If you have an autistic teenager or young adult, you may have seen them struggle to find employment, even if they are college graduates. You would think these problems were a thing of the past, especially given DEI initiatives and the many tech company billionaires who cite their own neurodivergence.
But the reality is that neurodivergence is often the last mile in walking the walk about diversity. According to research by the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, autistic college graduates have a much harder time finding work than their peers. Some studies suggest that nearly 85% of college-educated autistic adults are unemployed.
This doesn’t happen because they can’t do the work. It happens because most businesses don’t understand the needs of autistic people, how to hire them, and how to engage with them as workers.
What the Research Says
You might think the costs associated with making changes to their hiring and onboarding practices are preventing corporations from being more inclusive of neurodivergent workers. If so, it’s a case of Corporate America not understanding when a cost might be an investment. Here are a few reasons:
- According to Harvard research and reports from companies like SAP, autistic workers often have higher “retention rates.” This means once they find a job where they feel supported and valued, they stay. So the cost of changing hiring and onboarding practices may be lower than ongoing costs of training new employees who stay for shorter periods.
- JPMorgan Chase tracked the work of employees in their “Autism at Work” program. They found that autistic employees were 90% to 140% more productive than other employees.
- The same JPMorgan Chase report showed that autistic employees made fewer errors. Because many autistic people are excellent at spotting patterns, focusing on details, and staying on task, they often finish work faster and more accurately.
Part of the problem is the narrow process for hiring people. In interviews, we’re supposed to look hiring managers in the eye, make small talk, and read their social cues. To expect these qualities from someone whose brain works differently is at best uninformed. Hiring managers may be missing out on some of the smartest people in the room because they don’t focus on the most important point of the interview: can this person do the job well?
What the Bosses Say
Some global companies aren’t just hiring autistic people to be “nice”—they’re doing it to win.
Microsoft has been a leader in this area. Neil Barnett, a director at Microsoft, says that their hiring program isn’t about social service; it’s about “finding untapped talent.” He notes that autistic workers bring a “diversity of thought” that helps the company solve problems in new ways.
SAP says that having autistic employees makes their managers better. When a manager learns how to give very clear, direct instructions to an autistic employee, they end up becoming better communicators with everyone on the team.
Preparing the Team
Companies with successful programs don’t just throw people together. They use “Awareness Training.” Before an autistic hire starts, the rest of the team usually gets a short briefing. They learn simple things, like:
- Being direct (don’t use “hints” or sarcasm).
- Respecting different needs (like wearing noise-canceling headphones).
- Focusing on the work, not the “social” stuff.
The result? The office becomes a kinder, more efficient place for everyone.
The Bottom Line
Corporate America claims to want people who “think outside the box,” but they are largely missing out on a whole population of people who were born to think differently.
Autistic people are ready to work. They are smart, they are loyal, and they are often the best at what they do. By changing how we interview and support staff, we can stop looking at autism as a “disability” and start seeing it for what it truly is in the workplace: a competitive advantage.
