Rethinking "Culture Fit": Employment Shouldn't Be Reserved for the Socially Fluent

My son lost his job last week.

A year ago, we celebrated when he secured a position at a restaurant with a supportive team where he felt valued and included. For someone with autism, finding employment that honors and dignifies your unique way of experiencing the world is extraordinarily difficult. And keeping that employment during economic uncertainty proves even more challenging.

Since sharing this news, my inbox has been flooded with messages from parents of autistic children facing similar employment struggles. These are brilliant, kind, capable individuals who simply process and interact with the world differently than neurotypical people.

I've been struck by something I keep hearing in hiring conversations: "Are they a culture fit?"

Let's be honest about what this often means: "Will they communicate, socialize, and behave according to our unwritten social norms?" This seemingly innocent question has become a convenient path to exclude anyone who doesn't fit a narrow, cookie-cutter mold of workplace behavior.

Employment should not be a privilege reserved for the socially fluent.

When companies form an exclusivity culture based on certain social skills or communication styles, they miss out on:

• Innovative thinking that breaks through conventional boundaries

• Complex problem-solving approaches that neurotypical minds might not discover

• Unparalleled attention to detail

• Deep loyalty and dedication

• Authentic perspectives that can transform products, services, and customer experiences

  
  

The irony isn't lost on me: organizations claim to value "thinking outside the box" while systematically screening out people whose minds naturally function outside conventional patterns.

The current job market is challenging enough. For neurodivergent individuals, the barriers are compounded by hiring practices that prioritize social fluency over actual capability, creating a system where qualified candidates never make it past the first interview simply because they communicate differently.

This isn't just about my son. I want to be part of a revolution to change this paradigm – to create workplaces where different neurotypes aren't just accommodated but recognized as valuable sources of innovation and excellence.

If your organization is doing meaningful work in neurodivergent employment or if you're interested in building more inclusive hiring practices, I'd love to connect. Together, we can reimagine what workplace culture truly means.

Let's expand our definition of "culture fit" to include people who don't look, sound, or process information just like us. Let's create workplaces that value cognitive diversity as much as they value other forms of diversity.

Because when we do, everyone wins.

#NeurodiversityInTheWorkplace #InclusiveHiring #RethinkingCultureFit #EmploymentEquity #Autism