Autistic employees. Benefits and advantages for Hospitality
By Polys Kallis
The shortage of staff
in Hospitality is a worldwide phenomenon. The fact that a large proportion of
the population are autistic persons, justifies the question why not more autistic
people are not employed in this field.
Autistic people
have a particular way of dealing with emotions. Hospitality is not highly considered to be suitable for them, as being an anthropocentric
sector and often stressful and noisy
trade. Indeed, there are situations where
more support is required to get the job done. This valid, however, for the
majority of people.
Some training topics: Other employees should be trained to understand and support them. Inform them in advance about meetings, discussions issues as they don’t like to be got by surprise. Praise them and empower them a bit more than usual. Engage them in area where they show great interest or skills.
Apart from making the effort and supporting them, have in mind that autistic people have an abundance of advantages to benefit from such as:
- Determination, resilience, self-motivation
- Reliability, trustworthiness, conscientiousness
- Attention to details, identifying patterns, ability to concentrate.
- Kindness, acceptance of difference (diversity)
- Excellent memory, detailed factual knowledge,
- Creativity, unique problem solving.
Not everyone on the autism spectrum has all listed skills. On the other hand, which employee has all above in his/her portfolio?
Source: Healthyhospo.com and others.