Neurodiversity refers to the natural variation in human brain functioning and neurodivergent identities include Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia. It is estimated that 1 in 5 people are neurodivergent in some way, amounting to a significant proportion of any workforce.
Awareness of what it means to be neurodivergent has increased amongst employers over recent years, and many employers recognise the value of neurodivergent employees and the diversity of thought they can bring to an organisation. Nevertheless, a recent study by Zurich UK has revealed that 63% of neurodivergent workers believe that employers view neurodiversity as a “red flag” and that neurodivergent individuals face significant barriers when seeking employment. As a consequence, 47% of neurodivergent adults said that they hide their conditions from prospective employers and 51% fail to disclose their neurodiversity.
In this article, we look at what more employers can do to support neurodivergent employees and create a neuroinclusive working environment.
The recruitment process
In the research conducted by Zurich UK, 31% of respondents said that they had experienced their application for a role not being taken further once they disclosed their condition, 25% reported that they were “ghosted” by recruiters after disclosing their neurodiversity and 16% said they had a job offer withdrawn.
Conventional recruitment processes can also inadvertently exclude neurodivergent candidates due to the way they are structured. Some of the most common issues cited were long and elaborate applications, vague job descriptions, timed assessments and overly complicated question structures.
The CIPD guidance on neuroinclusion suggests a number of simple changes which employers can make to their recruitment process to make it more neuroinclusive. These include:
- Clear and concise job descriptions – make it easy for people to see what the core skills for the role are and do not include skills such as ‘excellent communication skills’ as ‘must-haves’ if they are actually just ‘nice-to-haves’ as this could dissuade talented applicants from applying.
- Let applicants know what to expect in advance and ensure that all materials sent to the applicant about the job or an assessment are clear and digitally accessible.
- Include a diversity and inclusion statement in the job description which states that you are happy to discuss reasonable adjustments.
- Choose a suitable, quiet space for conducting interviews free from distractions.
- Be aware of the bias of ‘first impressions’ and avoid penalising applicants for unconventional body language or an apparent lack of social interaction skills.
- Beyond interviews, consider alternative assessment methods, for example work trials, practical assessments (either in person or remote).
During employment
We suggest that employers take the following key steps to break down barriers faced by neurodiverse employees during employment:
- Create a culture of psychological safety, where employees feel able to ask for support and do not feel they need to hide their neurodivergence or particular concerns from their employer. As part of this, employers should review and update policies to address neuroinclusion.
- Undertake manager training on neurodiversity so that managers are able to have open and constructive conversations with neurodiverse employees and recognise that needs may be different even among people sharing the same neurodivergent identity.
- Consider office design, flexibility in how, when and where work gets done, and allow different preferences in communication, instructions and meetings.
- Consult with neurodivergent employees in relation to workplace adjustments. Not all neurodiverse conditions will meet the legal test for disability under the Equality Act 2010, but even so, making reasonable adjustments would be a sensible approach to alleviate any disadvantage that a neurodivergent employee may feel.
Making the above steps will take time and effort and will require a long-term commitment from the employer to building a neuroinclusive workplace free from bias and discrimination. By making such a commitment, the employer is likely to reap significant benefits such as being able to attract and retain talented neurodivergent employees and mitigating the risk of employment issues arising in respect of neurodiverse employees in their workplace.