How to be a good manager to autistic people

Clearness

Autistic people are much better at solving tasks when the tasks, deadlines and reasons behind the tasks are clear. Therefore, it is important to communicate clearly when you delegate a task and to carry out regular follow-up talks until your autistic employee is able to work independently. Once the routine related to the task has been defined, the autistic employee is often able to solve the task faster and more precisely than their neurotypical colleagues.

Predictability

Autistic people perform at their best when their workday is predictable. This might include starting times and places, contact persons and task planning. The more well-structured these aspects are, the more energy will be available from the autistic employee to concentrate on the task.

Calm surroundings

Autistic people concentrate the best when they are able to control the sensory perceptions surrounding them. They will often benefit from sitting in a quiet office along with just a few, well-known people and using noise reducing headphones. Using a ”do not disturb” sign might also be a good tool, making sure that these employees are disturbed as rarely as possible.

Social predictability

Social predictability is about maintaining an open and clear culture at the workplace. Autistic people might find it hard to decode all the unwritten rules that neurotypical people take for granted. For this reason, the manager must talk about social expectations and explain the nature of social conflicts. To neurotypical people, it might be obvious why Helle and Jens had a fight during the summer party – but your autistic employee might not understand why.

Focus on the undiagnosed

As a manager, it is a good idea to be aware that many undiagnosed people with autism traits are in fact working at the Danish workplaces. It was only recently that autism diagnosing started to be used at a more widespread level. For this reason, only very few people under the age of 30 has an autism diagnosis. So, if you notice that Per from the finance department needs predictability and peace, and that social interactions at the workplace can be tough on him, there is a good chance that he would benefit from an autism-friendly management style. It goes without saying that as a manager, you should not diagnose him yourself without the relevant expertise.

Here, you can read more about how to create an autism-friendly workplace.