5 ways fully-remote work empowers me as an autistic employee

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Put simply, the option to remain fully remote puts me on an equal playing field with others.

Everyone hates a commute, but when I insist on working from home as an autistic adult, it’s a lot more than a preference. Here are some ways that working remotely has enabled me to be the best employee I can be, five years into making the switch.

It accommodates sensory sensitivities

Autism gives me more sensitivity to sounds and scents, both sudden and ambient. During my four years in an office setting, this meant that everything from a conversation down the hall to someone else’s hot lunch was grating and incredibly uncomfortable.

Since this made it difficult to focus on my work, I would often take my laptop out into the hallway if others had food around, among other small adjustments that repeatedly chipped away at time and energy of myself and others. In contrast, working from home allows me to keep noise, scent, temperature, lighting, and the other stimuli I experience more intensely within a tolerable range. My productivity is no longer disproportionately harmed by these factors as a result.

It empowers me to communicate

I am better at writing than I am at speaking, full stop. When asynchronous communication was a pandemic-induced requirement, this…