3 Tips to Embrace Neurodiversity and Ensure Workplace Inclusivity

Embracing neurodiversity in your workforce isn’t only the right and inclusive thing to do. 

It’s also unequivocally the smart thing to do. 

Neurodiversity is a word used to explain the unique ways people’s brains work.  Roughly speaking it refers to people with slight variations in the human brain that can impact how they socialise, learn and absorb information.  Some examples are dyslexia, autism, ADHD, dyspraxia, and Tourette’s.

Crucially, this unique way of seeing the world often gifts those with neurodiversity some really valuable skills and insights too, skills that allow them to see problems differently, offer fresh perspectives, and drive innovation. 

All traits that can be invaluable to an organization, particularly when forging a path forward in a relatively nascent field like ESG. 

That’s why it’s incumbent on sustainability leaders to ensure they’re proactively creating a culture that’s as inclusive as possible to neurodiverse members of their team.  

But how can we go about that in a practical way? Or more broadly, how do we enable anyone with differences?

Here are three suggestions for how to optimise your organization for those with neurodiversity.  

1. Build up awareness and understanding of neurodiversity 

Provide as many members of your team as possible with training and / or resources that equip them with a better understanding of what is meant by neurodiversity and what small adjustments they may need to make to ensure neurodiverse colleagues feel comfortable. If wider training isn’t practical, then assign neurodiverse team members with a mentor or buddy that is trained and who can help answer questions and act as a consistent touchpoint with whom to raise any problems. 

2. Offer flexible and adaptive working environments

Small adaptations to how, where and when neurodiverse people work can make a significant difference. Yes, this includes the type of remote working opportunities and flexible hours that have become more routine since Covid, but it can go further too and include things like quiet spaces, varied lighting options, the availability of noise cancelling headphones and low sensory spaces. Every single person is different so checking in with them to see what would be helpful is key. 

3. Ensure clarity of communication at every stage

The different way in which neurodiverse people often see and understand the world can create the potential for miscommunication. Ensure that clarity of communication is the highest priority at every step in the hiring process and beyond. That may include written instructions, agreed guidelines and regular verbal or written feedback throughout a project. Importantly though, ensure doing so doesn’t shine a spotlight on a neurodiverse person and create discomfort.