Willy Loman, And When It Is Never Too Late In The Job Market

(Like Willy Loman, most workers find the job world colder and less welcoming as they age. Though this is true also for adults with autism and related conditions, there is another unusual dynamic at play with this group. After experiencing job failures and disappointments in their twenties and early thirties, they may find a niche in their late thirties or forties or even older.)

Even seventy-four years after it first premiered on Broadway, Death of a Salesman remains a popular shorthand for the difficulties of aging in the job world. The play got a lot of things wrong about how the job world functioned even then. But it got a few big things right related to the challenges accompanying aging in the workforce, that remain true: the disappearance over time of business contacts, the challenge of keeping up with technology, the general labor market orientation toward youth.

The play and its themes come to mind today with the emerging interest in aging among the workforce of adults with autism and related conditions. These adults face the same aging challenges as other workers. But there is also some evidence of an unusual job dynamic among this group, pushing against the play’s main narrative, and pointing to why it may never be too late in the job market.

In recent years, as the first major cohorts of persons with autism begin to approach their forties, the autism community is beginning to ask, what happens in their work lives as adults with autism age? Do they find a niche in the job market? Or do they continue to struggle in and out of jobs? Does employment remain a goal or do they eventually settle (somewhat exhausted) into more circumscribed lives on SSI, SSDI, or some other government benefit program?

Most of the research and surveys on employment levels of workers with autism focus on younger workers, between 18-29, reflecting the demographics and sharp rise in autism diagnoses over the past two decades. So little is written of workers who are in their forties or older. They are largely invisible in the research, even though their job journeys can help us understand the alternative paths that are being taken and that might be taken.

The Autism Job Club that I’m part of in Northern California has begun to chronicle and detail the job journeys of our members over forty, including their experiences and advice for younger workers. And though the first histories indicate multiple job losses in the first decade or two of work lives, that’s not the full story. Over time, a number have found a niche in the job market. Aging in the labor market has brought at times a maturity, an acceptance of workplace protocols, and finally finding a skill fit.

This past Saturday, the monthly Job Club meeting focused on what happens to workers with autism as they age in the job market. The same morning, the Los Angeles Times had one of its periodic articles in which a wealthy actress complains about how difficult her life is as she ages. But as so often in the autism world, there was little whining or complaining among the Job Club members; rather a focus on a path ahead.

Across all segments of the workforce, job movement is the norm in today’s job market. Workers change jobs with some frequency, voluntarily and involuntarily, especially in their twenties and early thirties. The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report on labor market experiences finds workers in their fifties and early sixties holding an average of 12.4 separate jobs from ages 18 to 54. Workers born in the early 1980s had even more job movement, an average of 8.6 jobs, just from age 18 to 34. What’s different for our members is the higher number of jobs lost involuntarily (in some cases due to an inability to do the job and in some cases an inability to get along with supervisors or co-workers), along with the longer stretches of unemployment.

Four of our members talked about their experience, and their current job status. Anne Duncan, in her forties, described her high anxieties and social difficulties during the twelve years as a teacher. Discouraged, she left teaching and spent three years searching for a different occupation, eventually turning to administrative work, as perhaps a better fit. She connected with Crossroads, a disability employment group in Sacramento, and volunteered in several clerical roles. She eventually was hired by the California Department of Corrections, which has proved to be a better fit. She has now been employed at the Department for more than nine years.

Paul Nussbaum, in his sixties, had a series of jobs in his twenties and thirties. The past fifteen years he has settled in to a combination of a handyman business and seasonal employment with Ascendigo, the sports program based in Colorado for children and adults with autism.

Both Anne and Paul were diagnosed at a later age—a common condition of our members and other adults with autism over forty. Paul reflected on this in a posting: “Being diagnosed at age forty with autism after a long hard struggle with employment, academics and major communication and social issues, the light bulb went on. I learned about autism and found there a huge population, just like me, with the same struggles.” Anne expressed similar relief and “a sense of freedom” when she was diagnosed in her thirties.

The two other panelists, Mark Romoser and Sarah Howard, currently are looking for their settled work roles, and by no means have given up. After a number of years in food service positions (including five years of making lunches in a children’s autism program), Sarah 51, earned a degree from Cal State University, Stanislaus in geography in 2020. In 2021, she obtained a remote work position as an Apple
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Junior GIS technician, but within four months she and her employer decided “it wasn’t a good fit”: “It was a very dry job and I am way too extroverted for a remote work like that”. Currently she is volunteering at Learning Quest, an adult literacy program, and also enrolling in a Master’s program for non-profit management. Mark, in his late fifties, has a degree from Yale. He held jobs with disability advocacy groups for fifteen years, before being laid off in 2016. He currently works 10 hours a week at a high school for neurodivergent students, while seeking to get back into the advocacy field.

After the four spoke, others joining by Zoom described their experiences or experiences of family members: often years of frustration, before finally finding a role of some job stability and fit. An older parent spoke of her son, 47, and his job journey: “When he was in his twenties he wanted to be an animator, and but was not able to get a job at that. He then tried other fields, such as auto mechanic and assembler in a motorcycle dealership, and was not able to hold a steady job, mainly due to social and performance pressures. He does drive, and about ten years ago began volunteering with a paratransit service and Meals on Wheels. He subsequently obtained his Class B license and secured full time employment driving a paratransit bus. He has been employed there for over seven years. He enjoys the job and is good at it, and the riders like him. It took a long time but he finally found a role.”

Dan Middleton, a volunteer coach for AASCEND (“Coach Dan”) noted that aging often brought a clarity and realism to the job search. He emphasized staying in the game: one never knows when a good fit will occur. Sarah added, “Don’t be afraid to fail”, and Anne’s advice, “If I can do it anyone can”.

Eric Steward, the director of the Meristem Transformative Autism Program, seconded their comments of encouragement, but also warned that for most adults with autism, the need for work supports did not end even with a job placement that appeared to be a fit. “Most adults with autism will need a lifetime of supports, which will fluctuate over time. Supervisors and co-workers change, job roles change, workplaces change, no job, even in government, is completely secure.” And AASCEND co-chair Camilla Bixler, observed from her several decades in the autism field, “We face transitions throughout life, not just as young people. Having a community of support at those junctures makes all the difference.”

In autism/neurodiversity employment, “The Transition” is shorthand for the transition of 18-22 year olds into the job market. This is often portrayed as a critical time. But a work life has numerous transitions, voluntary and involuntary, at all ages. The transitions are more challenging in some ways as neurodivergent workers age: family supports fray or decrease, and the general labor market focus on youth takes a toll. But as the adults in our group suggest, the transitions for older workers may also be more promising, benefiting from a maturity and settling in. A good deal more research is needed on these transitions and the supports most effective.

At Willy Loman’s funeral, his son Biff observes, “He never knew who he was…the man didn’t know who he was.” Willy had “the wrong dreams”, chased goals that were unrealistic, was in a job as a salesman that was not suited to his skills and interests. (Willy’s neighbor Charley disagrees, asserting that “a salesman is got to dream…It comes with the territory”). The right placement for neurodivergent adults may take longer to achieve than for other workers. But such placement may be longer lasting than placements earlier in life, so that services to these workers are as important as for young workers.