Embracing Neurodiversity at the Workplace

We as human beings are led to think that there is a definition of ‘normal’, both in life and at the workplace. In keeping with this definition, we have conjured up a definition for the word ‘ability’. While physical human ability has its own limits, in the sense that ‘we cannot fly’, human intelligence itself is limitless, and we have already built things ‘that can fly and fly us.’

Despite all these developments, we have not embraced ourselves. Many developmental changes in the brain in a large part of the human population are regarded as disorders. Neurodiversity argues that certain conditions such as autism and ADHD are not pathological but normal deviations from the functional traits of the brain and might even be useful in many ways.

No Appreciation for the Autistic and the Artistic

Most companies, except few giant corporates such as Dell and JP Morgan do not appreciate neurodiversity at the workplace, though 1% of the workplace population is autistic and 2% has ADHD. Most businesses believe they do not have the capability to finish what they start, lack communication skills and do not think logically. We cannot be more wrong and more generalist when we make such assumptions. But because we praise logic, we come to the next question: Is logic really the mother of invention?

Logic Alone Cannot Invent

And we have achieved space flight too well over 50 years ago. India has reached the South Pole of the Moon, becoming the first country to do so with Chandrayaan 3 and named it Shiv Shakti! We often equate logic and intelligence, but it isn’t just logic that has helped us invent things. True innovation is a combination of both creativity and logic, creativity to conceive an idea and logic to cement it in reality.

We often are predisposed to creativity as something which only a few of us possess and if given an option to pick logic over creativity to reach successful decision-making at the workplace, we often pick logic.

Where Neurodiversity becomes a solution

But logic has a downside to it. Logic is based on a set of assumptions of what we know and have proven to be true. When something becomes firmly accepted as truth, it becomes immune to change. As we grow older, thanks to this thinking, most of us build walls around our thinking processes, allowing us to think only in certain ways, and somewhat predictable.

Most neurodiverse brains evolve in a different way, there is more room for creativity and freedom to ask, “What If?” questions, which might uncover something startling or new for the neurotypical brain. There is also a difference in thinking which stems from years of development and not making any obvious assumptions.

Competency of a Neurodiverse Individual

How does this help in the workplace? Let us look at some of the more desirable traits in the workplace and see how neurodiverse individuals can contribute, and very significantly too.

Please be well aware that the above is a sample competency profile. It is not a very clear definition of competency of a neurodivergent person. As we move from the inner octagons to the outer octagons in the image, the attributes that are mentioned increase in quality.

The inner trough represents a mapping of the abilities or qualities of a neurodivergent individual. According to the trough-like depiction above of the competency of a neurodivergent individual, we have the following observations, that they are:

1. Good at initiating a solution or a conversation
2. Average at multitasking when solving a problem
3. Good attention to detail when finding a solution
4. Excellent management of time and planning
5. Not good at finishing the job given to them
6. Excellent at self-organising and problem-solving

And research on neurodiversity at the workplace approves of their treasured qualities and employers concur. Employers said:

• Over 80% were hyper-focused
• 78% were highly creative
• 75% displayed innovative thinking
• 71% were detail-oriented
• 64% were deeply authentic at their work.

Harnessing the Skills of the Neurodiverse

But now comes the billion-dollar question: How do you harness the skills that neurodivergent people have to make them successful at schools and the workplace?

You can use design thinking and create modules that are empathy-centric to individuals with ADHD and autism and explain concepts in a much more visual and understandable way. Do this by breaking things down and innovating learning systems so they do not feel easily bored.

Introducing Design Thinking at the Workplace

In companies that are technology-driven and focus heavily on logic, people are learning to think like designers. This out-of-box and innovative thinking has helped transform workplaces and helped autistic individuals and people with ADHD learn and cope better too.

In most schools, there are provisions for learning through design thinking which connect with people who have autism and ADHD and help them solve problems in real life and learn. Such design thinking practices must exist not just in schools but in workplaces too. There can be a training program that makes use of design thinking to train individuals too.

Design thinking can never occur separately. A process of collaboration and co-creation, it involves prototyping and ideation that goes through several iterations. In learning and development, especially for individuals with autism and ADHD, it is slowly gaining momentum.

There are 5 steps to design thinking and let us see how they apply to employees undergoing training and development in the workplace.

1. Understand the problem from the user’s perspective, in this case, the employees. Analyse their wants and needs and create a few user personas (because each user’s needs would be different). Remember, trying to find similarities in a seemingly dissimilar group can be a bold step towards creativity.
2. Put the users’ needs into words. Use the data gathered during the empathise stage to clearly articulate what the objectives of the program would be, why so, how it will help them and how to go about it.
3. Brainstorm within your team and come up with ideas that could work for the learning and development program that you are trying to implement. Some ideas include use of tropes, visual analogies, relatable content etc.
4. In the context of both ADHD and autism, see what works and what doesn’t. For instance, if employees prefer a more visual type of training and one which includes a lot of written points with transcripts for each session being shared, then take this approach.
5. Try the learning and development program with autistic and ADHD employees and see how they respond and modify it accordingly by going back to the beginning of design thinking and going through the entire cycle again.

Other Ways to Manage Neurodivergence

Neurodivergent individuals may have a stigma to overcome when they try to reveal to others at the workplace that they have ADHD or autism. For this reason, if you do recruit someone with neurodivergent capabilities, then you must ensure that they receive the right kind of support. We saw design thinking as a way for helping them cope with the workplace and unleash their creativity and problem-solving capabilities. But there are other ways you can help individuals with autism and ADHD cope and work better at the workplace. Here are some of them:

1.  Use a tailored approach (for autism and ADHD)

When you are designing a support, learning and training system for neurodivergent people you must ask them which approach works best for them. You must also consider individual needs, such as motor issues or inability to speak clearly in some autistic people. Individuals with ADHD may not remember things in the short-term and autistic people may have difficulty picking up verbal cues. For these reasons, both might prefer written instructions over a conversation, so try to have as many things written down as possible. It would also help to individually train autistic individuals in verbal cues at the workplace too, so that they can get better at communication.

2.  Modifying the job role a little (for autism)

Create a role description that you share with the employee on their first day at work, but do not overwhelm them with too much talk. Give them the assurance that it matters more that they get things done rather than how they get it done. Also give them some time so that they can figure out how to do a job more effectively and even how to excel at it. Do not be quick to assess, instead take a step back and let them shine!

3.  Modifying the work environment (for autism and ADHD)

Individuals with ADHD can get easily distracted at the workplace, if they have a lack of interest in what they are doing. Work to build this interest by using design thinking. Also remove the distractions by providing them noise cancelling headphones. Allowing them to work in private or from home (especially in the case of autism) will also help.

4.  Appoint a buddy to help and advice (for autism and ADHD)

When a person has ADHD or autism, they may have difficulty establishing relationships or communicating with others at the workplace. Let people at the workplace know of the challenges they face. Familiarise them too with the design thinking approach we mentioned earlier. Assign a buddy to each neurodivergent individual who will guide them and be a genuine friend to them at the workplace.

8 Job Roles Where Neurodivergent Individuals Excel

Once you have learned how to manage neurodivergent individuals at the workplace, comes the problem of where to employ them, or rather what roles would be most suitable for them. There are specific roles in the workplace where employing neurodivergent individuals can reward you with increased productivity and a dip in errors. Let us look at some of those roles now:

• Artist, choreographer etc. – ADHD individuals are exploding with creativity. So, it is not a surprise that many of them make great artists too. Autistic individuals with a visual thinking bend are great at artistry too.
• Firefighters and EMTs – ADHD kicks in allowing them to focus on the finer details in an emergency.
• Computer programming – Neurodivergent individuals can work in different disciplines in computer programming, automation, networking etc. This is something both autistic and ADHD individuals can do with great attention to detail though a little lack of focus.
• Automobile mechanic – Apart from visualising how the entire car works, an autistic person can become a good mechanic.
• Clerical jobs – An autistic person knows where every file is, the problem being only with short term memory, so they are great as clerks.
• Copy editor – Attention to detail is very high. Both people with ADHD and autism can work as freelance copy editors for larger publications.
• Journalist – Accuracy in fact finding and reporting are characteristics of neurodivergence, making this role suitable. And with ADHD, the excitement that comes at the spur of the moment can also help them with the energy and enthusiasm that is required for the job. Not a recommended job for an autistic person, if they have problems with verbal communication.
• Small business owner – Individuals with ADHD are good at managing small businesses and it also gives their creativity and spur of the moment adaptability and decision-making an outlet. They do not have to worry about boredom either as they can decide the work hours.

Start Embracing Neurodiversity Today

Neurodiversity is proven to increase productivity and reduce the incidence of errors. Studies show that neurodiverse teams make 30% fewer errors than neurotypical ones. With around 15 to 20% of the population being neurodiverse, there is a lot of untapped potential in the world which workplaces must address. We hope that this article would have enlightened you on how adding neurodiversity to your organisation can make a very marked change in the way your workplace thinks and innovates. And it’s not CSR or an ethical mandate, embracing neurodiversity is a way to supercharge innovation at the workplace.

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Rajkumar Shanmugam

Head of HR

Rajkumar Shanmugam is the Head of HR at ALP Consulting, bringing over 19 years of comprehensive HR leadership experience across India and international markets. His expertise spans talent acquisition, employee relations, performance management, compliance, and HR transformation. Rajkumar has a proven track record of driving people-centric initiatives, enhancing workplace culture, and aligning HR strategy with business goals. With extensive experience in US staffing operations and global mobility, he continues to lead organizational excellence through innovation and employee engagement.