Autism & Open Plan Offices: Surviving the Noise

The Open Plan Challenge

For Autistic people, the modern open-plan office can be a sensory minefield.

• Unpredictable Noise: Phones ringing, chatter, coffee machines.
• Visual Chaos: People walking past constantly.
• Smells: Perfume, food, cleaning products.
• Social Demand: The pressure to “join in” or make small talk.

Hot Desking: The Specific Enemy

“Agile working” or hot-desking removes routine and certainty. Not knowing where you will sit, or who you will sit next to, can cause severe anxiety before the work day even begins.

Reasonable Adjustments for Autism

1. Fixed Desk Exemption

This is the most impactful adjustment. Asking to be exempt from hot desking.

• Why: Provides certainty, routine, and control over the immediate environment.
• Location: Ideally in a corner (back to wall) or low-traffic area.

2. Sensory Banking

• Noise Cancelling Headphones: Standard adjustment.
• Lighting: Using a desk lamp instead of overhead fluorescents (if possible) or wearing tinted glasses.
• “Do Not Disturb” Signs: A physical sign (like a red flag or specific object) that signals “I am focusing, please email me instead of tapping my shoulder.”

3. Communication Preferences

• No “Drive-bys”: Asking colleagues to IM/Slack first before walking over.
• Meeting Agendas: Mandatory agendas 24hrs in advance to allow processing time.
• Camera Off: Permission to keep camera off in Teams/Zoom calls to reduce the processing load of reading facial cues.

Is this “favouritism”?

No. It is levelling the playing field. An Autistic brain processes sensory input differently. Without these adjustments, the employee is working twice as hard as their neurotypical colleague just to filter out the environment.

Script for Managers

“The uncertainty of hot-desking spikes my anxiety daily. Having a fixed desk in a quiet lane would allow me to arrive ready to work, rather than ready to panic.”