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Microsoft Hopes To Hire More Coders With Autism (fastcompany.com)
Autistic people are methodical and detail-oriented, and a new Microsoft program is trying to hire more of them, according to Fast Company. Slashdot reader tedlistens writes:
Vauhini Vara takes a look at the at the (difficult) efforts of Microsoft to recruit more autistic engineers and make a more neurodiverse workplace, through the lens of one of those coders. "The program, which began in May 2015, does away with the typical interview approach, instead inviting candidates to hang out on campus for two weeks and work on projects while being observed and casually meeting managers who might be interested in hiring them. Only at the end of this stage do more formal interviews take place.
"The goal is to create a situation that is better suited to autistic people's styles of communicating and thinking. Microsoft isn't the first to attempt something like this: The German software firm SAP, among a handful of others, have similar programs -- but Microsoft is the highest-profile company to have gone public with its efforts, and autistic adults are hoping it will spark a broader movement."
One autistic coder says they make better employees because "You don't have to tell someone not to go home early. They'll just stay." But there's also a push to bring different analytical and creative approaches into Microsoft's company culture. The article ultimately asks the question, "Could the third-largest corporation in the world make the case that hiring and employing autistic people, with all their social and intellectual quirks, was good, not bad, for business?"
"The goal is to create a situation that is better suited to autistic people's styles of communicating and thinking. Microsoft isn't the first to attempt something like this: The German software firm SAP, among a handful of others, have similar programs -- but Microsoft is the highest-profile company to have gone public with its efforts, and autistic adults are hoping it will spark a broader movement."
One autistic coder says they make better employees because "You don't have to tell someone not to go home early. They'll just stay." But there's also a push to bring different analytical and creative approaches into Microsoft's company culture. The article ultimately asks the question, "Could the third-largest corporation in the world make the case that hiring and employing autistic people, with all their social and intellectual quirks, was good, not bad, for business?"
And, people who will worry about the "how" instead of the "why". Perfect for Microsoft, based on their past history.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
I suspect that most coders fall somewhere on the spectrum anyway. Are they specifically looking for the rocking back and forth level of autism? The "awkward, can't look you in the eye, bad grooming"? Or the "I'm always right and get insanely defensive" (also includes defense extremists who have OVERLY strong political views)?
One autistic coder says they make better employees because "You don't have to tell someone not to go home early. They'll just stay."
Ah, it makes it easier to exploit employees.
And now, businesses are going to start putting in their requirements "diagnosed autism" in their job descriptions. It's like when MS started asking those brain teasers and every business started doing it.
I'm glad that business is starting to see non-normal behavior as being a reason for instant disqualification, but I see this going to extremes.
A flawed hiring strategy was passing over better candidates in favor of people with more social skills, because bigoted and incompetent hiring managers were failing at their jobs by favoring people they like over better-qualified candidates. "Being liked by the sort of people put in charge of hiring" shouldn't be a job qualification.
(although I'm rather suspicious of this "hang out on campus for two weeks and work on projects" approach, at least if it is not paid)
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
For whatever reasons they're doing this, it seems like a good idea. I'm in the systems integration world, so I don't write software per se. However, I do a lot of "glue scripting" and automation work, and work with lots of developers getting their creations to function in the real world. Our chosen field of work is _definitely_ suited for autism spectrum folks...doing it right requires intense focus and literal thinking. For Microsoft, it seems like they would win on a couple fronts...they get kudos for hiring the disabled [1] and they get a workforce who is happy to work untold hours that "normals" wouldn't be able to.
It does sound like a plan hatched by some evil HR VP though. A bunch of normal execs tour the back buildings at Microsoft, see the more autistic of the bunch basically living in their offices, and conclude that hiring more of these will keep productivity high. It could definitely devolve into a sweatshop quickly. I wouldn't classify myself as ASD, but I'm definitely introverted. i can deal with normal people, but don't like to, as in it doesn't give me pleasure but I'll avoid it if given the choice. Fortunately I've found workplaces that let me have a healthy mix of socialization and independent work. I wouldn't thrive in a startup "brogrammer" environment as an example. If Microsoft encourages an adaptive workplace, that's a good thing in my mind. All companies need a healthy mix of cocaine-fueled salesmen and caffeine-fueled worker bees. Giving those worker bees what they need to be productive (offices, privacy, etc) is key.
[1] Yes, I'm aware that ASD being classified as a disability is very controversial. But as the number of technical jobs dry up in the First World, I can see it becoming a fully protected disability. When the entire employed world is extroverted project managers and executives, us introverts are going to be in for a world of pain.
Favoring a particular demographic because they have a particular disability is still discrimination. If it's against the law to discriminate against someone because of a disability, it should not matter whether they actually have that disability or not.... one should not be using said disability as a basis for discrimination, period.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'