Colleagues & Autism
Guides for colleagues and autistic people in the workplace.
Eight hours a day next to someone
You spend eight hours a day next to someone. You share a coffee machine and a meeting room. But sometimes it feels like you're working in different worlds — and that's partly true.
Your autistic colleague experiences the workplace more intensely than you do. The fluorescent lighting, the background chatter, the unwritten social rules at the coffee machine — it all costs energy. Not because they can't handle it, but because their brain consciously processes every stimulus that yours filters out.
Small Talk & Informal Chats
Why 'how was your weekend?' can be so exhausting — and how to connect without expecting scripts.
ReadTo Tell or Not to Tell
The decision to be open about autism at work. When it helps, when it doesn't, and what you can say without explaining everything.
ReadCollaboration & Team Dynamics
Different work styles, meeting fatigue, and office culture — what you can do to make collaboration work for everyone.
ReadSensory Challenges at Work
Open offices, noise, lighting, and smells — concrete adjustments you can make without it being a big deal.
ReadLunch, Drinks & Team Events
Why someone skips the Friday drinks and how to invite without pressure.
ReadBoundaries at Work
How to respect someone's need for quiet or structure without making it awkward.
ReadMisunderstandings & Assumptions
When directness comes across as rude or silence as disinterest — and what's actually meant.
ReadWhen Your Manager Is Autistic
Direct feedback, tight meetings, and less small talk — it feels different, but it works.
ReadRemember: You don't need to know everything about autism to be a good colleague. Listen when someone tells you what they need, and accept that good collaboration doesn't look the same for everyone.
Are you autistic yourself?