The Masking Tax: Why Experienced Professionals Burn Out
For many experienced neurodivergent professionals, success has come at a high price. You may have a thriving career, a senior title, and a reputation for being "on top of things." But behind the scenes, you are exhausted in a way that sleep doesn't fix.
This exhaustion is often the result of the "Masking Tax"—the massive amount of cognitive and emotional energy spent hiding your natural traits to fit into a neurotypical workplace. After a decade or two of paying this tax, many professionals hit a wall of deep, chronic burnout.
What is Masking?
Masking (or "social camouflaging") is the act of suppressing your natural behaviors and mimicking neurotypical ones. For an experienced professional, it often looks like:
Rehearsing social scripts before every meeting or "casual" coffee chat.
Suppressing stims (like fidgeting or rocking) to appear "professional."
Forcing eye contact even when it makes it harder for you to process what is being said.
Monitoring your tone and facial expressions constantly to ensure you aren't perceived as "rude" or "uninterested."
Why the "Tax" Leads to Burnout
Think of your brain like a smartphone. Most people run their "work apps" on a standard operating system. When you mask, you are running a heavy, complex background "simulation" just to make the interface look neurotypical.
This background app drains your battery twice as fast. You aren't just doing the job; you are performing the role of "a person doing the job."
The signs of the "Masking Tax" reaching a breaking point:
Loss of Skills: Tasks that used to be easy (like writing an email) suddenly feel impossible.
Social Withdrawal: You have zero energy for friends or family after the work day.
Increased Sensitivity: Sounds, lights, or textures that you used to "tolerate" now feel physically painful.
The "Sunday Scaries" on Steroids: A deep, physical dread of the upcoming week that starts as early as Saturday afternoon.
How to Stop Paying the Tax: Sustainable Strategies
If you are an experienced professional, you have more leverage than a graduate. You can use your seniority to redesign your work life for sustainability.
1. Practice "Micro-Unmasking"
You don't have to change everything at once. Start by letting small parts of your authentic self show in safe environments.
Action: Try using a fidget toy during a camera-off meeting. Notice that the world doesn't end when you move your body the way it wants to move.
2. Reframe Accommodations as "Efficiency Tools"
Stop thinking of adjustments as "special favors." Frame them as ways to increase your ROI (Return on Investment) for the company.
Instead of: "I struggle with noise."
Try: "I am 30% more productive when I work in a quiet environment or use noise-canceling headphones."
3. Audit Your "Social Load"
Not every social interaction at work is mandatory. Identify which ones are truly necessary and which ones are just "performative."
Action: Decline the "optional" virtual happy hour if your social battery is at 5%. Protect your energy for the work that actually matters.
4. The "Definition of Done"
Neurodivergent burnout is often fueled by perfectionism—a side effect of being told you’re "doing it wrong" for years.
Action: Ask your manager for a clear "Definition of Done." Knowing exactly when a task is finished prevents the endless loop of over-polishing and over-checking.
Moving Forward
You have spent years perfecting a version of yourself that the world finds "acceptable." But that version of you is expensive to maintain. True career longevity comes from finding a way to work that doesn't require you to delete parts of yourself.
At Diversity-Lock, we believe your experience is an asset, not a burden. By reducing the "Masking Tax," you can reclaim your energy and focus on the high-level work you were meant to do.