What is masking?

It is concealing or suppressing neurodivergent traits or behaviours to conform to societal norms and expectations. This can cause significant challenges for an individual in the workplace as they try to navigate employment. Understanding masking and making employees feel comfortable can mean the difference between them going off sick or, worse, losing them as an employee.

Why do people mask in the workplace?

• Fear of being judged or receiving negative reactions from others.
• To fit in with others, to avoid others bullying them or excluding them from social activities.
• They could fear not meeting expectations of their employer if they are not like everyone else.

What does masking look like in the workplace?

• The person may imitate facial expressions, gestures and social cues.
• Reduction in the amount of stimming, like hand flapping or rocking.
• Forced eye contact even when it feels really uncomfortable.
• Rehearsed responses and social interactions may be scripted.
• Concealing reactions to sensory overwhelm like sound and light.

A recent Neurodiversity at Work Report 2024 by Pearn Kandola revealed that 63% of employees ‘mask’ at work. The survey asked 600 neurodivergent staff in the UK about their experience of masking in the workplace. 42% of those people felt uncomfortable asking their employer for adjustments to help them in the workplace.

What is the consequence of masking in the workplace?

Masking neurodivergent conditions requires a lot of energy and concentration. These are challenges that you may recognise first:

• Mental health difficulties, there is an increased risk of burnout, depression and anxiety.
• Increased sickness due to not wanting to face work.
• Decreased work output due to not asking for reasonable adjustments to help them perform their role.

The Neurodiversity at Work Report 2024 also found that while 69% had disclosed that they are neurodivergent to someone at work, 51% had not informed their employer about their condition. The recommendations from the report were:

1. Raise awareness and train hiring managers to prevent unconscious bias towards neurodivergent candidates.
2. Ensure candidates can access reasonable adjustments and provide information about support that is available.
3. When recruiting, highlight inclusion policies in the guidance provided to the individual.
4. Make recruitment processes more neuro-inclusive to ensure that the process is fair.
5. Make employees feel comfortable in the workplace by promoting understanding amongst staff.

Creased Puddle can help with creating a safe workplace that reduces the need for staff to mask. We do this by helping organisations understand the impact of the work environment on different neurodivergent conditions. Our training helps organisations create safe environments which invite the conversation around neurodiversity. Having a neurodivergent employee brings many strengths to a workplace, we help employers understand how to allow this to happen. If you would like to find out more about our training, fill out our form below.