office? Or should you also try to make friends with them too?

I feel like this is the main issue with autism in my entire life. It has ruined so many parts of my life that most people just tend to experience naturally. The 3 major pillars of young adulthood in friendships, employment and romantic relationships are basically taken away from me due to this inability to transition between acquaintanceship to friendship.

I know that being able to relate to things that interest both parties are a good way to form friendship bonds. E.g. both people enjoy Harry Potter and trying to bond over that. But being a 21 year old who has never done any real adult things in his life, it's really hard to relate to other young adults. They always talk about going clubbing, going out to bars, travelling, having casual s*xual relationships, finances, getting tattoos, romantic relationships, going to festivals, doing dr*gs, alcohol, etc. I barely relate to any of these things and tend to relate more to teenage sorta interests such as video games, Harry Potter, movies, going to the cinema, etc.

Like I said, this inability to form friendship connections is the most life-altering impact of the autism and it's why I am so unhappy all the time. Every friend group I try to enter I ALWAYS end up as the clown or the guy who gets made fun of for being weird.

Like I asked at the beginning, if there is an online guide, article, website, book, etc. that explains how to navigate the social landscape of the young adult world for an autistic (ESPECIALLY the workplace!) please let me know I NEED IT!!!