Employees with autism may expend considerable time and effort modifying their behavior to meet workplace expectations, from rehearsing conversations and monitoring facial expressions to concealing sensory discomfort, according to a new study led by a Penn State researcher.
Published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, the study revealed that camouflaging - the practice of modifying or suppressing behaviors to conform to neurotypical social expectations - can represent a form of largely invisible labor. Participants described doing so not only to navigate workplace interactions but also to avoid prejudice, gain acceptance and make others feel more comfortable.
"Camouflaging essentially is a form of impression management," said team lead Kari Sherwood, assistant professor of rehabilitation and human services in the Penn State College of Education. "We all use it to some extent, but among the autistic population in particular, it has some really harmful effects for health and mental health."
To better understand camouflaging in the workplace, Sherwood and her colleagues analyzed survey data and written descriptions collected from 131 employed adults with autism during the baseline phase of a larger randomized controlled trial led by co-author Matthew J. Smith, associate dean of research and professor of social work at the University of Michigan. Participants were recruited online and through organizations serving people with autism, and the researchers sought participants with diverse racial, ethnic, gender and sexual identities.
Of the participants assessed in the camouflaging study, 86% reported camouflaging often or sometimes at work. They also described behaviors ranging from preparing scripts for workplace conversations to suppressing self-stimulatory behaviors and hiding sensory discomfort.
For Sherwood, one participant's comment - which ultimately became the study's title - captured much of what participants described: "I try to act like a neurotypical, so it makes customers more comfortable."
Shwerwood explained the comment illustrates how some autistic employees may expend additional effort not only to manage their own workplace interactions but also to anticipate and manage the comfort of the neurotypical people around them. Some participants described scripting conversations before meetings and anticipating how other people might respond. Others reported mirroring coworkers' communication styles, managing facial expressions, concealing sensory discomfort or spending additional time repeatedly revising emails and other work.
According to Sherwood, participants also described a complicated tension around camouflaging: Conforming to neurotypical expectations could sometimes produce more favorable responses from others, even when doing so required substantial additional effort.
"People tell me, 'They want me to be authentic, and they want me to be comfortable, but then when I am those things and I don't camouflage, I get negative reactions,'" Sherwood said, describing the conflicting messages autistic employees encounter.
More frequent camouflaging was associated with nearly three times greater odds of participants noticing changes in other people's behavior at work. Female, nonbinary and transgender participants also reported significantly more camouflaging than male participants. Camouflaging frequency was not associated with race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or whether participants had disclosed having autism.
The findings could help inform efforts to create workplace cultures in which autistic employees feel less pressure to camouflage, according to the researchers. Sherwood said accommodations can include relatively small changes, such as offering quieter workspaces, having adjustable lighting, allowing headphones when appropriate and providing employees with flexibility in how they communicate.
Sherwood said educating others about autism and neurodiversity is also important, as is addressing workplace bullying, harassment and exclusion rather than expecting autistic employees to continually adapt their behavior.
The researchers noted several limitations. Data were self-reported and collected at one point in time, and 79% of participants were college educated, which may limit how broadly the findings apply to other populations.
Future studies, Sherwood noted, could follow employees over time, use more comprehensive measures of camouflaging and examine the experiences of adults without college degrees. The researchers also called for additional research into how camouflaging intersects with different identities and workplace contexts.
Sherwood said understanding these dynamics could ultimately help shift attention from how autistic people adapt to workplaces toward how workplaces themselves can become more inclusive.
The study was co-authored by Sherwood and Smith; Debra Erickson, School of Social Work, University of Michigan; and Jane Burke-Miller, University of Illinois Chicago.
The research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health under award number R44 MH123359-01. This content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the funders.
