Autistic Communication in the Workplace: It’s Not a “Soft Skills” Problem to Be Solved

As businesses continue to ramp up RTO requirements, either full-time or on a hybrid basis, office etiquette training looks to be a growth market in 2024. In a recent survey of more than 1,500 business leaders, 45% say their company currently offers etiquette classes, and another 18% say they will be implemented before the end of the year.

Employers say workers who’ve known nothing but remote arrangements, having entered the workforce during or in the wake of the COVID pandemic, sometimes need help adjusting to the behavior expectations of working in close quarters with others.

Obviously, it’s incumbent upon all employees to comply with company values – including those related to behaviors to model and avoid. And in some cases, especially for those working in an office setting for the first time, etiquette training can be an appropriate response to office culture issues.

But if it’s a “one size fits all” training format, companies might run the risk of setting up some employees to fail. The “soft skills” areas that involve dealing with coworkers, picking up on body language cues, and solving conflict can be difficult concepts to grasp for neurodiverse workers.

For example, people with autism can struggle to understand their workplace’s unwritten rules because their wiring makes them less likely to pick up on social cues. And since the rules aren’t codified, they can’t be quantified, which leads to frustration.

There are a number of resources online for autistic people that offer tips on workplace actions, behaviors and communications styles, and these can be helpful if they’re presented in clear and unambiguous language. But it’s also incumbent upon businesses to be clear in their expectations. That means avoiding words and phrases which aren’t clearly defined.

Vague instructions and autism: A bad mix

Here’s an example:

“Be Professional.” This quote from the US Department of Labor, part of a page targeted toward younger workers, seems straightforward enough:

Employers want new workers to be responsible, ethical, and team oriented, and to possess strong communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills. Wrap these skills up all together and you’ve got professionalism.

The issue, however, is that the identified skills tend to be processed through a neurotypical filter. But neurodiverse workers – particularly those with autism – tend to present differently in their interactions. Their interactions can come off as blunt, or as though they’re showing off their knowledge by piling on a series of facts.

In truth, people on the spectrum communicate this way because that’s the way that makes the most sense to them. They don’t deal in nuances. They appreciate straightforward, clear communication and as much detail as possible. So when they “information dump,” they’re treating others how they would want to be treated.

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For more on communicating with respect in the workplace, click here:

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Again, there are online resources providing instructions on how autistic workers can “mask” themselves at work to better fit in. And a well-meaning supervisor or HR director might provide similar instructions in person. But that signals to the worker that their communication and interpersonal skills are wrong, substandard.

That, in turn, can lead to isolation and withdrawal – and autism activists note that returning to an office environment is already stressful enough, without added complications. Additionally, while the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates reasonable accommodations for autistic workers who are able to perform their jobs’ essential duties with such accommodations, many people with the condition don’t disclose it to their companies’ human resources departments because they’re afraid it will hurt their employment prospects.

All of this adds up to an unemployment rate estimated as high as 85 percent for people with autism, while businesses lose the significant benefits of having a neurodiverse staff that includes autistic workers – benefits such as fact retention, high concentration levels and attention to detail.

The solution? Don’t treat autistic communication as an etiquette issue, a soft skills problem to be resolved by requiring autistic employees to change their style to make others comfortable. To truly reap the benefits of neurodiversity, companies must be willing not only to tolerate varying communication styles, but to validate them as part and parcel of the whole person.

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