Neurodiversity and Inclusion: 5 Ways to Change the Workplace
As the shift in attention towards DEI has changed over
the last few years, neurodiversity has become a more common, but still underrecognized, part of DEI programming. Neurodiversity is used to describe the diversity in the ways our brains function. Through neurodiversity, these differences that exist between person-to-person are seen as healthy and typical of
the global population.
At work, neurodiversity is key to innovation, creative solutions, problem-solving and countless other professional skills. However, workplaces that lack flexibility and accommodations can create barriers for the success of neurodivergent employees. Here are five changes that leaders can make to create spaces with neurodiversity inclusion in mind.
Evaluate your workplace design and culture
Start by reviewing the technology and resources you already have available. Does your organization have quiet/low-stimulation areas where people can focus? Are tools like noise-canceling headphones, dark-mode and filters for screen-viewing, areas with natural lighting, calendar alerts/planning technology, tidy desk/working areas, and assistive reading software available? These are just a few possible considerations to make for neurodiversity. When designing a workspace, think about a variety of social and working preferences.
You can also evaluate your own day-to-day practices as a leader. For instance, do you rely heavily on just audio or just visuals in your presentations and materials? Do you give your employees breaks in between long meetings? Do you have a standard form of communication (e.g. verbal) with each employee? Do your methods match your working preferences only or do they consider your employees’ preferences as well? If you see an employee is falling behind, what do you offer to support them?
Workplace culture is also affected by stigma towards neurodivergent conditions. This may show up in different ways, such as through hiring biases, where managers tend to prioritize neurotypical candidates. In 2019, it was estimated that 85% of college graduates with autism in the U.S. were unemployed. This is part of a broader change in workplace culture that needs to take place, where neurodivergent thinking is valued and given the resources it needs to thrive. See how we can help with this.
Change hiring policies and practices that are designed with only neurotypical employees in mind
Hiring practices are a common barrier in the recruitment of neurodivergent candidates. There can be a lot of different ways in which policies can prioritize neurotypical candidates. For instance:
Emphasizing a need for every candidate to be outgoing/social e.g. “have great communication skills”, even if the role may not necessarily require it.
Requiring social norms like eye contact to be met.
Holding interviews and assessments in environments that are noisy or full of distractions.
Often using non-verbal, nuanced cues when communicating and expecting to always be understood. In general, regardless of whether a candidate is neurodivergent or neurotypical, it’s good to be specific, concise and clear. This applies to the job description too!
Challenge yourself and members of your hiring team to watch out for these inclinations and biases when evaluating candidates. Give candidates ample opportunity to self-disclose that they are neurodivergent during the recruitment process (but avoid directly asking them to force a response). Keep in mind that for them to feel comfortable with disclosing a condition, your organization needs to have proven systems and resources in place to support new and existing neurodivergent employees.
Give new hires and current employees the option to disclose their learning styles, schedule, communication and work environment preferences
To drive neurodiversity inclusion, you need to consider accommodation that is specific to each person. With new hires - and current employees if you’re just starting to implement this process, be sure to give them opportunities to disclose their preferences. Here are a few important areas to ask about:
Schedule - Which part of the day are their most high-performing hours?
Work environment - Some neurodivergent employees may be sensitive to environments with a lot of external stimuli. Let employees tell you about what kinds of environments they prefer to work in. This can also help determine desk location, and make a big difference in their productivity and morale.
Social preferences - Knowing if an employee is an introvert or an extrovert can help to strengthen mutual understanding. For instance, it may help you understand why a colleague speaks up less in Zoom calls, and how they prefer to participate in meetings or events.
Learning styles - We all like to learn in different ways. Every training session or onboarding experience is not going to be tailored to match each employee. But it’s still helpful to know if there are any changes you can make so that your team can learn more efficiently. For example, if a team member discloses that it is difficult for them to keep up with audio-heavy presentations, you might consider having automated captioning enabled during video calls or recording any live training sessions so that they can review the material. In turn, others that have the same need but haven’t vocalized it, may benefit as well.
Task instruction - How they prefer to receive information and context about tasks e.g. verbal, written, by email.
Make it easy for employees to approach you with their accommodation needs
Accommodation needs may change over time. Additionally, employees may become more comfortable with sharing their needs with you over time. That’s why it’s important to remain approachable as a leader. To make it easy for employees to approach you with their accommodation needs, you can enable a system where they can book time with you individually to discuss accommodations and preferences.
If you’re a neurodivergent leader yourself, you might also choose to self-identify as neurodivergent if you feel comfortable doing so. This could help others come forward and create a more open and accepting culture that values neurodiversity. The work being done by neurodivergent leaders, such as Richard Branson who has dyslexia, are an example of some of what is being done to create this culture change.
Start a work program, initiative or ERG for neurodivergent employees
To target the broader workplace culture at your organization, starting an employee resource group or work program to promote neurodivergent skills and support employees is a great idea. Also consider including opportunities for mentorship to help employees embrace their talents.
Here are some of our resources for starting and running ERGs:
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Neurodivergent employees are brilliant assets to every organization. By making these changes to your workplace design, practices and culture, you can set them up for success, and ensure that they have the tools they need to maximize their potential.
Want to build inclusion into the fabric of your company culture? Crescendo’s DEI Learning Suite integrates micro lessons into the flow of work to help cultivate excellence in your workforce. See it in action today.
