Neurodiversity in the Workplace
Organizations are beginning to place greater emphasis on hiring and supporting neurodivergent employees. The terms neurodivergence and neurodiversity describe differences in cognition between individuals; they are often used to refer to people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, and other cognitive differences (Antony et. al., 2024). These terms are not diagnostic or scientific terms; they are social terms used to describe natural deviations from what our society expects “normal” cognitive functioning to look like.
Although many conditions fall under the umbrella of neurodiversity, much of the existing research on neurodiversity in the workplace focuses on the experiences of people with autism. Autism is a developmental disorder impacting a wide range of traits and behaviors, including social functioning and sensory processing issues (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). This focus on autism may be the case in part due to the difficulty people with autism have getting and maintaining employment. Even when compared to other people with disabilities without an autism diagnosis, people with autism have much lower rates of employment (Ezerins et al., 2024). Despite these challenges, people with autism often bring unique strengths such as attention to detail and high reliability to the workplace (Whelply & Woznyj, 2023).
Increased hiring of neurodivergent people is beneficial to the well-being of the companies hiring them in addition to these individuals themselves (Pryke-Hobbes et. al., 2023; Whelply & Woznyj, 2023). Organizations that hire more neurodivergent employees have seen boosts in productivity, innovation, and employee engagement (Antony et. al., 2024).
However, these improvements are much less likely to occur when neurodivergent employees are not properly accommodated in the workplace. Neurodivergent people who lack necessary support at work may see decreases in productivity and job satisfaction (Antony et. al., 2024). People with autism report experiencing a lack of support and accommodation in their workplaces (Petty et al., 2023; Penton et al., 2023). When workplaces lack the necessary accommodations for employees with autism, people both with and without autism as well as their places of employment suffer (Petty et al., 2023).
Furthermore, people with autism cite a lack of understanding as a common barrier to accessing support and succeeding at work (Petty et al., 2023). “Neurotypical” coworkers and supervisors often have too little knowledge of autism, making communication more challenging and inadvertently placing the entire burden of bridging this gap onto employees with autism (Ezerins et al., 2024). In organizations with limited awareness of conditions like autism and ADHD, stigma surrounding these conditions can harm employee well-being and productivity (Pryke-Hobbes et. al., 2023). Workplace training on autism awareness and other issues of neurodivergence could alleviate some of these problems, greatly benefiting neurodivergent employees and their organizations (Petty et al., 2023; Pryke-Hobbes et al., 2023).
In addition to introducing education on neurodiversity, organizations should prioritize the implementation of accommodations and support for their neurodivergent employees. It is important to keep in mind that helpful accommodations may not look the same between different neurodivergent employees; neurodiversity is a broad label that covers a variety of cognitive differences. Even among people with the same condition, such as people with autism, support needs will differ. Accommodations made for employees with autism, as well as neurodivergent employees in general, should be made on a person-by-person basis (Petty et al., 2023). These accommodations could include altered lighting in the workplace, flexible work hours, or changes in supervisory styles to better suit the needs of people with autism (Petty et. al., 2023; Whelply & Woznyj, 2023). Also important when considering workplace accommodations is the need for balance in treating neurodivergent people as equals with their neurotypical peers while acknowledging that neurodivergent people will have different needs in the workplace (Whelply & Woznyj, 2023)
If you are interested in learning more about autism assessments, ADHD assessments, or recommendations for neurodivergent people in the workplace, contact our office at info@williamspsychological.org for more information.
-Emma Wadhams, Student Intern at Williams Psychological Services, 2024-25
References:
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Neurodevelopmental disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).
Antony, S., Ramnath, R., & Ellikkal, A. (2024). Empowering neuro-diversity: A neuroaffirmative approach to workplace coaching. International Coaching Psychology Review, 19(1), 49–59.
Ezerins, M. E., Simon, L. S., Vogus, T. J., Gabriel, A. S., Calderwood, C., & Rosen, C. C. (2024). Autism and employment: A review of the “new frontier” of diversity research. Journal of Management, 50(3), 1102–1144. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063231193362
Penton, T., Bowling, N., Vafeiadou, A., Hammond, C., Bird, G., & Banissy, M. J. (2023). Attitudes to interpersonal touch in the workplace in autistic and non-autistic groups. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 53(12), 4731–4743. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05710-z
Petty, S., Tunstall, L., Richardson, H., & Eccles, N. (2023). Workplace adjustments for autistic employees: What is “reasonable”? Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 53(1), 236–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05413-x
Pryke-Hobbes, A., Davies, J., Heasman, B., Livesey, A., Walker, A., Pellicano, E., & Remington, A. (2023). The workplace masking experiences of autistic, non-autistic neurodivergent and neurotypical adults in the UK. PLoS ONE, 18(9), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290001
Whelpley, C. E., & Woznyj, H. M. (2023). Balancing the teeter totter: A dialectical view of managing neurodiverse employees. Human Performance, 36(4), 133–154.