Autistic individuals often struggle to find and maintain employment. This may be because many workplaces are not suited to autistic individuals’ needs. Among other difficulties, many autistic employees experience distracting or disruptive sensory environments, lack of flexibility in work hours, and unclear communication from colleagues. One possible way of mitigating these difficulties is for employees to disclose their diagnosis at work. While disclosure may increase understanding and acceptance from colleagues, it can also lead to discrimination and stigma in the workplace. Research has shown that disclosure outcomes are often mixed, but it is unclear what factors are associated with either positive or negative outcomes of disclosure for autistic people. This study aimed to identify these factors and explore the reasons why autistic employees choose to disclose or to keep their diagnosis private. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 clinically-diagnosed autistic adults (12 male and 12 female) who were currently, or had been, employed in the UK (mean age = 45.7 years). Through thematic analysis, we identified three main themes under experiences of disclosure: 1) A preference for keeping my diagnosis private; 2) The importance of disclosure in the workplace; and 3) Disclosure has mixed outcomes. We also identified three factors associated with disclosure outcomes: understanding of autism, adaptations, and organisational culture. These results have implications for improving inclusive practices on both the individual and organisational level to ensure more positive disclosure experiences for autistic employees.

自闭症患者常常很难找到并维持就业。这可能是因为许多工作场所不适合自闭症患者的需求。除其他困难外，许多患有自闭症的员工还经历过分散注意力或破坏性的感官环境、工作时间缺乏灵活性以及与同事的沟通不清晰。缓解这些困难的一种可能方法是让员工在工作中披露他们的诊断结果。虽然披露可能会增加同事的理解和接受度，但也可能导致工作场所的歧视和耻辱。研究表明，披露结果往往是好坏参半，但尚不清楚哪些因素与自闭症患者披露的积极或消极结果相关。本研究旨在确定这些因素，并探讨自闭症员工选择披露或保密其诊断结果的原因。对 24 名临床诊断的自闭症成年人（12 名男性和 12 名女性）进行了半结构化访谈，他们目前或曾经在英国工作（平均年龄 = 45.7 岁）。通过主题分析，我们确定了披露经验下的三个主要主题：1）倾向于将我的诊断保密； 2）工作场所信息披露的重要性； 3) 披露的结果好坏参半。我们还确定了与披露结果相关的三个因素：对自闭症的理解、适应和组织文化。这些结果对于改善个人和组织层面的包容性实践具有重要意义，以确保自闭症员工获得更积极的披露体验。