Neurodiversity in the Workplace NITW Empowering Neuroinclusive Workplaces
When organizations build a culture that embraces curiosity, they begin asking better questions about support, performance, and leadership. When leaders ask questions instead of making assumptions, they open the door to understanding how to bring out the best in each person. Rather than using CliftonStrengths to generalize about populations, organizations and individuals should focus on how strengths-based development applies to each person’s unique talents. This includes supporting the work approaches of both neurodiverse (also referred to as neurodivergent)1 and neurotypical employees, and when organizations do this, they can achieve performance gains leaders may not have thought possible. When organizations equip managers and teams with the right tools, previously wasted human capacity becomes a source of collaboration, innovation, and growth.
As such, many companies are now looking to broaden their talent pools. What’s more, unemployment runs as high as 80 percent for neurodivergent people. By creating a supportive workplace, you’ll help to reduce the stress and stigma that neurodivergent people may experience. Unfortunately, most neurodivergent people do end up masking to a certain extent. This is a common coping mechanism known as « masking. » Over time, however, masking can lead to burnout, stress, and depression. Many neurodivergent people change their behavior or try to hide their differences to « fit in » and accommodate others around them.
- Accessibility is the route to human potential not a barrier in the way.
- Leaders often say they support inclusion, but they sometimes overlook what inclusion really involves.
- Recognizing that some people on the autism spectrum are uniquely talented at these jobs, companies like SAP, Hewlett Packard and Microsoft started neurodiversity hiring programs to tap into this underutilized talent pool.
- The APS aims to ensure that information published is current and accurate at the time of publication.
- One neurodivergent leader we interviewed said, “When people are discussing something, I can almost see it in my head; I reorganize it and then explain it in simple terms.”8 For some neurodivergent individuals, the process may be more abstract (vs. linear); for others, it may be a matter of reordering and changing the sequence, e.g., putting step 4 before step 2.
Also, it’s important to remember that resumes don’t tell the full story. Engage with leadership so that they, in turn, can have conversations with their teams about what it means to have a neurodiverse workforce. You’ll need to look at your hiring, onboarding, and other people management practices to see how they may affect neurodiverse employees.
- However, neurodivergent people can often experience mental ill health.
- Organizations that do not actively include and support neurodivergent individuals risk missing out on exceptional talents and undermining employees’ ability to work to their full potential.
- A third of voluntary turnover is linked to issues with managers or teams – something that will likely bite employers significantly when the labor market gains greater liquidity.
- Businesses should also involve neurodivergent individuals in policy and decision-making processes to ensure that policies and decisions are truly inclusive and effective.
- Encouraging open dialogue ensures that neurodivergent employees feel comfortable seeking support without fear of stigma, and partnering with external organizations can further enhance efforts to create talent pipelines and reduce hiring barriers.
- In EY’s case, not only have they been able to find great talent, but they’ve also created better managers who look at individual needs.
What Should Leaders Do To Support Neurodiversity In The Workplace?
“That doesn’t work with most people, but it really doesn’t work with neurodivergent people,” Praslova said. Neurodivergent employees may not always be able to “read between the lines” or pick up on nonverbal cues, Praslova said, so managers should be explicit about their priorities and what is expected from them. Organizations should consider offering neurodiversity training to all employees, and managers should educate employees about any working styles or accommodations that pertain to neurodivergent team members. “But you do have to understand that not everyone is like you, not everyone works like you and not everyone needs the same thing.”
Manage progression and performance to bolster confidence
As more companies recognize the value of neurodiversity, the workplace of the future will likely look very different from today. By incorporating these best practices, you can create a workplace that not only supports neurodiverse employees but also thrives on the unique perspectives and strengths they bring to the table. Include role-playing exercises and scenario-based learning in your training sessions to better prepare managers and staff for real-life interactions.
The practical employer-focused roadmaps provided Dr Praslova and Lyric Rivera in their books, The Canary Code and Workplace Neurodiversity Rising spell this out. The adaptations that neurodivergent people need will improve work for all. The superpower narrative suggested that neurodivergent people were magical work fairies who could do difficult tasks faster than anyone else. There was a time when no one knew the word neurodiversity, when it was https://shu-i.info/if-you-read-one-article-about-cvs-read-this-one only explored as a concept in online forums. It is possible to slow walk inclusion – some awareness training, a company event, an employee resource group with no budget or influence. Unless we start naming and exploring the specific difficulties employers have in implementing neuroinclusive practices we will default to the status quo of the neuronormative workplace.
It is creating the space to begin developing understanding, confidence and practical approaches that can grow over time. Our Understanding neurodiversity in the workplace course is designed for employers, managers, HR professionals and workplace teams who want to strengthen their understanding of neurodivergence in professional settings. As organisations develop their understanding further, many begin focusing on how neurodiversity relates specifically to workplace practice and employee experience.
Promote education and awareness
Many managers have found that making simple changes to support neurodivergent employees has helped them grow into better managers of all employees.” When in doubt, Dr Moeller suggested asking the person who is disclosing a neurodivergent condition if they’re happy to share more information with you. If you ensure your organisation is taking steps to create a neuroinclusive culture, you demonstrate that your company genuinely values diversity and increase people’s willingness to discuss neurodivergence.” Due to a lack of inclusion and support, employment turnover rates for neurodivergent people are historically higher than for neurotypical people. “It’s important to remember that neurodivergent employees may not have the same level of self-confidence or ability to talk up their own performance as their neurotypical colleagues,” Dr Moeller said.
A flexible work schedule can allow people to take time off for therapy appointments and self-care. As is the case for many workers, flexibility can be especially important for neurodivergent individuals. The organization may need to consciously create an ecosystem of allies to help bridge this gap. In addition to mentors, work buddies and trusted peers who make the effort to understand the individual and provide long-term commitment can help neurodivergent professionals feel more empowered. I was very much into music, arts, and building the New York City skyline with construction paper. Managers should find out how each professional works best, how they best understand assignments, and adapt their style accordingly.
Dyspraxia
Their work may relate to the preparation, recruitment, persistence, advancement, and management of neurodivergent individuals in the workplace. The Neurodiversity at Work Research Conference brings together leading scholars, neurodivergent leaders, and leading neurodiversity employers and providers concerned with advancing neurodiversity employment research. Her latest report on employee retention strategies draws on the experience of 1.3 million employees to give leaders strategic guidance on retaining their top people. EY is open-sourcing its work, along with other companies pursuing neurodiversity, through the Autism at Work Roundtable.
Understanding Neurodiversity’s Impact on the Workplace
“If an individual has an issue staying still for more than 45 minutes at a time… they should go for a walk and come back. “Interpersonal difficulties are no barriers to a high-performing team,” said Michael. Note that this training isn’t just for neurodiverse employees, but for all employees and especially managers, who need to be educated about what it’s like to be on the spectrum, and how to best work together.
However, many neurodivergent individuals object to their characteristics being framed as disabilities or impairments (Russo et al., 2023). It has also been described in terms of large variation in cognitive abilities – such as verbal skills, working memory and processing https://bilsplit.com/what-is-strategic-human-resource-management.html speed—sometimes referred to as a ‘spiky’ profile (Doyle, 2020). Create an employee experience that improves individual, team and business performance.
