Differently Wired Hub - Neurodiversity in the workplace

Benefits of neurodiversity in the workplace

An organisation can only be truly successful when every team member has the opportunity to fully utilise their skills and talents.

The key thing to remember is that all workplace teams are by their nature neurodiverse: different people communicate, work and thrive in different ways.

So you need to cultivate an organisational culture that embraces and celebrates neurodivergent colleagues – just like any other form of diversity.

By empowering neurodivergent colleagues to play to their strengths and recognising the contribution they can bring to your organisation, you can open up a whole range of benefits, including:

How to support neurodiverse colleagues

The most important part of supporting neurodivergent colleagues is to get the involved in the conversation.

Ask them directly – what can you do to help them work at their best? Use these insights to devise a support plan, including any reasonable adjustments that may be required, that will help them perform successfully.

When considering the steps you can take to support neurodivergent colleagues, there are three categories you can break your support down into:

Support with sensory sensitivities: Think about how you can support colleagues who are more sensory than others – such as those who are under or over responsive to certain sounds, smells, or how particular things feel to the touch.

Support for executive functions: Consider how you can support colleagues with their working memory, organisation skills, interpretation of events and time management. Think about how you could create regular types of external motivation to keep them performing at their best. If they prefer a particular routine to be built into their working day, encourage it – remember, everybody works best in different ways.

Support with the physical environment: Are colleagues’ surroundings distracting? Would they prefer a hot-desking approach, or feel better having their own designated workstation? Consider where they are seated in the building too, as this could also have an impact.

You could also think about hosting staff awareness/training days as well, to educate your team members on how they can work productively together and consider the needs of neurodivergent colleagues.

You might also consider inviting neurodiversity specialists in to give talks to neurodivergent colleagues on how they can support themselves to thrive, both in and out of the workplace.

Resources for employers and managers

5 reasons why workplace neurodiversity is engineering & technology’s secret weapon

20 examples of reasonable adjustments to offer your neurodiverse employees

Support for employers

Visit our signposting library for more information and resources to help you consider your approach to neurodiversity in your workplace.

Visit our Signposting library

"I still feel very angry and let down sometimes that I wasn’t diagnosed sooner. I have no doubt that being able to access support earlier would have made a big difference in my career."

Read Brian's story of how he was eventually diagnosed with dyslexia, but wished the signs had been spotted earlier – so he could have accessed support to make his work life easier, sooner.

Read Brian's story

Need support?

We know that when you’re struggling emotionally, practically and financially, often the hardest step to take is reaching out and asking for support. And these challenges can have even more of an impact if you’re neurodivergent. But everyone experiences challenges in life, and it’s important to remember that you are not alone – after all, there are thousands of neurodiverse engineers just like you around the world, many of whom may be in a similar situation.

Our support is here to help you live better and thrive – whatever your circumstances. So, if you’re ready to get in touch with us, we’re ready to listen to your needs and offer whatever support we can.

Get support

Stories

You are not alone. Hear from people across the engineering community on how they’ve managed their neurodiversity journey, and what being a neurodivergent engineer means to them.

Read Brian's story of how he got a diagnosis for dyslexia - but wishes the signs had been spotted sooner.

Read the story

Read Stuart's story of his experiences with Autism – and how his diagnosis helped him understand himself better.

Read the story

Learn how we helped Mikaela get a diagnosis for ADHD so that she could pass her placement with confidence.

Read story

Neurodiversity in the workplace