5 Ways to Spot the Worst Jobs for Autistic Adults
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It’s tricky to talk about the worst jobs for autistic people in terms of a specific job title. There are just too many different ways to be autistic for there to be one prescribed perfect, or imperfect, job.
There do seem to be certain types of jobs, or rather workplace environments and requirements, that are unwelcoming to autistic people. When one of these jobs chews us up and spits us out, it has a tremendous impact on our confidence and overall well being. So how does an autistic adult avoid stumbling into the worst job possible for them?
When we polled autistic adults about the types of work they preferred, we found a range of answers that trended towards a few things.
These 5 factors can significantly impact an autistic person’s ability to keep their job. Seeing these in a job description or as part of a company’s culture almost guarantees that autistics won’t fare well in those positions.
1. Communication Requirements on Job Descriptions
Autistics have frequently said that communicating with neurotypicals feels like we’re constantly translating our natural language to a “more acceptable” neurotypical style. This is an exhaustive aspect of masking that many autistic adults rightfully resent.
We’ve lost countless opportunities to people or organizations with no patience for another way of existing. So here are a couple of ways that communication requirements on job descriptions can show autistic people that the job isn’t a good choice for them.
Excellent written/verbal communication skills
When talking to autistic adults about what kinds of job choices they make, they often say that this phrase in a job description spells trouble. There are a couple reasons for this:
First, a common stereotype about autism is that we’re all “bad” at communicating. These assumptions arise from common autistic issues related to verbal communication (such as delays in verbal speech, losing the ability to speak in certain situations, or minimal speech in general). It is wrong to assume that a person who struggles to use literal words with their mouths is unable to communicate.
The second reason this is a red flag for us has to do with social discrimination. Struggling to coordinate your speech can manifest in many ways. Being able to speak isn’t always an option for autistic people. We also can lose the ability to speak in certain circumstances. Overwhelm is one of my biggest triggers for that but other folks will have other stories.
But communication isn’t confined to whether or not you can use your mouth to speak. Social discrimination happens with autistic adults well beyond verbal communication. Our facial expressions or tones are constant sources of social friction. We might not make the “right face” or have the “right tone” and people will take offense or assume bad things about us.
Most of the time we’re not trying to be rude, we’re existing. We try to be understood, accepting, and believed, but people usually don’t get past their emotional reactions to us.
Autistics often do the “lion’s share” of bridging communication gaps.
So it’s not that we’re not good at verbal communication. It’s that too much emphasis is placed on the “verbal” part, when aspects of that are a literal disability. Most people who insist that traditional talking is an indispensable part of a job haven’t tried many other ways.
We aren’t given the room to be authentic and find masking our natural ways both utterly necessary and physically exhausting.
We need a few adjustments to the conversation to help it better match our pace. This isn’t a huge ask, but it’s treated like it is. To the point where it’s a major red flag if companies include this in their job descriptions. To us, it means we have to be good at your kind of communication and that makes us feel specifically targeted for exclusion.
Alternately, a lot of autistic adults will find that the worst jobs for them are the ones where they’re required to talk to too many people. Sure, there are plenty of extroverted autistic folks, but a lot of us would like a quieter position that lets us focus.
Must be good at receiving feedback, no ego
This is a requirement that tells us that the employer is likely harsh and demanding. Though not universal, a common trait of autism is to be quite self-aware and open to feedback. It’s an instinct often honed to help us build our masks.
There are two other traits found in autism that make this requirement extra detrimental to our success: demand avoidance and rejection sensitivity. Both of these traits are trauma based and would need accommodation and support to navigate.
When we get into the “no ego” territory with job descriptions, it becomes clear that asking for accommodation would be a waste of time. This job is eliminated from consideration for us.
Good interpersonal skills
This harkens back to the issue of communication. What are considered “good” skills are neurotypical skills that will often exclude us from the dynamic. If we can mask well, we might do okay in this position. There’s a much higher risk of burnout in autistic folk who use their masks to get by.
Consider as well that autistic people in general are trying to get along with other people. Sometimes to the point of fawning to avoid rejection, which is a trauma response. Bullying and marginalization are constant problems for autistic people. The workplace is one of the most common places for autistic adults to experience bullying and there usually isn’t much support from our peers.
In fact, it’s often not the work, it’s the bullying and lack of accommodations that makes a working situation unsustainable.
So Basically
Autistic adults will thrive in a work environment that allows our authentic selves to communicate in the ways that work best for us. The worst jobs for us are the ones that don’t provide that.
2. Strict Social Hierarchies
A common autistic trait is to view the world outside of hierarchies, especially when it comes to authority. Sure, leadership is necessary, but we often don’t see it in terms of importance or status. Management are just people with different jobs than we have.
Status is kind of important in companies with strict hierarchies in place, which starts to marginalize us immediately. Now, our natural way of seeing the world is deemed rude.
Workplace discrimination and bullying takes root in power structures like these, where management can either bully us themselves or turn a blind eye to what others might do. We can be gaslighted as the source of the “drama” for standing up for ourselves, asking for accommodations, or being impacted by the stress.
The stress spiral of bullying in the workplace takes a toll on our ability to think and therefore perform our jobs well. Then, we can be deemed “not a good fit” for the culture. Workplaces with strong focus on hierarchies also tend to place a huge emphasis on the idea that productivity equals worth, which encourages autistic burnout. Many autistics who have navigated this workplace culture have found themselves without jobs and too burned out to function.
Both the burnout and the social trauma have lasting impacts on our wellbeing and functioning. This is one of many ways that trauma with authority impacts our daily lives.
3. Fast-Paced Environments
There are several reasons why fast-paced work environments are some of the worst fits for autistic people
Sensory Processing Problems
Autistic people don’t have the best filters on their senses. Stimulation that neurotypical people could easily ignore remains prominent in autistic awareness. It’s easier to become overwhelmed by the wide-open way we perceive the world.
Sensory overwhelm is when our literal nervous systems are too full of stimulation and become dysregulated. It can lead to common autistic experiences such as shutdowns and meltdowns.
Delayed processing
Autistic people often benefit from having a bit of space and time to process new social, work, or environmental demands. For example, I communicate better through email for things like changes of plans or feedback on a project. This allows me to delay responding while I “switch gears” or work to understand what is being asked of me.
Fast-paced work environments don’t allow autistic adults the space they need to process. Plus, these types of environments tend to come with strong pressure to mask, which adds to the layers of things we need to process.
Remember, sensory information isn’t just our eyes and ears, it’s also our situational awareness.
Executive Dysfunction
Executive dysfunction refers to someone’s ability to regulate things like motivation, attention, and transitions. Some ways executive dysfunction can present itself are:
struggling to start a task
switching between tasks
finishing tasks
stopping when it’s time to stop.
While executive dysfunction is something that can be overcome (to an extent) it takes energy to do so. Fast-paced work environments require you to juggle shifting priorities, which usually means being able to pivot from task to task.
So, an autistic adult looking at a job like this is going to have to measure not just how much energy the job will take, but how much extra energy will be eaten by managing their executive dysfunction.
Burnout and Inconsistent Performance
The extra demands placed on an autistic person’s sensory processing and executive functioning by fast-paced environments are a formula for burnout.
There’s pressure for us to bring all of our energy to the job, but without the awareness from our employers that our energy is spent differently than others. It makes us seem “behind” other folks and gives us a ton of pressure to work harder to catch up. This leads to strong performances at the start of our employ, with increasingly inconsistent performances as burnout settles in.
The environment chews us up and spits us out
A lot of times, people are allowed to discriminate against autistic adults for their sensory and functioning impairments without recourse. It comes in the form of:
Unfavorable performance reviews
“You’re not a good fit for our culture”
Helpful advice on how we can work on ourselves more as we’re being fired
Bullying and/or reduced hours/work until we quit
The implied (or explicit) notion that they wouldn’t have hired us if they’d known we were autistic in the interview
On the surface, some of these might seem fair, but they become gaslighting when our disability is entirely ignored from consideration and our jobs are on the line.
4. In-person Interviews
Speaking of the interview process: the traditional approach can be one of the worst ways to hire an autistic person.
For autistic people, the in-person interview is a decathlon of masking. It’s all newness and uncertainty, outside all routines. Many of us are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to answering questions on the spot.
In-person interviews are a collection of social rituals. These rituals have trends and are constantly shifting. There’s tremendous pressure on us to anticipate another’s expectation of us, which isn’t always a strength of ours.
Interview processes that involve demonstrating abilities (like portfolios or completing example tasks) are a much better fit for us. Taking the emphasis away from pitching ourselves on the spot helps us better represent our skills and experience.
5. No social support
Another hidden burden that many autistic adults face in the workplace is self-advocacy. Often, we’re alone in identifying our needs and accommodations We’re alone when it comes to navigating workplace discrimination and bullying.
If we’re lucky, there’s an HR department of some kind, but those aren’t really in place to help employees. They’re there to protect the company, so we aren’t guaranteed the support we might need. The burden to prove ourselves is paved with extra obstacles.
Having other autistic, neurodiverse, or disabled people in our work space gives us collective power. The burden is shared and our credibility is amplified. Without this, we’re stuck with another “invisible” drain on our energy.
What We Hope You Take Away From This Article
The worst types of jobs autistic adults can have are ones that don’t allow us authenticity or representation.
These are jobs where:
Worth is tied to productivity rather than personhood
The signs of our disability are what devalue our contributions to the team or the workplace
There is no structure of social support to help us navigate workplace relationships and disability accommodations
Neurotypical social performance is the only standard in consideration
The demands on our sensory processing and executive dysfunction don’t account for the existence of those disabilities.
The best jobs for autistic people are willing to reimagine the workplace, allowing it to exist outside of a traditional capitalist space. The prospect of accommodating an autistic adult’s needs are only insurmountable if you rely on neurotypical ideals to structure your company. Many do, but those with more imagination find that it’s not really that hard to help an autistic adult thrive.
About the writer
I’m a writer, artist, and advocate who loves living in Maine among the trees and oceanside villages. I’m also autistic, ADHD, and PTSD. My education, both academic and personal, has centered around mental health and neurodevelopmental disabilities, as well as discrimination and the socioeconomic consequences of living disabled in America. I work to plant seeds and spread ideas through my writing and will be among the autistic adults helping you understand your autistic kids better on Spectroomz’ Ask An Autistic. You can find me on Twitter @ladysnessa.