Why can’t autistic people find work? A survey by neurodiverse employer Auticon has some answers

What’s the plan for getting more disabled people into the workplace? The government’s approach is predicated on bullying, and on reforming the welfare system to make life more difficult for them.

Little enough attention is being paid to employers and recruiters, who frequently discriminate and throw up barriers even in the midst of the profound labour shortages that are holding back the UK economy.

The scale of the problem with employers is revealed in polling conducted by Auticon – an IT consultant, social enterprise, and majority neurodiverse employer – which focuses on the experience of autistic people in the workplace.

An online survey, conducted for the organisation by OnePoll, found that 31 per cent of respondents viewed the recruitment process as the most challenging part of their career. Traditional interviews don’t suit neurodivergent adults. There is a multitude of unwritten rules about how candidates should conduct themselves, and succeeding in interviews demands that they pick up on social cues and play the corporate game. Autistic people can find this extremely difficult. Ditto the idea that they should “sell” themselves.

Traditional interviews, which tend to select people who are good at interviews, don’t just hold back autistic people. They hurt disabled people more generally. Recruiters, too, often see only the disability (where it is visible), then file it under the heading “problem” and move on.

Some more data relating specifically to autism. Over a third of autistic workers (35 per cent) said that they found settling into a new organisation the most challenging aspect of working life. Nearly half (44 per cent) felt they could not be themselves at work. Just 7 per cent had an autistic role model in the workplace. While a significant number chose to disclose their autism diagnosis to a trusted colleague (70 per cent), only 30 per cent felt comfortable raising it with HR.

As a result, junior employees in particular (50 per cent) were unlikely to request reasonable adjustments, even though one positive from the survey was the finding that these were usually granted – at least to some extent.

While the survey included autistic workers in the US, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Australia, as well as in the UK, the figures will come as no surprise to those familiar with this country’s approach to autism and disability in the workplace.

If you have a condition that you can hide, you will likely do so. You will “soldier on” rather than request adjustments that may leave you exposed. A backwards-looking corporate culture, with pressure not to “make waves”, to be “a team player” and what have you, clearly plays a role.

These problems are not insurmountable. Auticon rather proves that, having made a success of employing a neurodivergent workforce. I’ve spoken to other firms that have had some success hiring disabled people, too.

A couple of years ago, management consultant McKinsey produced a report titled Diversity Wins, which found that the business case for removing the barriers remains robust, and that “the relationship between diversity on executive teams and the likelihood of financial outperformance has strengthened over time”.

It looks at gender, ethnic and cultural diversity. I would be interested to see the results in relation to disability – except, of course, that the presence of disabled people on executive teams and in the boardroom remains vanishingly rare.

Just getting a job remains a challenge. The latest government figures show that the disability employment gap was 29.8 percentage points between July and September 2022, an increase of 1.7 percentage points on the year.

Barely one in five autistic people (22 per cent) are in work, according to the National Autistic Society.

The government’s approach to disability is all wrong. It seems bent on sanctioning people into employment. While it has also promised “support”, it is no wonder it is described by disability charity Scope as having “a mountain to climb” to win back the trust of disabled people.

Part of the problem is that its attention is focused solely on claimants. The Auticon survey shows that employers need to adjust their approach and their thinking. They would clearly benefit from doing so. A nudge from the government wouldn’t hurt. But the latter first needs to get its own house in order.

I’m sure Auticon would be willing to consult for a suitable fee. There are plenty of organisations with experience of disability more widely that ministers ought to be talking – and especially listening – to as well.