Neurodiversity Celebration Week: 13-19 March 2023

Neurodiversity in the Workplace

What do Simone Biles, Billie Eilish, Greta Thunberg, Justin Timberlake and Elon Musk have in common?

They are all neurodivergent and part of the neurodiverse community.

What is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one "right" way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits (Harvard Medical School, 2021).

The term neurodiversity was coined in 1998 by Judy Singer, an Australian sociologist, to promote equality and inclusion of "neurological minorities."

Neurodiversity encompasses a range of neurological and developmental conditions and celebrates the natural variation in neurological and cognitive functioning among individuals.

How Prevalent is Neurodiversity?

Based on different studies, about 15-20% of the global population are neurodiverse.

Types of Neurodivergence

Neurodiversity encompasses a range of neurological and developmental conditions, and within these conditions every neurodivergent person has a unique cognitive profile (i.e., natural variations in the way they think and process information). Each of the conditions listed below may be described as a spectrum, and there will be a high degree of variation between people. Overlap between different diagnoses is also common. No two people are the same.

Autism: Autism is a condition that affects how a person thinks, feels, interacts with others and experiences their environment. Many autistic people can appear highly articulate and are able to work productively in many roles and sectors, but may struggle to understand the complexities of social interaction. Sensory inputs such as noise, heat, light and touch can be an issue for many people on the autism spectrum. Despite these challenges, autistic people often display high levels of concentration, hold detailed factual knowledge or technical skill and excel at repetitive tasks.
Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Symptoms of ADHD include difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behaviour. People with ADHD may experience problems with focus or be distracted during some tasks. On the other hand, people with ADHD may demonstrate a very high degree of focus on other tasks. People with ADHD may require different stimulation levels to a typical worker. Some workers with ADHD excel in work environments with high levels of stimulus.
Dyslexia: Dyslexia involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words. People with dyslexia often have good skills in other areas, such as creative thinking, leadership and problem solving.
Neurodiversity also includes people with dyspraxia (difficulty with movement and coordination), dyscalculia (a neurological condition that may affect mathematic functions), dysgraphia (neurological difficulties with the act of handwriting and potentially other fine motor skills), and Tourette syndrome (a condition of the nervous system that involves repetitive movements or unwanted sounds (‘tics)).

A Note on Terms

While “neurodivergent” is commonly used to refer to a person with a neurodiverse condition such as autism or ADHD, it is always important to check with individuals about how they choose to identify.

Some people will prefer to say, for example “I’m autistic” rather than “I have autism”. But is important to ask that person how they identify with the disorder.

Neurodiversity and Employment

Despite an increasing focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, the neurodivergent group is often overlooked in the diversity conversation.

The capabilities of neurodivergent people can vary considerably, yet even those with exceptional talents may find it hard to find employment. One explanation is that, while neurodiverse people may excel in important areas, they may be less inclined to interview well. For example, autistic people often don’t make good eye contact, are prone to conversational tangents, and can be overly honest about their weaknesses - all of which may not rate well with an interviewer. In fact, Australian statistics put the unemployment rate for people with autism at 34% (ABS, 2018). That is more than three times the rate for people with disability (10.3%) and almost eight times the rate of people without disability (4.6%).

Organisations that make an extra effort to recruit, retain and nurture neurodivergent workers can not only help to meet current labor shortages, but also gain a competitive advantage from increased diversity in skills, ways of thinking, approaches to problem solving, innovation and creativity. Workplaces that overlook the value of neurodivergent job candidates miss out on an increased opportunity for diversity of thought and talent within their workplace.

How to Make Your Workplace More Neurodiverse Inclusive

Whilst neurodiverse people often have an extraordinary capacity for attention to detail and nuance, and a great tenacity with certain tasks and within a certain range of fields, they can also face some struggles that neurotypical people (i.e., people who are not neurodivergent) don’t. These can include sensory hypersensitivity (which means busy and loud environments can be distressing), and a need for structure and routine.

Different employees (whether neurodivergent or neurotypical) may have different working styles: some may need clear, multistep instructions once; some may need regular reiterations; others may be comfortable with broad asks and can break them into multistep activities themselves. Managers should find out how each employee works best, how they best understand assignments, and adapt their style accordingly.

Below are a list of the most frequently employed workplace adjustments for neurodiverse people. It is important to remember that each employee (whether neurodiverse or neurotypical) is an individual human with individual needs. It is important to check in with individual employees regarding what workplace adjustments may help to maximise their strengths and minimise their struggles.

Adjustment Type	Example Activity
Work Environment flexibility	Reducing sensory distractions by allowing flexible hours; use of private meeting rooms; noise-cancelling headphones; redesign of shared working space.
Schedule flexibility	Avoiding rush hour travel to prevent sensory overwhelm; remote working to avoid sensory overwhelm, improve concentration and reduce social communication demands.
Supervisor or co-worker support	Additional feedback time with supervisor; differences in instructions provided—more clarity or concreteness given.
Support from different stakeholders	Peer mentoring networks within the company; allowing support activities via employee assistance, mental health, or family support throughout the working day; allowing access to stakeholder groups and charities throughout the working day.
Executive functions coaching	Workplace coaching to focus on areas such as planning, prioritization, organizational skills using workplace coaching psychology.
Training	Adjustments to training provision including sending materials in advance or providing additional induction training.
Work-station adjustments	Use of dual screens to improve concentration, whiteboards and other aide memoires; standing desks with wobble boards to improve access to movement through the day.
Assistive technology and tools	Speech-to-text, text-to-speech software to reduce demands on literacy, handwriting skills and improve concentration; mind mapping software to support shift from overview to detailed thinking; specialist spell checkers designed for dyslexia; planning and memory software.
Literacy coaching	This will be targeted coaching based on the literacy requirements of the role rather than teaching basic skills, such as speed reading, making notes whilst reading, summarizing or structuring and planning written work.