ArticlePloS one2023
The workplace masking experiences of autistic, non-autistic neurodivergent and neurotypical adults in the UK.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Autism, bullying, and mental health: a comprehensive systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Autism Stigma and Employment: A Scoping Review.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- "I Try to Act Like a Neurotypical so it Makes Customers More Comfortable": A Mixed Methods Analysis of Autistic Camouflaging at Work.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- "I Accept Them, They Accept Me, We Enjoy Our Time Together": Autistic Adults' Preferences and Perceptions of Relationships With Other Autistic People.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026Article
- Neurodivergence and well-being: The fulfilment of fundamental psychological needs, work-related stress and life satisfaction.British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953) · 2026Article
- Learning from the Experiences of Autistic Professionals Working in Health and Education.Autism in adulthood · 2026Article
- Camouflaging and autism: Conceptualisation and methodological issues.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026Review
- Working with a Chronic Health Condition: Is Choosing Not to Disclose the Same as Hiding Information?Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Understanding the workplace needs of autistic adults in Singapore: insights to inform inclusive AI support.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- The system-level organisational design framework: a neuro-cognitive trait interaction approach to workplace inclusion for autistic people.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- All the workplace is a stage: extending the double empathy problem through performative relationality.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Reclaiming selfhood: towards a conceptualisation of the autistic unmasking process.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Facilitators and Barriers to Employment of Neurodivergent Individuals: A Systematic Literature Review of Employee and Employer Experiences.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Intentional use and self-efficacy as distinct facets of impression management and their relationships with socio-motivational, cognitive, and mental health factors.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Neurodivergence, Minority Stress, and Tobacco Use in a Sample of US Sexual and Gender Minoritized Young Adults.Substance use & addiction journal · 2025Article
- Navigating neurodivergence: A scoping review to guide health professions educators.Medical education · 2025Article
- 'I did what I could to earn some money and be of use': A qualitative exploration of autistic people's journeys to career success and fulfilment.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025Article
- Formal Versus Self-Identified Neurodivergence: A Comparative Study in Work Environments.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Diagnosis acceptance, masking, and perceived benefits and challenges in adults with ADHD and ASD: associations with quality of life.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Autoethnographic Insights from Neurodivergent GAI "Power Users".Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. CHI Conference · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Masking entails hiding or concealing one's traits during social interactions. Research suggests that masking is particularly common for autistic people, though many non-autistic people also conceal aspects of their identity. Existing research has identified the key motivations and consequences of masking. No research to date, however, has considered how this might be affected by the social context in which masking is employed. This study compared the masking experiences of 285 autistic, 88 non-autistic neurodivergent and 99 neurotypical adults within a context in which masking is expected to be highly prevalent, namely the workplace. We used reflexive thematic analysis to explore the motivations, consequences, and contextual differences of workplace masking compared to other social contexts. Workplace masking was considered by participants in all three groups to be an adaptive response to a range of socially grounded workplace challenges and was usually employed as a strategy to safeguard against the threat of negative social and employment outcomes. Our non-autistic neurodivergent and autistic participants, however, reported experiencing unique pressures to mask, given the limited understanding of neurodiversity in workplaces and society more broadly. These findings have important implications for the wider masking literature and for workplace practice.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.