When workplace inclusion fails neurodivergent people
Corporate neurodiversity programs promise inclusion but still fail most neurodivergent workers. Why the 'superpowers' approach isn't working.
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Corporate neurodiversity programs promise inclusion but still fail most neurodivergent workers. Why the 'superpowers' approach isn't working.
The Neurodiversity At Work movement strives for better inclusion of neurodivergent people in workplaces and from employers, but is there legitimate progress happening?
"Neurodiversity at Work" is certainly something that there is a higher level of awareness of in the UK, with more and more employers searching for neurodivergent talent and discussions across platforms like LinkedIn exponentially increasing all the time. But, it has to be asked: are these changes truly empowering neurodivergent individuals?
Firstly, it must be noted that neurodivergence is not only autism and ADHD: it includes anything that diverges from neuronormativity including but certainly not limited to dyspraxia, traumatic brain injuries, epilepsy, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. When a neurodiversity-based movement lacks discussion of the wider community, many are left behind and will lack the same supports that maybe increasing for others.
Neurodiversity is not the same as neurodivergent - it refers to the diversity of human minds, meaning it also includes neurotypical individuals. It is important to note that ‘neurotypical’ refers not to one single ‘normal brain’, but instead to people whose functioning aligns to the norms and standards that society is built under, including workplaces. When considering ‘neurodiversity at work’, we should be looking at how we adapt for and support different people across companies, and thinking about how neuronormativity may impact every aspect of a workplace.
Traits like hearing voices, psychosis, hallucinations, seizures, meltdowns, or sleep differences (as examples) are not often featured in discussions about neurodiversity in the workplace. To make real progress on this topic, it has to go beyond ‘positive’ aspects of neurodivergence, and needs to truly include every way neurodivergence can look.
Advocacy around employment often focuses on justifying why neurodivergent people are particularly employable and productive, discussing particular strengths we may have that will benefit a workplace.
An issue with this is that there becomes very little space across these ideas for neurodivergent people who will, in fact, never work, or for those who do not have particular strengths that they can contribute to a workplace over and above their neurotypical peers. Neurodivergent people should not have to be exceptional in order to experience equivalent treatment.
For many, attempting to thrive or even survive at work means significant levels of masking their neurodivergence which can cause burnout and shows us the lack of true progress: if we cannot be ourselves, what advancement has there been?
Some employers have introduced schemes for neurodivergent employees (though these are often exclusively for autism). This can be seen as a positive insofar as it being a progressive attitude around employing neurodivergent people, but it also causes other questions and issues.These schemes often focus directly on only those who are particularly talented, and do not necessarily decrease the issues many face during both recruitment and their time in the role, such as a lack of adjustments or interviews still focusing on eye contact and body language.
There are more and more articles in the media discussing this topic, but most focus only on ‘competitive advantages’ as reasoning for why neurodivergent people should be employed, packaging neurodivergence as for financial gain and not considering how we need to be understood or accommodated
Neurodivergence is a disability: when we ignore the ways it can be disabling, we make accessibility harder for everyone to achieve.
When discussing neurodivergence in the workplace, reasonable adjustments and accommodations can become secondary. Another issue with focusing on strengths is that many ‘strengths’ can simultaneously cause difficulties - for example, hyperfocus may be a strength if you can make it about work, but it often leads us to spending hours focused on something random or causes us to forget to eat and drink.
For lots of neurodivergent people like me, freelancing or self-employment has become one of the only ways to cope with working as it means we can put in our own adjustments and accommodate for ourselves, moving us away from companies. Working with other neurodivergent people tends to be the most accessible and gratifying work. However, freelancing brings it’s own problems such as lacking protections and holiday or sick pay, that we are more likely to need.
There is a question about whether there has been real progress when it comes to the overall picture of neurodivergence int he workplace. As an example, the 2021 Census (1) found that autistic people are one of the groups experiencing the highest level of unemployment, at a rate of 21.7% being in employment, and with autistic people being less likely to be in high-up and managerial positions. Many autistic people continue to find that workplaces are not willing to adjust their recruitment practices, such as using testing that does not allow different thinking, or they receive no adjustment or support once in the role that means they burnout or have to leave their role. This is particularly true for multiply marginalised individuals who are facing multiple kinds of discrimination (directly or indirectly) in their workplace.
These statistics show the ideas and notions that are still pervasive around whether autistic people are employable. Whilst statistics like this do not account for those who are undiagnosed, those individuals are possibly also facing their own marginalisation in struggling to find or keep jobs, or get needed accommodations without a diagnosis.
There has been progress around neurodiversity in the workplace and supporting neurodivergent people, but the way this looks is fairly limited. Those who are multiply marginalised or experience traits which do not directly contribute to productivity are less likely to see any progress during their personal exposure with employment.
To see real progress, there has to be significant change to how employers perceive neurodivergent people and for this to move away from just autism and ADHD, and society must shift away from neuronormativity.
There also must be a change to the belief that neurodivergent people must be overly productive or gifted compared to their peers in order to be employed, as well as seeing accommodating neurodivergent people as beneficial, rather than an inconvenience.
I don’t want a movement that only cares about neurodiversity in the workplace when it is hyper-productive. Neurodiversity at work should not be about making neurodivergent people into a commodity, it should be about allowing us to be on an equal playing field to our peers.
Just as a start: let’s advocate for deconstructing recruitment processes away from neuronormativity and colonialism, taking apart ableist practices like the rigid 9-to-5, and allowing neurodivergent people to work in the ways that truly work for them without judgement.
(1) Office for National Statistics (2021). "Outcomes for disabled people in the UK: 2020." Published 18 February 2021.
Corporate neurodiversity programs promise inclusion but still fail most neurodivergent workers. Why the 'superpowers' approach isn't working.
The Neurodiversity At Work movement strives for better inclusion of neurodivergent people in workplaces and from employers, but is there legitimate progress happening?
"Neurodiversity at Work" is certainly something that there is a higher level of awareness of in the UK, with more and more employers searching for neurodivergent talent and discussions across platforms like LinkedIn exponentially increasing all the time. But, it has to be asked: are these changes truly empowering neurodivergent individuals?
Firstly, it must be noted that neurodivergence is not only autism and ADHD: it includes anything that diverges from neuronormativity including but certainly not limited to dyspraxia, traumatic brain injuries, epilepsy, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. When a neurodiversity-based movement lacks discussion of the wider community, many are left behind and will lack the same supports that maybe increasing for others.
Neurodiversity is not the same as neurodivergent - it refers to the diversity of human minds, meaning it also includes neurotypical individuals. It is important to note that ‘neurotypical’ refers not to one single ‘normal brain’, but instead to people whose functioning aligns to the norms and standards that society is built under, including workplaces. When considering ‘neurodiversity at work’, we should be looking at how we adapt for and support different people across companies, and thinking about how neuronormativity may impact every aspect of a workplace.
Traits like hearing voices, psychosis, hallucinations, seizures, meltdowns, or sleep differences (as examples) are not often featured in discussions about neurodiversity in the workplace. To make real progress on this topic, it has to go beyond ‘positive’ aspects of neurodivergence, and needs to truly include every way neurodivergence can look.
Advocacy around employment often focuses on justifying why neurodivergent people are particularly employable and productive, discussing particular strengths we may have that will benefit a workplace.
An issue with this is that there becomes very little space across these ideas for neurodivergent people who will, in fact, never work, or for those who do not have particular strengths that they can contribute to a workplace over and above their neurotypical peers. Neurodivergent people should not have to be exceptional in order to experience equivalent treatment.
For many, attempting to thrive or even survive at work means significant levels of masking their neurodivergence which can cause burnout and shows us the lack of true progress: if we cannot be ourselves, what advancement has there been?
Some employers have introduced schemes for neurodivergent employees (though these are often exclusively for autism). This can be seen as a positive insofar as it being a progressive attitude around employing neurodivergent people, but it also causes other questions and issues.These schemes often focus directly on only those who are particularly talented, and do not necessarily decrease the issues many face during both recruitment and their time in the role, such as a lack of adjustments or interviews still focusing on eye contact and body language.
There are more and more articles in the media discussing this topic, but most focus only on ‘competitive advantages’ as reasoning for why neurodivergent people should be employed, packaging neurodivergence as for financial gain and not considering how we need to be understood or accommodated
Neurodivergence is a disability: when we ignore the ways it can be disabling, we make accessibility harder for everyone to achieve.
When discussing neurodivergence in the workplace, reasonable adjustments and accommodations can become secondary. Another issue with focusing on strengths is that many ‘strengths’ can simultaneously cause difficulties - for example, hyperfocus may be a strength if you can make it about work, but it often leads us to spending hours focused on something random or causes us to forget to eat and drink.
For lots of neurodivergent people like me, freelancing or self-employment has become one of the only ways to cope with working as it means we can put in our own adjustments and accommodate for ourselves, moving us away from companies. Working with other neurodivergent people tends to be the most accessible and gratifying work. However, freelancing brings it’s own problems such as lacking protections and holiday or sick pay, that we are more likely to need.
There is a question about whether there has been real progress when it comes to the overall picture of neurodivergence int he workplace. As an example, the 2021 Census (1) found that autistic people are one of the groups experiencing the highest level of unemployment, at a rate of 21.7% being in employment, and with autistic people being less likely to be in high-up and managerial positions. Many autistic people continue to find that workplaces are not willing to adjust their recruitment practices, such as using testing that does not allow different thinking, or they receive no adjustment or support once in the role that means they burnout or have to leave their role. This is particularly true for multiply marginalised individuals who are facing multiple kinds of discrimination (directly or indirectly) in their workplace.
These statistics show the ideas and notions that are still pervasive around whether autistic people are employable. Whilst statistics like this do not account for those who are undiagnosed, those individuals are possibly also facing their own marginalisation in struggling to find or keep jobs, or get needed accommodations without a diagnosis.
There has been progress around neurodiversity in the workplace and supporting neurodivergent people, but the way this looks is fairly limited. Those who are multiply marginalised or experience traits which do not directly contribute to productivity are less likely to see any progress during their personal exposure with employment.
To see real progress, there has to be significant change to how employers perceive neurodivergent people and for this to move away from just autism and ADHD, and society must shift away from neuronormativity.
There also must be a change to the belief that neurodivergent people must be overly productive or gifted compared to their peers in order to be employed, as well as seeing accommodating neurodivergent people as beneficial, rather than an inconvenience.
I don’t want a movement that only cares about neurodiversity in the workplace when it is hyper-productive. Neurodiversity at work should not be about making neurodivergent people into a commodity, it should be about allowing us to be on an equal playing field to our peers.
Just as a start: let’s advocate for deconstructing recruitment processes away from neuronormativity and colonialism, taking apart ableist practices like the rigid 9-to-5, and allowing neurodivergent people to work in the ways that truly work for them without judgement.
(1) Office for National Statistics (2021). "Outcomes for disabled people in the UK: 2020." Published 18 February 2021.
Corporate neurodiversity programs promise inclusion but still fail most neurodivergent workers. Why the 'superpowers' approach isn't working.
The Neurodiversity At Work movement strives for better inclusion of neurodivergent people in workplaces and from employers, but is there legitimate progress happening?
"Neurodiversity at Work" is certainly something that there is a higher level of awareness of in the UK, with more and more employers searching for neurodivergent talent and discussions across platforms like LinkedIn exponentially increasing all the time. But, it has to be asked: are these changes truly empowering neurodivergent individuals?
Firstly, it must be noted that neurodivergence is not only autism and ADHD: it includes anything that diverges from neuronormativity including but certainly not limited to dyspraxia, traumatic brain injuries, epilepsy, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. When a neurodiversity-based movement lacks discussion of the wider community, many are left behind and will lack the same supports that maybe increasing for others.
Neurodiversity is not the same as neurodivergent - it refers to the diversity of human minds, meaning it also includes neurotypical individuals. It is important to note that ‘neurotypical’ refers not to one single ‘normal brain’, but instead to people whose functioning aligns to the norms and standards that society is built under, including workplaces. When considering ‘neurodiversity at work’, we should be looking at how we adapt for and support different people across companies, and thinking about how neuronormativity may impact every aspect of a workplace.
Traits like hearing voices, psychosis, hallucinations, seizures, meltdowns, or sleep differences (as examples) are not often featured in discussions about neurodiversity in the workplace. To make real progress on this topic, it has to go beyond ‘positive’ aspects of neurodivergence, and needs to truly include every way neurodivergence can look.
Advocacy around employment often focuses on justifying why neurodivergent people are particularly employable and productive, discussing particular strengths we may have that will benefit a workplace.
An issue with this is that there becomes very little space across these ideas for neurodivergent people who will, in fact, never work, or for those who do not have particular strengths that they can contribute to a workplace over and above their neurotypical peers. Neurodivergent people should not have to be exceptional in order to experience equivalent treatment.
For many, attempting to thrive or even survive at work means significant levels of masking their neurodivergence which can cause burnout and shows us the lack of true progress: if we cannot be ourselves, what advancement has there been?
Some employers have introduced schemes for neurodivergent employees (though these are often exclusively for autism). This can be seen as a positive insofar as it being a progressive attitude around employing neurodivergent people, but it also causes other questions and issues.These schemes often focus directly on only those who are particularly talented, and do not necessarily decrease the issues many face during both recruitment and their time in the role, such as a lack of adjustments or interviews still focusing on eye contact and body language.
There are more and more articles in the media discussing this topic, but most focus only on ‘competitive advantages’ as reasoning for why neurodivergent people should be employed, packaging neurodivergence as for financial gain and not considering how we need to be understood or accommodated
Neurodivergence is a disability: when we ignore the ways it can be disabling, we make accessibility harder for everyone to achieve.
When discussing neurodivergence in the workplace, reasonable adjustments and accommodations can become secondary. Another issue with focusing on strengths is that many ‘strengths’ can simultaneously cause difficulties - for example, hyperfocus may be a strength if you can make it about work, but it often leads us to spending hours focused on something random or causes us to forget to eat and drink.
For lots of neurodivergent people like me, freelancing or self-employment has become one of the only ways to cope with working as it means we can put in our own adjustments and accommodate for ourselves, moving us away from companies. Working with other neurodivergent people tends to be the most accessible and gratifying work. However, freelancing brings it’s own problems such as lacking protections and holiday or sick pay, that we are more likely to need.
There is a question about whether there has been real progress when it comes to the overall picture of neurodivergence int he workplace. As an example, the 2021 Census (1) found that autistic people are one of the groups experiencing the highest level of unemployment, at a rate of 21.7% being in employment, and with autistic people being less likely to be in high-up and managerial positions. Many autistic people continue to find that workplaces are not willing to adjust their recruitment practices, such as using testing that does not allow different thinking, or they receive no adjustment or support once in the role that means they burnout or have to leave their role. This is particularly true for multiply marginalised individuals who are facing multiple kinds of discrimination (directly or indirectly) in their workplace.
These statistics show the ideas and notions that are still pervasive around whether autistic people are employable. Whilst statistics like this do not account for those who are undiagnosed, those individuals are possibly also facing their own marginalisation in struggling to find or keep jobs, or get needed accommodations without a diagnosis.
There has been progress around neurodiversity in the workplace and supporting neurodivergent people, but the way this looks is fairly limited. Those who are multiply marginalised or experience traits which do not directly contribute to productivity are less likely to see any progress during their personal exposure with employment.
To see real progress, there has to be significant change to how employers perceive neurodivergent people and for this to move away from just autism and ADHD, and society must shift away from neuronormativity.
There also must be a change to the belief that neurodivergent people must be overly productive or gifted compared to their peers in order to be employed, as well as seeing accommodating neurodivergent people as beneficial, rather than an inconvenience.
I don’t want a movement that only cares about neurodiversity in the workplace when it is hyper-productive. Neurodiversity at work should not be about making neurodivergent people into a commodity, it should be about allowing us to be on an equal playing field to our peers.
Just as a start: let’s advocate for deconstructing recruitment processes away from neuronormativity and colonialism, taking apart ableist practices like the rigid 9-to-5, and allowing neurodivergent people to work in the ways that truly work for them without judgement.
(1) Office for National Statistics (2021). "Outcomes for disabled people in the UK: 2020." Published 18 February 2021.
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