Inside the Autistic Workforce: A New National Survey on Masking, Managers, and What Actually Helps

A new national survey from NEXT for AUTISM puts hard data on what autistic and AuDHD employees have been describing for years — and the findings challenge most of what workplaces assume about disclosure, accommodations, and what actually drives retention.

I sat down with Candi Weaver-Dowds, Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives at NEXT for AUTISM and the lead on this research, and Abigayle Jayroe, SVP of Strategic Operations, to walk through the data and what employers need to do differently.

We cover:

• Why 79% of autistic employees describe masking and emotional exhaustion as a workplace challenge — and what that costs

• The 73% disclosure rate, and why most went to their direct manager rather than HR

• Why nearly 7 in 10 autistic employees are building their own support systems outside of work

• What the data shows about autistic women carrying a disproportionate burden

• Why AuDHD employees — 40% of the sample — may be the largest and most strained subgroup in the autistic workforce

About the report Inside the Autistic Workforce: A National Survey of Autistic Employees on Their Workplace Experience — and What Employers Need to Know.

Completed in 2026, this mixed-methods study was developed and led by NEXT for AUTISM, in partnership with Sago, a global research firm, and funded by the Anita Bhatia Foundation for Tomorrow. Read the full report: https://nextforautism.org/inside-the-autistic-workplace/

Chapters

00:00 What the data finally proves

02:12 The strengths-based research approach

03:00 High job satisfaction, hidden cost

04:22 Masking is a second job running in the background 06:06 Why the manager relationship matters most

07:29 What 73% disclosure really means

10:09 The accommodations gap 11:34 Building support outside of work

12:46 The disproportionate burden on autistic women

14:13 Late diagnosis and the workplace

15:21 AuDHD: two operating systems competing

17:47 What workplaces need to do differently

20:27 The neurodivergent manager effect

20:47 Autistic feedback as operational intelligence

23:37 The report, the grants program, and how to take action

About AuDHD Boss

I'm Brett Whitmarsh — late-diagnosed AuDHD, former corporate people manager, and host of AuDHD Boss. This show is about what work actually looks like for neurodivergent professionals, and what managers, HR teams, and leaders need to understand to stop losing this talent.

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