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Managing Asperger Syndrome in the Workplace: Considerations for Line Managers

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Inequality and Organizational Practice

Part of the book series: Palgrave Explorations in Workplace Stigma ((PAEWS))

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Abstract

This chapter tells the stories of two managers who each manage an employee with an autistic spectrum diagnosis, revealing how critical their role is in shaping the employment experiences of those who work for them. It explores why organisational practices and environments can make it difficult to manage, and provides some suggestions for organisations to acquire and transfer the knowledge and understanding about autism that managers and human resource specialists need. It seeks to raise awareness around Asperger Syndrome and provide support to organisations on how they should inform policy making at individual and organisational level.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Prior to 2013, the term Asperger Syndrome (AS) was classified as an autistic spectrum condition yet had its own separate identity. Clinical developments mean that AS is now subsumed under the autistic spectrum (APA-DSM 5) and so the terms autism spectrum condition and AS are used interchangeably in this paper.

  2. 2.

    Lowe vs Cabinet office (2011), Brookes vs Government Legal Service (2017), Hewett v Motorola Ltd. (2004), Fotheringham v Perth and Kinross Council (2013).

  3. 3.

    ‘Aspie’ is a label for someone who has Asperger Syndrome. It is an affectionate term used widely within the autistic community.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Resource Management, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Anne Cockayne

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  1. Anne Cockayne
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Correspondence to Anne Cockayne .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Stefanos Nachmias  & Valerie Caven  & 

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Cockayne, A. (2019). Managing Asperger Syndrome in the Workplace: Considerations for Line Managers. In: Nachmias, S., Caven, V. (eds) Inequality and Organizational Practice. Palgrave Explorations in Workplace Stigma. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11644-6_9

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