Neurodiversity in the Workplace: What to Know

Diversity is a core pillar of many company’s mission statements. And yet, such efforts often ignore the importance of neurodiversity, which refers to the neurological differences among people. 

While neurodivergent individuals have valuable skills and perspectives to offer employers, they often face extra hurdles in the job market. Roughly 30 to 40 percent of neurodivergent adults are unemployed, including 85 percent of college-educated adults with autism. That may be due to the corporate world’s lack of awareness, ableist attitudes or ingrained practices that disproportionately impact neurodivergent individuals, who make up an estimated 15 to 20 percent of the population.

For these reasons, many neurodivergent employees don’t disclose their conditions. Unfortunately, that often means they don’t receive the support or accommodations they need. But by embracing neurological differences, companies can make neurodivergent employees feel like they belong and empower them to do their best work.

“We all know that there’s a percentage of the people that are sitting in that workforce that are neurodiverse,” Anthony Pacilio, vice president of neurodiversity employment program CAI Neurodiverse Solutions, told Built In. “How are you making them feel comfortable in that environment so they can be productive and be who they need to be at work?”

What Is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is the idea that all people think, learn and express themselves differently. The term was coined in the late 1990s to fight stigma against autism and other neurological conditions, arguing that these different ways of thinking should be embraced and not seen as disorders. 

Neurodiversity in the workplace rose to prominence in the 2010s when tech companies sought new talent to fill in-demand technology roles. 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.

Many of these programs revealed that, when given the proper support, neurodivergent workers are more productive than their neurotypical counterparts. JPMorgan Chase’s Autism at Work program reported that its neurodivergent employees are 90 to 140 percent more productive and made fewer errors. HP’s neurodiversity program found neurodivergent workers were 30 percent more productive than other workers. 

And while many people with autism have found a match in the tech world, many others have found success in other roles, including customer-facing roles that require social interaction.

“The depth and the breadth of neurodiversity in the workforce is massive,” Pacilio said. “We shouldn’t just go into one specific category.”

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Types of Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity includes a broad spectrum of neurological and developmental conditions, but generally refers to the following:

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A condition characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
• Autism spectrum disorder: A wide range of conditions characterized by communication challenges, repetitive behavior and restricted interests. 
• Dyslexia: A language-based disorder that makes it difficult to read.
• Dyspraxia: A neurodevelopmental condition that affects motor skills and coordination.
• Dyscalculia: A learning disorder that affects one’s ability to understand math.
• Social anxiety disorder: An anxiety disorder characterized by an intense or persistent fear of being watched or judged by others.
• Tourette’s syndrome: A disorder that causes one to make unwanted sounds and movements.

Why Is Neurodiversity Important in the Workplace?

Neurodiverse organizations empower all employees to do their best work, regardless of the way their brain works. 

“Your people are your most expensive asset, and the one tool they all bring to work every day is their brain,” Ed Thompson, founder and CEO at neurodiversity training company Uptimize, told Built In. “If those people are not equipped to work productively with all of the other brains in their team, and they’re not allowed to work in the way that their brain requires, then that team’s performance is going to fall substantially under par.”

Recognizing neurodiversity is also necessary for employers that want to remain relevant in today’s workforce. Younger workers are advocating for neurodiversity, and more companies are listening to their desires for neuro-inclusiveness.

“We’re at a sort of societal inflection point where we’ve had so many more young people diagnosed, who have probably had better support and education,” Thompson said. “Now, younger people are coming to work saying, ‘This is who I am. Here’s how I like to work. Are you going to support me or not?’”

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Benefits of Neurodiversity in the Workplace

Supporting neurodiversity is not only the right thing to do, it also comes with several tangible business benefits, such as:

Creative Problem Solving

When organizations design their workforces to enable different ways of thinking, they will hear more perspectives, consider more angles to a problem and develop more creative solutions. ADHD has been linked with creativity, for example, and people with dyslexia may have a knack for inventiveness.

Better Information Processing

Some (but not all) people on the autism spectrum may be better at processing information, recognizing patterns, solving problems and paying attention to details — a set of abilities that give them a particularly valuable perspective in the workplace. 

Higher Levels of Engagement

Becoming a welcoming place for neurodivergent individuals also strengthens an organization’s culture. When employees see that an organization is empathetic, flexible and open to finding better ways of working, they will have a sense of pride in the organization and feel a deeper sense of engagement in their work.

Wider Talent Pool

Despite recent efforts to support neurodiversity, there’s still a large untapped talent pool of neurodivergent individuals. Companies that make an effort to know these candidates through revamped hiring processes could land a talented employee who has been overlooked by other organizations. Neurodivergent employees tend to be incredibly loyal, as well, with neurodiversity employment programs boasting retention rates of 90 percent or higher.

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How to Create an Environment for Neurodiverse Employees

To create a workplace that is welcoming and supportive of neurodivergent employees, company leaders and employees should be educated about neurodiversity and incorporate neuro-inclusive practices through every step of the employee experience. Here are some ways to get started:

Rethink Hiring Practices

When writing job descriptions, focus on the skills required of the job and avoid getting bogged down by vague language. And during job interviews, be aware that some neurodivergent applicants may avoid eye contact, fidget or speak in a flat tone. That doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in the job, so don’t let it negatively influence your opinion of job candidates.

Prioritize Psychological Safety

Neurodivergent workers may want to disclose their condition to their employer, since it could provide transparency, support and legal protections. But doing so might feel risky to them, for fear it could lead to bullying or discrimination. That’s why it’s important for managers to create a sense of psychological safety.

“If you’re not a safe person, they’re not going to disclose to you — and you’re not going to have the best relationships with your team,” said Ludmila Praslova, an organizational psychology professor at Vanguard University of Southern California.

Ask for Feedback

To support neurodivergent employees, ask them how they work best — and try to accommodate those needs. Be empathetic, communicative and be willing to work with them to find the best conditions for their job.

“You don’t have to be a therapist for everyone,” Praslova said. “But you do have to understand that not everyone is like you, not everyone works like you and not everyone needs the same thing.”

Create an Employee Resource Group

Neurodivergent employees may benefit from their own employee resource group (ERG), which is a group of employees with a common identity who voluntarily come together to share their experiences, offer mentorship and talk about any obstacles they face in doing their jobs. These groups can share ideas with company leaders about ways to make the company more inclusive to neurodivergent employees.

Spread Awareness

Education and awareness isn’t only for HR teams and managers. 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.

Be Direct In Communications

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. In other words, don’t expect neurodivergent employees to read your mind.

“That doesn’t work with most people, but it really doesn’t work with neurodivergent people,” Praslova said. “They just need to be a little bit more specific about some things.”

Get Third-Party Help

Your company may want to seek out expertise from an organization like Uptimize, which helps organizations become neuro-inclusive, or CAI Neurodiverse Solutions, which provides neurodivergent employees and support staff to companies on a contract basis.

Make Accommodations

Consider how the physical office environment might affect neurodivergent employees, who might require noise-canceling headphones, a hat to block bright lights or a desk that is removed from heavy foot traffic.

Remote work environments may be a better alternative for some workers, depending on the level of support they need. This too requires extra consideration; some workers may be nervous about appearing on video and ask for permission to have their camera off during virtual meetings.

It’s also important to note that neurodivergent employees with the same condition may need different accommodations. A sensory-seeking person with autism may work well with background music, for example, while a sensory-avoidant person with autism may feel overstimulated by music. 

Many of these accommodations — like more attentive managers and more focused job descriptions — benefit employees of all abilities. That’s why Praslova’s book The Canary Code: A Guide to Neurodiversity, Dignity, and Intersectional Belonging at Work likens neurodivergent employees to canaries in a coal mine, as they are often the first to detect a problem that will eventually affect everyone else in the organization. 

“If you create environments that work for people who are more sensitive to environments, you’re going to end up with healthier workplaces for everyone,” Praslova said. “Think about it proactively and create policies, procedures and office spaces that are inclusive by design.”

Eventually, these more inclusive practices will feel less forced and will become an ingrained way of thinking and working.

“If we do this right — if we include everyone and we educate and train — it should be built into the DNA of how organizations recruit and retain talent, and how managers manage,” Pacilio said. “It will not be a ‘thing,’ per se, it will just be the way that people go about daily business and make sure that everybody is supported and included.”

Frequently Asked Questions