Autism & Society Explained: Work - Should YOU Disclose?

It's a question that comes up time after time. If you're autistic and employed, should you tell your employer? And if you're looking for work, is it a good idea to put that you're autistic on your application? If you've watched previous autistamatic films, you'll probably know I was diagnosed when I was a teenager, so I've known I was autistic my entire working life. I've tried several approaches myself over the years as well as shared the experiences of hundreds of other autistic people I've spoken to. I'll say from the start that there is no one size fits all answer to the question. There's so many factors to consider and what might be right for one person may not suit another. Even the same person may not wish to approach different kinds of work or even different employers in the same field in exactly the same way. I'll concentrate on the moral, emotional and ethical aspects of what to consider more than the legal. The laws about disclosure and the legal protections offered to autistic people vary across the world, so it's worth investigating the applicable legislation where you live to make sure you know where you stand. Some disability organisations, including those specifically aimed at autistic people and their families, should be able to help you to get up to speed. Before any of us decide whether we wish to disclose or not, it's important we ask ourselves why we might want to do it. It's a natural urge to want to be open about who we are. Particularly for an autistic person, it can feel very dishonest to effectively lie to everyone around us about our nature. It puts an added strain on us to always keep our masks on, which most of us would feel relieved to put to one side. The combination of fatigue and the need to be honest can be a powerful motivator. We might also feel a sense of obligation to other autistic people. Those of us who are actively engaged in the struggle to improve autistic futures may feel that it is hypocritical of us to hide our true nature from our employers. After all, we can't exactly challenge the harmful preconceptions about autistic people if we're afraid to admit we're autistic ourselves. It could be that we already see negative attitudes towards autism in our colleagues or our bosses and we feel that we should disclose in order to prove a point, or maybe there are schemes or accommodations available to us that we wish to benefit from. Knowing why we are considering disclosure is an important step before we consider the next one – weighing up the pros and cons. The first major upside to disclosure is the relief of finally not keeping secrets. Being honest is a powerful drive for so many autistic people and getting everything out in the open can be liberating. It really does feel good not to have the pressure of masking so much anymore. Disclosure opens up the possibility of positive changes to the working environment too. Whilst it's still feasible to ask for accommodations even without disclosure, it's difficult to have your requests taken seriously without explaining why. Excuses like, If we do it for you, we'll have to do it for everyone are all too common. There's also legal protections for autistic people in many countries in legislation provided for disabled people or broader equality laws. Whilst you're still often protected even without disclosure, having it out in the open makes others aware of it and that can sometimes reduce the possibility of bullying or unfair treatment from colleagues. On the downside, it's quite possible that you'll lose friends or be treated less favourably by some of your colleagues. Whilst autism awareness has come on leaps and bounds since I personally joined the workforce, there's still a long way to go. There's a shocking amount of misinformation still bandied about around autism and some of it can be weaponised. You may find that promotion opportunities are denied because you supposedly lack people skills that you were previously complimented on. Or be patronised because you fail to live up to expectations of savant abilities. There are also many reports of autistic adults suffering from even more bullying after disclosure than before. Accusations of fakery or adoption of a victim identity to avoid scrutiny are far from unheard of, as is resentment of supposed favouritism should your employers take your accommodation needs seriously. Whilst there are some high profile examples of very successful autistic people in professions such as law, medicine, technology and academia, there are far more who have hidden their autistic nature for fear of repercussions. Before you make the decision to disclose, it's worth taking a long, hard look at your employer's track record. Look at how they treat marginalised groups as a whole. Does their representation of minorities in their management structures relate favourably to the mix in your area? Do they have sufficient people of colour on their board and in senior roles to match the local mix? Are there relatively equal numbers of women in management as men? Are jokes about race, gender, sexuality and more tolerated as banter or treated as serious issues? Is there proportional representation of disability amongst your colleagues and are they offered the same opportunities as others? Have structural adaptations been put in place for physically disabled staff or have they been dismissed on cost grounds? All of these factors and others help to act as a litmus test for how well your disclosure will be received and your prospects of fair treatment after. Do bear in mind that if your employers have a positive track record, it's far less likely that any colleagues with negative perceptions of autistic people will mistreat you. Nothing can stop gossip or ignorance, but at least you'll have some security in the knowledge that your bosses take your welfare seriously. Should you be bullied or passed over for privileges or promotion, they are far more likely to give you a fair hearing and act on your concerns if found valid. If you know any other autistic people at the same employer, talk it over with them too. Find out their reasons for not disclosing and discuss your reasons for wanting to. It may be that you decide to disclose together. If more than one person chooses to disclose at the same time it can be a much more powerful statement to any co-workers who might be intolerant and you can support each other if you encounter any barriers. Almost every company trumpets their enlightened attitudes to diversity these days, but the proof of the pudding is in their actions. If their actions match up to their stated ambitions and the flowery language in their mission statements then you are in a far better position to disclose with confidence than if it's nothing but hot air for the sake of appearances. What about those of us who aren't looking to change jobs or are yet to find work? Is it wise to disclose on our applications or during the interview? This is equally as loaded a question as the previous one. If we've already disclosed to our existing employer it makes sense to disclose to the next one. Employers exchange information between companies and even if local law prevents you from being formally outed there's no end of ways the information can slip out off the record. Even if the question is asked on the application form you're not always obliged to answer. But not answering can be held against you even so. The problem with written applications is that you have no control over how they were perceived and even companies with a good track record haven't much control over the first impressions process. When applications are screened the first time it's often by the line manager of the prospective staff being recruited or a junior member of HR using a simple checklist. Their personal prejudices may still come into play regardless of the company policy or their track record. I've personally witnessed a management colleague who was fully aware of my autism and my physical disability filter out applicants because they declared their autism, disability or health problems. Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety seem to be a particular red flag to some decision makers who don't even realise how high the prevalence of such issues are within their existing workforce. I've also spoken to many people who have had vastly different responses from employees depending on whether they disclose or not. In the vast majority of cases disclosure at the application or interview stage seems to be a one way ticket to the rejection pile. There's no doubt that this is unfair and it needs to change but at this time it's an unfortunate reality. If you disclose before you get the job there's a very high chance it will negatively affect your chances of employment. But you might say if that's their attitude I don't want to work for them anyway and nobody can blame you for feeling that way. Nobody in their right mind wants to work for an employer that discriminates against their kind. We shouldn't have to in the first place. In such circumstances we have to again weigh up the situation. How much do we need the job? Who is depending on us earning a wage? How long can we wait to find an employer with a positive approach towards autistic employees? Unemployment amongst autistic people is ridiculously high. There's been research done demonstrating that many of us are in low paid jobs even those of us with degrees in sought after disciplines. The rate of adult autistics in full time employment may be as low as 20% according to some research and I certainly know that in my own experience the autists I know in full time work are way outnumbered by those in part time employment or unemployed. At this point in time, especially considering the worldwide economic impact of coronavirus, employment is an important issue and the job market is getting more competitive as unemployment rises. The choice may well be to disclose and remain unemployed or mask and stand a chance of getting a job. Don't think of that choice as being a concession of defeat though. We know that overall the track record of employers as a whole isn't great when it comes to autistic people. That's because they are still often subject to the same misconceptions about us that are present in everyday people. They may think we're unreliable, antisocial, obsessive or difficult to motivate. We need to update those attitudes. The best way for us to change hearts and minds is to prove them wrong. Show them that we are not what they think we are. Prove our value. Demonstrate our strength. Show them that we are not defined by a poorly understood list of deficits they've read about or been told by some armchair expert. The most effective way we can do that is by getting a foot in the door in the first place. If disclosing before we are employed means we don't get the job, then we can exercise our rights to privacy and only disclose when we choose to. Get that job. Prove your value. Gain the respect you deserve and then once you are part of their infrastructure, tell them who you really are. Let them reflect on their misguided ideas about us and put two and two together. If you can do that, if you have the strength to work within the system long enough to demonstrate your talent and your value then you will not only be helping yourself, you'll be helping to change minds that will influence the futures not only of other autistic people now, but generations of autists to come. Disclosure is not for everyone and it always comes with an element of personal jeopardy. If you don't feel it's right for you, or you fear your job may be at risk, it may not be the right move for you. However, if you have the chance, if you have the confidence and if you can be reasonably certain that you are safe to do so, then it's worth considering. You may be helping more than just yourself. Thank you for watching.