Lower the Masking Tax

The move: Identify one norm that pushes neurodivergent colleagues into unnecessary masking. ACAS notes that masking can make neurodivergent workers exhausted, isolated, and less able to be themselves at work. Masking is not simply professionalism. It can be constant self-monitoring: eye contact, facial expression, tone, sitting still, suppressing stims, decoding hints, or pretending sensory overload is fine. Teams lower the tax by making norms explicit and optional where possible: camera choice, written follow-up, movement, sensory tools, and direct language. The goal is not zero effort; it is removing performative effort that does not improve the work. The discipline is to…

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