You get to your desk feeling fine. By mid-morning, every conversation, keyboard and ringing phone seems to be happening right next to your ear. You haven't done anything strenuous, but you're already tired.

If that sounds familiar, you're not being difficult or oversensitive. Open-plan spaces can be genuinely hard work for many autistic people. Here's why, and some ideas that might help.

Why open-plan offices can be so hard

A few things tend to stack up:

  • You can't turn it off. Many people can tune out background chat. If you can't, your brain keeps processing every sound.
  • It's unpredictable. Someone laughs, a chair scrapes, a colleague appears at your shoulder. Sudden noises can be more distressing when you're sensitive to sound.
  • It's not just noise. Overhead lights, smells from the kitchen, and people walking past all add to the load.
  • Masking costs extra. Looking calm and focused while all this is going on takes energy that isn't visible to anyone else.

If you're AuDHD, you may notice distraction on top of the sensory side. Being easily distracted is a common ADHD trait in adults (NHS), and an open-plan office offers plenty of distractions.

A familiar scenario

Imagine it's Tuesday, and there's a team stand-up at the desks next to yours. Then someone takes a call on speakerphone. You put your headphones on, but you still feel jittery. By 3pm you've reread the same email four times, and on the way home you can't face making dinner.

Nothing "big" happened. But the day was full of small sensory costs, and they added up.

Practical ideas to try

These are options, not rules. Try one or two and see what makes a difference.

Raising it with your manager

It can feel awkward, but many of these changes are small and cheap. If you're disabled under the Equality Act 2010, your employer may have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments, and you don't need a diagnosis for that (Acas). This is general information about the law in Great Britain, not legal advice. Our guide to reasonable adjustments at work has more detail.

Some tips that might make the conversation easier:

  • Describe the effect, not just the cause. "By 2pm I can't concentrate because of the noise" is clearer than "the office is loud".
  • Bring a suggestion. "Could I have a fixed desk by the window and work from home on Thursdays?" gives your manager something to say yes to.
  • Offer a trial. "Can we try it for a month and then review?" can make it feel lower-risk for both of you.
  • Follow up in writing. A short email after the conversation means you both remember what was agreed.

If talking about it face to face is hard, you can start by email instead. That's a perfectly reasonable way to ask.

Explaining it to colleagues

You don't owe anyone an explanation. But if your headphones get comments, a short line can help: "Noise makes it hard for me to focus, so headphones help me get my work done. Message me if you need me." Asking people to message first, rather than tapping you on the shoulder, can help too.

References

  1. National Autistic Society. Autism and sensory processing. autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/about-autism/sensory-processing
  2. National Autistic Society. What support can I get at work as an autistic person? autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/employment/what-support-can-i-get-at-work
  3. Acas. Reasonable adjustments at work, including "Adjustments for neurodiversity". acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments/adjustments-for-neurodiversity
  4. NHS. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. nhs.uk/conditions/adhd-adults