Neurodiversity in the Workplace

Most people would agree that supporting neurodiversity in the workplace is good practice from both DEI and accessibility viewpoints. An organisation with awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity – let alone policies in place – will undoubtedly be a positive nurturing environment for all employees; an example of the Curb Cut Effect in action.

 

Image by MissLunaRose12 via Wikimedia Commons

In addition, neurodiverse people bring unique viewpoints and talent to the table. Many individuals have superb attention to detail and excel at both being able to see the big picture – which leads to unseen pattern recognition and problem identification – as well as being able to drill down into the minutiae of an issue, diagnosing and solving it.

As an autistic person and neurodiversity advocate I’ve always been keen to highlight both the advantages and the challenges of maintaining a supportive environment for all employees whatever their neurotype.

The flow and communication paradigms

Some neurodivergents (NDs) – and this applies to both ADHD and autistic people as well as AuDHD – are capable of hyperfocus or “flow”, the ability to intensely concentrate on an activity or task, which in the right situation can often result in complex work being completed meticulously, accurately and often swiftly.

However, one disadvantage of this skill is that if the flow is interrupted it can be very difficult to re-engage. This does not necessarily mean that the individual in question cannot do anything else at all while flowing – efficient flow often involves obtaining information from others as well as more complex back and forth interactions.

Flow usually breaks when the communication paradigm is abruptly changed without warning.

“I thought I’d call as it’s easier.”

For an ND person, suddenly having to switch paradigm from written (chat, email etc) to spoken is incredibly disruptive and almost guaranteed to break the flow. On the other hand the neurotypical (NT) person wouldn’t have called if they weren’t experiencing problems with the written paradigm.

If you’re an NT person who needs to change the communication paradigm from written to spoken to get a point across I’d suggest sending a short message first, something like:

“Ok to call?”

If you’re an ND person who receives one of these requests for a call, I’d suggest replying with a yes – even if you have to specify a time:

“Sure, just give me 5 minutes to finish what I’m on.”

A lot of the time it’s the unexpectedness of the paradigm shift that's the problem, not the shift itself.

Routine and consistency

The concept of hotdesking was seen as a game-changer when it was introduced, allowing for far greater flexibility and space saving in office environments. It is a practice that has undoubtedly retained its value, especially since the pandemic when hybrid working became far more common with different employees being in the office on different days.

However, many neurodivergent individuals rely on routine and consistency to marshal their thoughts and assist with focus. This mean that sitting in their own assigned space – and if possible being able to personalise that space to add elements of familiarity – is often essential for their productivity and efficiency.

Even without personalisation, the benefit of always sitting in the same space when working should not be underestimated. The fewer surprises and unexpected elements an environment hold, the more effective a neurodivergent individual’s hyperfocus and performance is likely to be.

In a work environment designed primarily for hotdesking it may be to everyone’s advantage to set aside an area where workspaces can be assigned to individuals and if possible personalised.

Sensory considerations

Neurodiverse people tend to have a different way of processing sensory information and this can lead to what’s known as “sensory overload” if an environment is too overstimulating.

This can cause the person affected to be unable to focus on the “right” information: for example in a crowded restaurant they will likely be unable to process what the people on their own table are saying due to the chatter from other tables.

In a work environment – especially an open plan office – this is most often triggered by noise or the bright, flickering light from a fluorescent bulb. This overstimulation can negatively affect a neurodiverse person’s concentration and flow and subsequently their productivity, and can in severe instances lead to difficulty speaking or performing regular tasks for a while.

The simplest solution to the issue is to provide quiet workstations at which people affected by sensory overload can work. If this isn’t practical, noise-reducing headphones and fluorescent light blocking glasses can help reduce the triggers. Setting aside a quite relaxing space for people to unwind or decompress when they need to can also make a big difference.

Timetables and waiting

Autistic and other ND people are often very planning focussed – co-ordination and preparation can be one of our greatest strengths. A well organised timetable for the day can result in a workload that is managed highly efficiently which can be a massive productivity boost.

However, the presence of milestones throughout a timetabled process can cause problems if they are delayed due to problems with an earlier part of the process and are therefore unavailable to be actioned. Having planned their day around a timetable, something dropping out of the calendar or taking longer to reach them in the flow of production can unsettle an ND person and leave them frozen into inertia.

This is known as ‘waiting mode’, an executive dysfunction which can cause anxiety when a solitary appointment is looming or when one is cancelled at the last minute.

One way to cope with this is to encourage more granular timetabling or milestones in the planning process so no single item appears overwhelming, instead being simply one part of a process. This has the additional benefit of disrupting the process far less if one of these items drops out or is unavailable when expected.

Scheduling in extension or side tasks (“would be nice” items) is also useful as they're definitely "part of the plan" so can be actioned in any time that unexpectedly becomes available due to a main task cancellation.

In addition avoiding such cancellations in the first place would benefit everyone. Encouraging colleagues to give themselves wiggle room when estimating how long something’s going to take them - to err on the side of caution - would put less pressure on them. That way a more realistic and achievable timetable can be plotted out from the start in which each individual entry is far less likely to slip, which will benefit the whole team.