Haveo · Networking guides
Autistic at work
The job is usually not the hard part. The cost is the environment and the unscheduled social layer around the work — open plan noise, the small talk, the meeting with no agenda. Those are changeable, and more of them than people expect.
What costs, and what does not
The work itself is often the part that goes well, and that is worth saying because the exhaustion gets misread as not coping with the job.
The cost is the noise, the lighting, the interruption, the arrival small talk, and the meetings whose shape is never stated.
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Ask for the shape of things
Agendas in advance, written briefs, being told what a meeting is for, and what decision is being made and by whom.
These read as good practice rather than accommodations, so they are almost always granted, and they help everybody in the room.
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The environment is negotiable
A desk away from the walkway, a booked room for focused work, headphones as normal, or a day at home for anything that needs sustained attention.
Most offices will agree to these if asked specifically and one at a time.
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The social layer
Arrival small talk, lunch, the after-work thing. Doing some of it deliberately costs less than avoiding all of it, because avoiding all of it is what gets read as distance.
Pick which ones and go to those properly. There are pages here on each.
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Recovery is part of the week
If a work event costs you the next morning, plan for that rather than being surprised by it. Treating the recovery as part of the commitment is what makes it sustainable.
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Rehearse it before you walk in.
Haveo builds your intro, lets you practice out loud with an AI coach, and keeps your notes one tap away in the room. Free on iPhone and iPad.
Download Haveo — free- The day after a work event
Why a two-hour event costs the next day, how to plan for it, and what actually helps the recovery. - Asking for what you need at work
How to make one request that gets agreed, what people actually ask for, and what to do when the answer is no. - Open-plan offices, noise and light
Noise you cannot turn off, lighting you did not choose, and a desk in a walkway. What can actually be changed, and how to ask. - Small talk in the office
The five minutes on arrival, the kitchen, the elevator. What it is for, and the lines that carry it without effort. - Telling your employer you are autistic
What people weigh up, when they tend to do it, and why most of what helps can be asked for without saying anything.