Autism in the Australian workplace: the employer perspective

Abstract

Autistic adults face alarmingly high rates of unemployment and underemployment. There is limited research regarding employers’ capacity to support autistic persons, how to better understand employers’ needs and their key role in employment processes. In this employer-focused qualitative study, 14 Australian employers and nine professional experts were interviewed in depth. The identified themes were 1) Employer awareness and knowledge of autism; 2) Autism is a strength rather than a deficit, disorder or disability; 3) Employer empowerment is a key facilitator of change and 4) Autism tools for the employer. These findings highlight the need for ongoing education of employers to strengthen knowledge in the workplace about autism and addressing workplace environmental variables directly. Novel findings were the critical importance of employer self-care and treating all employees the same.