‘Burda needs people like me’

Stefan has Asperger's autism and has worked at Burda for many years. We met him for World Autism Awareness Day on 2 April - a conversation about clattering knives, false prejudices and his wish for us all. 

Hello Stefan, I'd like to talk to you about autism.  

I have Asperger's autism, so we can talk about that. I'm not an autism expert.  

What is Asperger's autism?  

I struggle in many situations when there's a lot of people. I never know where to look or listen. I often stumble compared to others, my wife calls me ‘Körperklaus’ (German word for a clumsy person). I had to learn to find that funny.  

How long have you known that you …?  

(interrupts sharply) suffer from Asperger's? I don't.   

I'm sorry, when I was preparing for our conversation, I realised that I don't know the subject very well in terms of how to speak of it.   

That's how many people feel. They think autistic people are incapable of living, can't work and throw a fit if there are an odd number of milk cartons in the fridge. Such cases do exist, but the disorder is very diverse.  

I know autism mainly from television, from films like Rain Man or the Netflix series Love on the Spectrum. In real life, I've hardly met any people of whom I knew they were autistic, although there are an estimated 800,000 living in Germany alone.  

Autism is not an illness or disability that you can see in people. It is, as I said, a mental disorder. But it is not invisible - you can't see autism on a person's face, but you can observe it in their behaviour. Four weeks ago, a long-serving colleague in my department was bid farewell with a small celebration. She hugged everyone present. I left the room under a pretense. I came back for the goodbye shortly before the end of the day. We shook hands.  

Who at Burda knows about your Asperger's syndrome?  

My boss. We already knew each other before my diagnosis in 2017; nothing has changed since I told him.  

And your colleagues?  

They're considerate of me, but no more or differently than I am of them.   

What do you mean by that?  

I have a colleague who doesn't write emails, she calls for everything. I don't like it when people call me without prior notice. I've asked her to write to me briefly when we need to talk. That makes it better. On the other hand, I try to write her as few emails as possible.  

Are there any particularly stressful situations in your day-to-day work?  

When it gets crowded and I have to work in three-person offices, I sit where I'm not facing anyone. I don't want to look anyone directly in the face when I'm working. My favourite offices don't have pictures on the walls, visual distraction is the worst thing for me.   

One thing is important to me.  

Yes?  

I'm not a burden to my team, not a raw egg that can't be touched. There are many situations at work that only I can solve with my skills; questions that everyone in the team comes to me with. In my feedback meetings, I regularly receive an ‘exceeded expectations’.  

What exactly do you do at Burda?  

In an editorial environment, but not as a journalist. I don't want to go into detail, but over the years I've built up expertise that benefits the entire publishing house. Asperger's autistic people often have enormous strengths in their areas of interest, they are much better and more skillful in them than non-autistic people. I'm lucky that my area of interest is very much in line with the content of my work.   

What do you value about Burda as an employer?  

I've been here for more than 15 years and can't imagine working for any other employer. I like the independence in the way we work, our high standards and the diversity of our products. Personally, I can't understand how so many colleagues can be enthusiastic about boring topics like fashion. But I am impressed by how intensively and obviously successfully they do it. There's something autistic about this enthusiasm for all kinds of topics at Burda. I mean that seriously and positively.  

Do you have any behavioural tricks to avoid certain situations?  

I like to be the organiser at parties. Then I can quickly check on the beer if two people want to talk to me at the same time. I usually spend my lunch break outside. The noise of clattering knives in the canteen, colourful pictures on the wall - terrible.   

There are some self-tests on the internet about autism. My autism score was 26 out of 100 because I don't like small talk and long eye contact. Does this mean that everyone has autistic traits?  

Experts speak of an autism spectrum in which everything can occur: on the one hand, extreme forms in which those affected cannot speak and sometimes have major intellectual problems; on the other hand, people like me who are Asperger autistic and can start companies or families. There are countless subtypes and intermediate forms in between. And there are autistic behaviours or sensitivities that non-autistic people can also exhibit. But I think you look me in the eye unnecessarily often and for a long time during our conversation.  

How can I behave to make things easier for colleagues and other people on the spectrum?  

Asking for and respecting other people's needs; communicating clearly, if possible, without sarcasm, which I don't believe has any place in the workplace; avoiding loud conversations in general and especially in open-plan offices. Actually, these are all things that I consider useful for everyone.  

Thank you very much for our conversation and for being so open. 

(silent for about 30 seconds)  

Yes, I would be pleased if the positive aspects of Asperger's syndrome were presented more often. I'm a good employee not despite my autism, but because of it. Burda needs people like me. Please add that.