Autistic and ADHD masking at work, and what it costs

What Autistic and ADHD masking at work is, and how common it is

Masking is covering or holding back how you naturally are so you seem to fit in. It can get you through the day, and it quietly runs your battery down. That is how our fact sheet about telling an employer puts it. Australia's National Autism Strategy 2025 to 2031 calls it camouflaging.

Caitlin Hughes is a neurodivergent social worker. On our podcast, Caitlin described masking as "constantly monitoring your tone, your facial expression, what you're saying, what you're doing".

In 2026, Kari Sherwood of Penn State and colleagues asked 131 Autistic adults about masking. All were in work, and 86% said they mask at work often or sometimes. Fewer than half were white, and almost one in five was non-binary or transgender. That mix matters, because how safe unmasking is depends on gender, race and sexuality together. One participant wrote: "Essentially everything about customer service is a mask for me."

Research on ADHD masking is less developed. In 2025, Paula Wurth of the Karolinska Institute and colleagues surveyed 1,056 Norwegian young adults who were ADHD, Autistic or both. The ADHD and Autistic groups masked about as much as each other. Masking was highest at school or work.

What masking at work costs Autistic and ADHD adults

In 2023, Amber Pryke-Hobbes and colleagues at University College London surveyed 411 UK adults about masking at work. Most were Autistic, and the rest were otherwise neurodivergent or neurotypical. Almost everyone described extreme exhaustion, and masking at work felt less chosen than social masking.

An Autistic participant described the cost: "Masking sacrifices my abilities; I hear less, I miss things, I burn more energy, and I cannot use my mind in ways that I know I can do very well." As mental health got worse, the pressure to mask grew. Many took long sick leave or left their jobs for good.

Louise Bradley and colleagues developed their survey with a steering group of eight Autistic adults. Their 2021 study of 277 Autistic adults found the time spent masking wore people down. "It's like trying to solve mathematical equations in your head all day long while carrying on as normal," one participant wrote.

Ellie Kiger Hodge and Katherine Kuhl Meltzoff, at the University of California, Riverside, published a review in 2026. It brought together 48 studies, and more masking went with more depression, anxiety, stress and burnout. Masking and poor mental health seemed to feed each other. The authors warn against programmes that encourage people to mask. That matters if anyone at work coaches you to mask better.

Jocelyn Green is an Autistic and ADHD student and advocate. On our podcast, she described what college cost her: "I am trying very hard, and it's costing me a lot."

Laetitia Andrac, our co-founder and podcast host, is neurodivergent. She masked heavily as a general manager in big data and AI at a big corporation. On our podcast, she said: "I went through the highly masking and the burnout."

How masking at work connects to Autistic burnout

In 2020, Dora Raymaker, an Autistic researcher, led the first study to define Autistic burnout. Raymaker did it with AASPIRE, a US partnership of Autistic people and academics. Raymaker's team defined it as long-term exhaustion, lost skills and less tolerance for stimulation. Masking was "by far the most prominent life stressor" behind it. Raymaker's team also found it differs from work burnout and from depression.

In Australia, Julianne Higgins, an Autistic peer researcher, co-led a 2023 study with Samuel Arnold. Their team at UNSW Sydney surveyed 141 Autistic adults, most born in Australia. Participants agreed that hiding who they are can come before burnout. They rated general life stress and sensory overload even higher. After burnout, they rated losing work opportunities well above losing the job itself.

Jane Mantzalas's team at La Trobe University read 1,127 posts about Autistic burnout in 2022. Two Autistic researchers reviewed the themes. Mantzalas's team named one theme "damned if you do, damned if you don't". Masking helped people get jobs and fit in, and it wore them out. One person posted that "the constant masking at work is exhausting and I ended up in burnout this weekend."

Megan Clarey and colleagues at the University of Southern Queensland include Autistic researchers. In 2026 they interviewed 11 Autistic adults, most living in Australia. Clarey's team found dual-masking, which means hiding your Autistic traits and your burnout at once. It got people through the day, but delayed telling anyone and could make burnout last longer. "I can't tell my management the truth," a participant told Clarey's team. Colleagues may notice late, which is one reason to keep your own record.

For some Autistic adults, burnout brings thoughts of suicide. In Higgins and Arnold's 2023 study, hiding who you are could come before burnout. In that study, 134 people answered a question about suicidal thinking. Of those, 52% showed some agreement that burnout had led to it.

If that is where you are, please stop reading and reach for a person. In an emergency, call 000. Lifeline is on 13 11 14, day and night. 13YARN, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, is on 13 92 76. QLife, for LGBTQIA+ people, is on 1800 184 527 from 3pm to 9pm.

Why Autistic and ADHD adults mask at work, and why unmasking is not equally safe

People mask because not masking has cost them before. In Pryke-Hobbes's 2023 study, all three groups feared bullying if they stopped masking. One Autistic participant had masked less in an earlier job, and "was bullied almost to extinction".

A participant with ADHD in Pryke-Hobbes's study wrote: "I mask because I do not feel comfortable explaining my condition to people." They added that "the general perception of ADHD is that it is 'just' hyperactivity".

Participants in Bradley's 2021 study gave real reasons to mask. It helped them feel accepted, and 37 said it helped them find work. The authors asked whether that was thriving or surviving, and they read it as surviving.

In 2021, Amy Pearson, an Autistic researcher at the University of Sunderland, wrote with Kieran Rose, an Autistic advocate. They argued that masking is a response to stigma. They call it "a self-protective mechanism rather than a necessarily conscious choice".

Taking the mask off is safer for some people than for others. It depends on your gender and your culture. It also depends on whether you are LGBTQIA+, in a Black, Brown, Indigenous or Asian (BBIA) community, or both. This overlap of identities is called intersectionality. Advice that treats unmasking as a free choice is written for people with least to lose.

The paper's positionality statement describes Marshae Franklin as a Black American woman. Franklin, at the University of Southern California, wrote with six colleagues. Five of the seven identify as Autistic or neurodivergent. Franklin and colleagues concluded in 2025 that "unmasking is a privilege reserved for some, and potentially unsafe for autistic women of color". At work, the paper adds, Black Autistic women may also change how they speak and act to meet White ideas of professionalism.

In Sherwood's 2026 study, women, non-binary and transgender participants masked more than men. Bisexual, pansexual and queer participants linked masking to prejudice or abuse more often than straight ones. Race did not change how much people masked, which differs from earlier research. The authors offer one possible reason. People of colour may put their masking down to race, not autism. If so, asking only about autism masking can miss part of what people carry.

People in these communities have long described masking as a way to stay safe. Research has rarely asked them. Franklin and colleagues note that only three case studies in 77 years centred on Black Autistic girls' and women's own accounts. That gap shows who research has left out, and it does not make what people describe any less true. What research has not measured still affects the people living it.

Where the mask goes, and planning recovery as an Autistic or ADHD adult

Masking in some places and not others does not lower the cost. In 2019, Eilidh Cage and Zoe Troxell-Whitman at Royal Holloway, University of London, surveyed 262 Autistic adults. Two Autistic people reviewed their questions. Some people masked a lot in some places and little in others. They reported as much stress as people who masked a lot everywhere. Only people who masked little everywhere reported less stress.

Autistic people describe three things that help recovery:

• Time alone and downtime, rated most helpful in Higgins and Arnold's 2023 study
• Planned time off work, sometimes arranged with a doctor, in Clarey's 2026 interviews. One participant said: "I just need to go to a park and sit, not with people, just near them."
• Noticing sensory overload early and asking for adjustments, which helped posters in Mantzalas's 2022 study

What Autistic and ADHD adults can ask for at work

Telling people at work that you are Autistic or ADHD is always your choice. Like unmasking, it is less safe for some people than others. Our fact sheet walks through both sides.

In 2022, Jade Davies and colleagues at University College London surveyed 181 Autistic adults. Autistic reviewers helped develop the UK survey. Most people valued adjustments, but far fewer asked for them. Almost a third never asked, although they believed adjustments would help. Of those who asked, most got at least some, and about a quarter were refused.

One participant wrote that "the onus was on me to identify what adjustments could be made". Jocelyn Green said the same about college: "You have to constantly, like, ask and ask and ask."

In 2026, Neil Kenny and colleagues at Dublin City University interviewed 11 Autistic academic staff. Autistic researchers helped produce it. One participant asked: "How do you ask for 'tell me what my job is'?" Kenny's team concluded workplaces need to become sensory-considerate, predictable, accepting, communicative and empathetic.

In Davies's study, the adjustments people asked for most fell into three groups:

• The space and equipment, like noise-cancelling headphones or a quiet place to work
• The job itself, like flexible hours or working from home
• How people communicate with you, like clear instructions and notice before things change

After ear defenders were offered, one participant wrote, "my productivity slowly improved". You can ask for one adjustment, not all of them. Many people call these accommodations. Australian law calls them reasonable adjustments, the phrase to use for anything formal.

The Employment Assistance Fund pays for workplace changes and equipment, up to $70,847.47. To be eligible, you need to be an Australian resident. The job has to last 13 weeks or more, at 8 hours or more a week. Your disability needs to be ongoing, likely to last two years, and affect your work. If finding work comes first, read our fact sheet on finding work as a neurodivergent adult.

What the law says for Autistic and ADHD workers in Australia, Great Britain and the US

In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 defines disability widely. A 2024 ADHD complaint shows the Australian Human Rights Commission handles work complaints under it. An adjustment is reasonable unless it would cause your employer unjustifiable hardship. Proving that hardship is up to them.

Under the Fair Work Act 2009, an employer must not take adverse action against you because of a disability, with some exceptions. You can also ask for flexible working in writing after 12 months with your employer, with stricter conditions if you are casual. Your employer must reply within 21 days, and can refuse only on reasonable business grounds.

In England, Wales and Scotland, employers must make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. In the US, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires reasonable accommodation unless it would cause undue hardship.

Keeping your own record of masking as an Autistic or ADHD adult

Naming what you need is easier when some of it is already written down.

Understanding Zoe does that job for adults using it for themselves. About Me is a short summary in four parts. It covers your strengths, interests, support needs and how you learn best. On a profile you keep for yourself, Pip, our pocket coach, offers to write yours. You edit it from there. You can copy it out, or export a PDF report with an active subscription. Observations are short notes about something you noticed, and over weeks they show a pattern.

None of that stops you masking, and none of it fixes a workplace that has not adjusted. It gives you the words when you need them. It is free for the first seven days, and you do not need a diagnosis.

If your manager needs to change, give them our guide to supporting neurodivergent employees in Australia.

Frequently asked questions

What is masking at work, for Autistic and ADHD adults?

Masking is covering or holding back how you naturally are so you seem to fit in. Caitlin Hughes, a neurodivergent social worker, described it as "constantly monitoring your tone, your facial expression, what you're saying, what you're doing".

Is masking at work linked to Autistic burnout?

Yes. In 2020, Dora Raymaker, an Autistic researcher, found masking was the most prominent stressor behind Autistic burnout. In a 2023 Australian study co-led by Julianne Higgins and Samuel Arnold, masking was one contributor. General life stress and sensory overload rated higher.

How do I know if I am masking at work as an Autistic or ADHD adult?

One sign is a gap between how you seem at work and how you feel afterwards. In Pryke-Hobbes's 2023 study, almost everyone described extreme exhaustion from masking at work. Another sign is saying you are fine when you are not. One participant told Megan Clarey's team in 2026: "I am someone who keeps saying 'I am okay' even when I know all is not well."

Should Autistic or ADHD adults stop masking at work?

Nobody can answer that for you, and unmasking is not equally safe. It depends on your gender and your culture. It also depends on whether you are LGBTQIA+, in a Black, Brown, Indigenous or Asian (BBIA) community, or both. Marshae Franklin and colleagues concluded in 2025 that unmasking is "a privilege reserved for some".

What adjustments can Autistic and ADHD adults ask for at work in Australia?

In Jade Davies's 2022 UK study, Autistic adults asked most for three kinds of change. They were their space and equipment, their job, and how people communicate with them. That can mean noise-cancelling headphones, flexible hours or clear instructions. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, your employer must make a reasonable adjustment unless it causes unjustifiable hardship. Proving that hardship is up to them.

Is ADHD masking the same as Autistic masking?

Nobody can say yet: ADHD masking is less researched. Paula Wurth and colleagues surveyed 1,056 Norwegian young adults in 2025. ADHD and Autistic participants masked about as much as each other.

Sources

1. Australian Government, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. National Autism Strategy 2025-2031. 2025. Co-designed with an Oversight Council and more than 2,000 Autistic people consulted. Camouflaging glossary at printed page 45.
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21. Fair Work Ombudsman. Flexible working arrangements. Read 10 September 2026.
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