Exploring Barriers to Employment for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum: Perceptions of Autistic and Non-Autistic Job Candidates at Interview

Background: Adults with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (hereafter autistic) face considerably lower employment rates compared to the general population. In Australia, only 40.8% of working aged autistic individuals are employed, compared to 53.4% of individuals with a disability and 83.2% of individuals without a disability (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). One suggested barrier is the job interview due to its heavy reliance on social skills, which are, by definition, different among autistic individuals (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Objectives: The current study investigated perceptions of autistic and non-autistic job candidates using 10 second videos of simulated employment interviews. The aim was to understand how disclosure of autism during the job interview may affect perceptions of employability and hiring outcomes for autistic adults.

Methods: 353 individuals (40.2% male, 59.2% female, 0.6% unspecified, age M = 35.27 years, SD =12.71 years) were recruited via online platform Prolific Academic. Disclosure of ASD was manipulated using videos, with three levels of information: no autism disclosure, brief autism disclosure, and detailed autism disclosure, which corresponded to the three experimental conditions. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions and were each shown two 10 second videos of a ‘job candidate’ (one autistic candidate, one non-autistic candidate), presented in random order. They were then asked to make a judgement on their each candidates’ employability and make a decision regarding which of the two candidates they would ‘hire’.

Results: Across conditions, participants chose to ‘hire’ the autistic job candidates in 37.5% of the time, and non-autistic job candidates 66.3% of the time. A mixed 2 (diagnosis) X 3 (condition) ANOVA investigating ratings of candidate employability revealed a significant effect of diagnosis, F(1,350) = 53.65, p < .001, whereby autistic individuals were rated lower on employability, a significant effect of condition, F(1,350) = 4.17, p = .016, whereby employability ratings of autistic individuals improved between disclosure conditions, and a significant interaction between diagnosis and condition, F(2,350) = 4.04, p = .018, whereby employability rating for autistic candidates changed between conditions while the rating of non-autistic individuals remained relatively stable. The presentation will explore post-hoc comparisons of results, explore whether data patterns were different depending on relationship with autism (e.g., if autistic, or a family member of an autistic individual), and other measures on which candidates were assessed.

Conclusions: The results showed that the autistic job-candidates were less likely to be ‘hired’ compared to their non-autistic counterparts and were rated significantly lower on employability. Further, employability rating changed between conditions, showing an influence of autism disclosure. These results, and what this indicates about the job interview as a barrier for autistic individuals, will be discussed.