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Autistic voices from the workplace

Autistic voices from the workplace The purpose of this paper is to give autistic employees a voice, evaluate their work-based experiences and to disseminate the relevant recommendations of the Westminster AchieveAbility Commission report.Design/methodology/approachThese experiences were identified through a questionnaire answered by 600 neurodivergent employees, including 95 autistic respondents. This allowed us to compare experiences across neurodivergent categories.FindingsThe overwhelmingly negative work-place experience is consistent at every stage unless managers had a good understanding of neurodivergence. This deteriorated further the more categories of neurodivergence identified with, and minority ethnicity. Few reasonable adjustments were made. Psychometric tests are experienced as disabling. No statistically significant differences were found between genders.Research limitations/implicationsThe target group are not representative of the wider autistic population and the sample is relatively small. Further research could look at how managers come to understand neurodivergence, the utilisation of reasonable adjustments and how to promote neurodivergence awareness.Practical implicationsThere need to be wholesale changes in recruitment and reasonable adjustments in the workplace, which will require substantial changes in attitudes.Social implicationsThe experience of neurodivergent people in the work-place, including autistic employees, was more consistently negative than expected. It was difficult to find any autistic employees without disabling experiences. This paper hopes this will alert wider society to the issues and may serve to support more solidarity amongst neurodivergent people in relation to employment. The findings have already influenced The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.Originality/valueThere is very little detailed research focussed on the work-place experience and voices of autistic employees and less research that considers the implications of neurodivergent overlaps in the workplace. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Advances in Autism Emerald Publishing

Autistic voices from the workplace

Cooper, Ross; Kennady, Craig
Advances in Autism , Volume 7 (1): 13 – Mar 24, 2021
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
2056-3868
DOI
10.1108/aia-09-2019-0031
Publisher site
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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to give autistic employees a voice, evaluate their work-based experiences and to disseminate the relevant recommendations of the Westminster AchieveAbility Commission report.Design/methodology/approachThese experiences were identified through a questionnaire answered by 600 neurodivergent employees, including 95 autistic respondents. This allowed us to compare experiences across neurodivergent categories.FindingsThe overwhelmingly negative work-place experience is consistent at every stage unless managers had a good understanding of neurodivergence. This deteriorated further the more categories of neurodivergence identified with, and minority ethnicity. Few reasonable adjustments were made. Psychometric tests are experienced as disabling. No statistically significant differences were found between genders.Research limitations/implicationsThe target group are not representative of the wider autistic population and the sample is relatively small. Further research could look at how managers come to understand neurodivergence, the utilisation of reasonable adjustments and how to promote neurodivergence awareness.Practical implicationsThere need to be wholesale changes in recruitment and reasonable adjustments in the workplace, which will require substantial changes in attitudes.Social implicationsThe experience of neurodivergent people in the work-place, including autistic employees, was more consistently negative than expected. It was difficult to find any autistic employees without disabling experiences. This paper hopes this will alert wider society to the issues and may serve to support more solidarity amongst neurodivergent people in relation to employment. The findings have already influenced The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.Originality/valueThere is very little detailed research focussed on the work-place experience and voices of autistic employees and less research that considers the implications of neurodivergent overlaps in the workplace.

Journal

Advances in Autism – Emerald Publishing

Published: Mar 24, 2021

Keywords: Autism; Comorbidity; Learning difficulties; Neurodevelopmental; Neurodivergent; Employment; Reasonable-adjustments; Neurodiversity; Experiences; Work-place; Psychometric; Co-morbidity; Disabling; Questionnaire; Voices; Disclosure; Recruitment; Social-model

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