Employee engagement and commitment to two Australian autism employment programs: associations with workload and perceived supervisor support

Purpose: Although there is growing academic and business interest in autism employment programs, few studies have examined employee (manager and coworker) attitudes toward these programs. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of workload changes (a job demand) and perceived supervisor support (a job resource) on commitment to the program and employee engagement more broadly. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 229 employees from two Australian public sector organizations completed a survey about the autism employment program in their organization. Findings: Perceived workload increases were associated with lower affective commitment and higher continuance commitment to the program. Perceived supervisor support was associated with higher affective commitment to the program and employee engagement, but lower continuance commitment to the program. Perceived supervisor support moderated the effect of workload increase on employee engagement, but not in the expected direction. Originality/value: This research helps to fill a gap in the autism employment literature by focusing on commitment toward autism employment programs among existing employees. The research helps to provide a more complete and nuanced view of these programs within their broader organizational context.