Organizational benefits of neurodiversity: Preliminary findings on autism and the bystander effect.
Autistic employees are more willing than peers to call out workplace problems and are less swayed by onlookers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team sent an online survey to the adult workers. Half had an autism diagnosis; half were neurotypical.
They asked how likely the person would speak up if they saw broken rules, waste, or danger at work. They also asked how many other people were around when the problem happened.
What they found
Autistic workers said they would report the problem more often than non-autistic workers. The number of nearby co-workers did not change their answer.
Non-autistic workers were less likely to speak up when more people were present — the classic “bystander effect.” Autistic workers showed almost no bystander effect.
How this fits with other research
Solomon (2020) already argued that autistic adults can be highly reliable employees and that boss fears about hiring them are over-blown. M et al. give a concrete example: these staff may be the ones who actually flag unsafe or inefficient practices.
Zhao et al. (2019) seems to say the opposite — higher autistic traits predicted less prosocial behavior. The difference is population. Xudong studied neurotypical adults with only mild traits; M et al. studied diagnosed autistic adults in real jobs. When autism is part of daily work life, speaking up may feel like the prosocial move.
Ferenc et al. (2023) adds that autistic adults who see autism as a “difference,” not a “disorder,” feel better about themselves. Employers who adopt this neurodiversity view may get the bonus M et al. found: workers who tell the truth even when no one else does.
Why it matters
If you support autistic adults in vocational programs, highlight their straight-talk style as a strength. Place them in roles where spotting errors or safety risks is valued. Teach supervisors to welcome the feedback instead of labeling it as blunt or rude. One simple change: add “willingness to report problems” to the list of desired job behaviors during placement meetings.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although the bystander effect is one of the most important findings in the psychological literature, researchers have not explored whether autistic individuals are prone to the bystander effect. The present research examines whether autistic employees are more likely to report issues or concerns in an organization's systems and practices that are inefficient or dysfunctional. By bringing attention to these issues, autistic employees may foster opportunities to improve organizational performance, leading to the development of a more adaptive, high performing, and ethical culture. Thirty-three autistic employees and 34 nonautistic employees completed an online survey to determine whether employees on the autism spectrum (1) are more likely to report they would voice concerns about organizational dysfunctions, (2) are less likely to report they were influenced by the number of other witnesses to the dysfunction, (3) if they do not voice concerns, are more likely to acknowledge the influence of other people on the decision, (4) are less likely to formulate "elaborate rationales" for their decisions to intervene or not, and (5) whether any differences between autistic and nonautistic employees with regards to the first two hypotheses, intervention likelihood and degree of influence, are moderated by individual differences in camouflaging. Results indicate that autistic employees may be less susceptible to the bystander effect than nonautistic employees. As a result, autistic employees may contribute to improvements in organizational performance because they are more likely to identify and report inefficient processes and dysfunctional practices when they witness them. These preliminary findings suggesting potential benefits of neurodiversity in the workplace are promising. However, further research is required.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2023 · doi:10.1002/aur.3012