It is estimated that 15-20% of the world’s population can be considered neurodivergent, yet most working environments are not designed with these individuals in mind. Many neurodivergent employees try to fit in as best they can, hiding their differences from colleagues and superiors.
Neurodiversity is an often misunderstood concept: this generic term refers to several types of differences in cognitive functioning, including autism, attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity, and dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and dysphasia.
These cognitive divergences do not constitute pathologies or handicaps, even if they can be penalising in daily life and in the professional sphere.
Indeed, it’s not always easy to talk about neurodiversity at work. Some 60% of neurodivergent people questioned in a recent survey say they are afraid to do so, for fear of reprisals. They fear it will harm their career advancement.
Unfortunately, these fears are not unfounded: nearly a quarter of neurodivergent employees who have asked their employer for accommodations have been dismissed or demoted as a result of their request.
This just goes to show how badly these employees can be treated in the corporate world. “Misrepresentation and misunderstandings significantly contribute to the root causes of workplace stigma around neurodiversity, specifically learning and thinking differences such as ADHD and dyslexia,” says Nathan Friedman, co-president and chief marketing officer at Understood, a non-profit organisation.
Yet employers would likely benefit from recruiting more neurodivergent people. These employees can come up with original problem-solving solutions, and have a different, more unconventional take on the issues that arise in the workplace.
In this sense, their contributions can be far more innovative and disruptive than the “mad skills” that business leaders are so keen on. But they still need to feel at home in the workplace.
Indeed, neurodivergent employees can have specific needs: they may have difficulty working in open-plan offices, due to their heightened sensitivity to noise, light, smells and textures. That’s why it’s important to create a pleasant working environment for them – for example, by creating quiet areas in the office.
It’s also a good idea to offer them flexible working hours so they can avoid busy periods in the office, which are often synonymous with loss of focus and increased anxiety.
Generally, companies need to be open to making minor adjustments to meet the needs of neurodivergent people and become more inclusive. And they have everything to gain: major groups such as Microsoft, Ford, Deloitte and BNP Paribas – which have launched programmes – to promote neurodiversity – feel that this gives them a real competitive edge.
Despite these advances, many neurodivergent people remain unemployed, with studies suggesting that their unemployment rate is between 30% and 40%.