Charities are being urged to ensure they are creating autism friendly workplaces in a bid to ensure more neuro-divergent people can thrive at work.

The call has come from New Philanthropy Capital consultant Rose Anderson, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, to tackle high unemployment rates among people with autism.

According to the National Autistic Society just three in ten people with autism are in work.

“I’d love to see that figure improve,” says Anderson in a blog post, adding “creating an inclusive workplace is one tool to help bring this about”.

To help charities improve she outlines simple steps to ensure workplace culture can adapt to the needs of people with autism, which often involves challenges round social interaction and communication.

As a parent of a teenage son with autism, who has worked over several years with his mainstream schools and colleges to better support him, I wholeheartedly agree with Anderson’s advice for charities to become more autism friendly. It works in education, the home and the workplace.

It is also worth noting that many of her simple tips are not only supportive of employees with autism but for all staff members.

Here is a snapshot of her advice. Her full blog can be found here.

How can you make your workplace more autism-friendly?

In celebration of World Autism Acceptance Week, NPC Consultant Rose Anderson shared her top tips 👇https://t.co/PSCe0m5uD3#AutismAcceptanceWeek #Autism #Charity #DEI

— NPC (@NPCthinks) April 8, 2024

Clarity

Ensuring clear instructions are given instead of “assuming that your meaning can be inferred” is among key pieces of advice Anderson gives.

Examples she gives it being clear about the page length or work count of reports.

“Informally, your autistic employees might benefit from you making explicit the workplace conventions that others take for granted,” she says.

“The world is full of unwritten rules and can seem very confusing—especially to autistic people, who typically face challenges with social interaction and communication.

“Making your workplace etiquette more explicit can alleviate some of this uncertainty and help your autistic employees to feel more comfortable.”

Structure

Many autistic people use routines and structure as a way of coping with “the unpredictability and confusion of life”, says Anderson.

Charities are urged to help staff members with autism by ensuring their working day has structure. Perhaps helping them to priortise tasks and better organise their daily timetable can help.

Also many people with autism may need prompts to direct them to a new task or to take a break, as being able to focus for long periods of time is another common trait among autistic people.

Charities are being urged by Anderson to make sure they work with autistic staff and managers when routines at work change. This can be distressing to people with autism, she says.

Focus

But while people with autism can focus for long periods of time, they can also be more prone to sensory distractions. This is because many can experience over sensitivity to sound, light and smells, for example

Anderson urges charities to take steps to minimise sensory distractions for their autistic employees. This could include ensuring their desk are not near distractions such as building work taking place, or too much sunlight on computer screens.

Charities can also consider investing in noise cancelling headphones, suggests Anderson.

Feedback

Be careful when providing feedback to autistic staff, advises Anderson. Anxiety is a common challenge faced by autistic adults, who can either switch off or endure a meltdown if criticised.

If an autistic worker has completed a task incorrectly, be clear and tactful about why that is and how their work can improve.

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