Attitudes to Interpersonal Touch in the Workplace in Autistic and non-Autistic Groups.

The sample was an online opportunity sample recruited through BBC and other media, so it may not represent autistic or non-autistic adults in clinical or workplace settings. Autism status was self-reported and diagnoses were not verified, so some participants without a formal diagnosis may have been included. None of the researchers were autistic, which the authors list as a limitation. Workplace touch attitudes were based on single questionnaire items, which may miss smaller individual differences. The touch analyses used only employed participants, with 103 autistic and 103 non-autistic adults after removing self-employed and retired people, so findings may not apply to all autistic adults. Some analyses changed from the pre-registered plan or were not pre-registered. These included the workplace touch appropriateness score and the non-autistic predictor models.

The paper names the Economic and Social Research Council and the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund as funders. No author conflict-of-interest declaration or disclosure list is included in the supplied text.

Do not conclude that changing workplace touch practices will reduce loneliness or improve wellbeing. The study measured attitudes and associations in a survey, and attitudes to workplace touch did not predict loneliness or wellbeing in employed autistic participants.