Imagine if I said to you that I’d like you to actively ignore a fifth of your workforce. In fact, what if I said to you I wanted you to go further than ignore them? And that I wanted you to make their lives difficult. Even to the point they’d have to quit their job.
I wonder how you’d react. Would you laugh at me? Be angry? You’d probably think I was bananas!
But the reality is that thousands of employers are doing exactly that, by not considering neurodiversity.
What is neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity is the term for the variety of human brains. It also refers to specific neurodevelopmental conditions. You’ve probably heard of most of these. They are:
• Dyslexia
• Dyspraxia (neurodevelopmental co-ordination disorder)
• Dyscalculia (number dyslexia)
• ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
• Autism
The majority of neurodivergent people, particularly those with ADHD and autism, also have mental health conditions.
Neurodivergent people are no more or less intelligent than anyone else. However, we have specific strengths and talents due to our conditions, and we also have challenges which stem from trying to live in a world that wasn’t designed for us.
What we need at work
While we’re often categorised as having “special needs” or “additional needs”, the truth is that neurodivergent people are no more difficult to include than other employees – once you understand us.
For example, dyslexics have difficulty with written words – whether that’s reading or writing. So consider using videos, voicenotes, or having a colleague proofread work. Using charts, diagrams and images can help both dyslexics and dyscalculics to process information.
Allowing flexible and/or hybrid working can help those with ADHD and autism and of course, those with both. Both ADHD and autism are correlated with poor sleep, so working during hours where we’re most alert, creative and productive allows us to work better. At the same time, it can improve overall wellbeing.
Paying attention to the environment can help all neurodivergents in different ways. Rounded corners, wide passageways and glass doors are useful for dyspraxics, who often have difficulty in knowing where their body is in relation to everything around them. Having a variety of spaces allows neurodivergents to choose a place where they can work effectively on any given day – whether that’s the buzz of an open-plan office, the quiet of a meeting room, or an informal breakout area which they might find perfect for sharing ideas.
How can being inclusive can benefit your workplace?
Did you notice anything about the above suggestions? All of those accommodations are features which could benefit a neurotypical person too. And that’s the biggest benefit of being inclusive – it’s not just for neurodivergents, it’s for everyone. After all, inclusion isn’t true inclusion unless we consider everybody.
Another way being inclusive is beneficial is that it enables you to attract the talent you’re looking for when recruiting. We often hear employers complain that it’s hard to find good people and often these same employers are unintentionally excluding people from the hiring process, right from the beginning. Making the process inclusive – from the ad to the interview – doesn’t just mean you’ll attract talented neurodivergents. Inclusive recruiting has been shown to reduce other hiring biases too, so you’ll attract a wide range of people from other marginalised groups too.
Once you’ve recruited neurodivergent people into your workplace, you’ll be able to support and empower them to help them thrive, and that’s when you’ll really feel the benefits. Neurodivergent people are 30% more productive than their peers (according to Harvard Business Review), and JP Morgan Chase found autistic workers to be 90% to 140% more productive than their non-autistic colleagues.
The impact on your bottom line isn’t just from increased productivity. Deloitte found that diverse workplaces are 83% more innovative than their competitors. The same study found that those workplaces were more responsiveness to customer needs and team collaboration was improved.
Retention is another benefit of inclusion. After all, people don’t want to leave a workplace where they feel safe, supported and valued. EY puts the retention rate of inclusive organisations at 97% and Neurodiversity in the Workplace found it even higher, at 98% for their autism employment programmes. Given the costs (both in time and money) of recruitment, retention rates like these are enviable.
And what’s the impact on your bottom line? With all this productivity, innovation, retention and other benefits? Accenture found that profit margins at inclusive workplaces are 30% greater than those of their non-inclusive competitors, and they also generate double the net income of those companies who haven’t got diversity and inclusion on their radar.
Final Thoughts
The jury’s in – being inclusive isn’t just a “nice to have” – it’s essential for a thriving business. And the impact is huge. Once you have created a culture of inclusion, everyone in your workplace benefits – not just your neurodivergent staff, everyone. And the effects are felt far beyond your own organisation. Other companies will eventually catch up once they see the positive impact of inclusion and implement their own inclusive measures, enabling more neurodivergent people to thrive at work.
The best thing about creating a neuro-inclusive workplace is that we become part of the solution. Neurodivergent people have long been labelled as “problematic”, inaccurately stereotyped as stupid, lazy or weird. Working towards inclusion at work goes a long way to breaking down these stereotypes and creating a world where neurodivergent people don’t have to just survive, but can thrive.
Rachel Morgan-Trimmer is the founder of innovative neurodiversity consultancy Firebird, delivering bespoke training on how to be inclusive to people with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. Rachel, who is ADHD and autistic, combines professional and lived experience.
Rachel is also a bestselling author of ‘How to Be Autistic’ and an international keynote speaker, and a TEDx speaker - ‘Inclusion is Selfish’. She also has a booklet ‘How to Treat Autistic People’, and has produced an award winning poster around this. Rachel often shares her expertise in the press, and has been featured in various publications including Psychologies, People Management, HuffPost, Stylist and Raconteur.