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.

  • BOMBS@lemmy.worldOPM
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    9 个月前

    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.

    Except, when you inadvertently point out that the emperor has no clothes and you get attacked for that. Meanwhile, the chill NTs in the room were waiting for you to do it and are internally cracking up that you finally did what they knew you were going to do all along.

    • AtmaJnana@lemmy.world
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      9 个月前

      So much this. I have become persona non grata at more than one startup, where I told the executives what they were doing wrong… It turns out that even when they say they want to hear it, they don’t actually want to hear it.

      • BOMBS@lemmy.worldOPM
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        9 个月前

        I can’t function in an environment like that. Nope. I’m not going to be second guessing every single thing I do or say because they expect me to lie when they are explicitly telling me to not lie.

    • cheese_greater@lemmy.world
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      9 个月前

      Such a great point. I also think its good for there to be a “Take ur kid to work day” so they can point out all the stupid shit that happens explicitly and parents have to rejustify why things are done the way they are as a matter of regular process/business

    • alwaysconfused@lemmy.ca
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      9 个月前

      I ended up getting fired for calling out all the sexism, racism, homophobia, favourtism and abusive managers. The then new covid policies ramped up everyone’s negative traits and I couldn’t ignore it any more.

      I ended up speaking with the corporate HR about the situation and they made an honest effort to help me but I was fired before I got a chance to speak with a very high up person.

      I got a lawyer involved and while not much difference was made after the settlement, I somehow forced the HR manager into early retirement. It amazes me considering my goal was only to get her into a work behavior training course. I never knew such pettiness could accomplish so much.

      All my co-workers shat all over my efforts for the 10 months I was engaged with all of that at the workplace. Also received a fair amount of hate from my co-workers after I got fired too which was neat.

  • calypsopub@lemmy.world
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    9 个月前

    Personal anecdote: now that I know I’m autistic, I look back at most of my corporate interactions and see how my literal-mindedness, bluntness, lack of ability to play political games, and overactive sense of justice combined to make me a pain in the ass to management. I had a coworker tell me, after I’d once again banged my head against a brick wall trying to explain to my manager why his decision was going to lead to disaster, that I was the most optimistic person she’d ever met. I was very confused, having just finished an angry rant about the situation, and said, “Why in the world would you say that?” She replied, “Because you seem to think things can actually improve. We all know they won’t, which is why we don’t bother to say anything.”

    Talk about a lightbulb moment. I quit soon after and came back as a contractor for 4x the money, so win-win.