Our Research
A long track record
of research
SOHAS has long track record of carrying out research on a number of work and health issues including an evaluation of the Work and Health Service carried out by Sheffield Hallam University.
We also publish research papers on aspects of our work.
Autism and Employers Project
This project was a collaboration between the Sheffield Occupational Health Advisory Service (SOHAS) and researchers from the University of Sheffield. Its aims were to consider how employers can improve their support for their autistic employees and become more comfortable in employing autistic people in the future.
The three parts of the project were as follows:
- Conduct interviews or focus groups with autistic adults currently in employment to get their input on what information about autism they would like employers to know.
- Conduct a survey distributed to employers to establish their current knowledge, understanding and confidence in how to support autistic employees.
- Create employer guidance booklets aimed to address areas where employer knowledge is currently poor.
All three of these objectives were achieved with a summary of the details given below.
1. Interviews with autistic adults
In total, 11 autistic adults who are in employment or have recently been in employment participated in one to one interviews or small focus groups. A summary of the key support suggestions is given below:
- The ability to control sensory aspects of the environment that are challenging to the individual. For some, this was solved by working from home. For others, changes in desk location, no hot desking, noise cancelling headphones, smaller offices or changes to lighting were useful.
- Assigning a colleague to provide support and answer questions, independent of the employee’s managerial team.
- Not assigning tasks outside of job description, especially those such as presentations which increase anxiety.
- Using clear and concise written or verbal communication depending on the employees preference.
- Providing active feedback throughout projects or tasks confirming that the employee is on the right track.
- Support networks for neuro-diverse employees to get together to share information.
2. Employer survey
Following these interviews an employer survey was produced. This aimed to find out about employer’s current knowledge and understanding of autism.
The survey was first distributed on social media by the Sheffield Autism Research Lab (ShARL) and SOHAS. However, only 2 responses were obtained. This lack of engagement is inline with the experiences of SOHAS when distributing surveys on multiple topics. The survey was then successfully distributed via Prolific, a paid survey platform designed for the recruitment of participants to research studies. This produced 94 responses from those with ‘hiring experience’ based in England, although none of the respondents were based in South Yorkshire.
Employers with experience of employing autistic people were overwhelmingly positive about their experiences. Several highlighted that their organisation was open and supportive of the employment of autistic people.
“I have found that autistic employees to be some of the hardest working staff I have. They have been dedicated to the role and have thrived with the independence offered.”
“We have only had positive experiences with autistic employees. We have found that their attention to detail is superb and they are consciousness and thorough workers.”
Employer’s were largely receptive to the idea of employing autistic people, giving an average score of 8.5/10 when asked to rate their willingness to employ autistic people. However, despite one third of employer’s feeling that nothing needed to change for them to employ more autistic people, the average ratings given for them having the physical and social opportunity to employ autistic people were fairly low. Whilst educating employers about autism may produce some benefit, addressing these concerns may also be required to ensure that autistic people are best supported.
3. Employer guidance booklets
An employer guidance booklet was produced based on the results from both the discussion sessions with autistic adults and the employer survey. This booklet aimed to educate employers on how to best support their autistic employees, incorporating practical and inclusive suggestions.
During the interviews we found that many participants were unsure about what support they could request from their employer. Therefore, in addition to a more detailed section on reasonable adjustments, a single page checklist was included which aims to provide a number of discussion points to be used by both autistic employees and their employers, to highlight potential areas of difficulty and accommodations.
This booklet will be distributed via the ShARL and SOHAS social media platforms. It will continue to be utilised by SOHAS advisors when providing guidance to employers and could be distributed to autistic employees seeking support to then pass on to their employers. Further avenues of distribution will also be explored in the future including via the chamber of commerce and training sessions.
Climb-ND Research Project
We are working with Sheffield University on the Climb-ND research project bid which is about neurodiversity and Employment.
We have been a part of multidisciplinary team which has made a bid for a 3 year project to the NIHR.
The bid involves recruiting 20-30 SME’s to explore how employers can help in and support neurodivergent employees. SOHAS’s role in the bid is to manage a number of job coaches who will coach line managers on the most effective way to support any neurodiverse employees who need help and support to be productive at work.
Workplace Mental Health Project
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