Judy Singer, an Australian sociologist, coined the word “neurodiversity” in 1998 to recognise that everyone’s brain develops in a unique way. Alongside this, there is a growing diagnosis of neurodivergent conditions among children, and late diagnosis, especially in women, which often presents as masking, anxiety or depression. In this context, an inclusive human resources strategy and approach to talent management becomes key to the success of any organisation. Leveraging these diversities could be a key to growing productivity, employee engagement and innovation.
Defining neurodivergence
In many countries, including South Africa, neurodivergence is labelled as a mental disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or as a mental impairment or disability. However, in my opinion, the director of the Standford University Project and professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford School of Medicine, Lawrence Fung, gives a better description of neurodiversity. He says, “Neurodiversity is really a concept that regards differences in brain function and behavioural traits” and urges people “to see it as a normal variation of the human population”.
There is a need to move away from the deficit model and to consider that with accommodations, the disability is not limiting but enables enhanced performance and strong loyalty from neurodivergent individuals. If we liken this to a person in a wheelchair, for example, with universal access such as ramps, this person is enabled to perform.
Neurodivergence has a wide spectrum of differences in conditions, which include, but is not limited to, autism, dyslexia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). While each condition faces challenges, it also brings unique strengths.
What do people with neurodivergence bring to the workforce?
It is, in fact, the challenges neurodiverse people face that make them incredibly skilled in certain tasks. If businesses change their mindsets to look at neurodivergence as strength-based and use positive psychology to work with everybody’s unique abilities, they will realise that neurodiversity is not a disorder but rather simply a trait on the spectrum of human behaviour.
By seeking out people’s strengths, businesses are enabling everyone to thrive and do their best work in an environment that is inclusive of all character types. It is important to research different neurodiversity classifications and learn what skills those affected potentially excel at to understand their strengths in the workplace.
Fung gives us some valuable insights into the strengths of different types of neurodivergence. It is important, however, to bear in mind these are generalised descriptions, and there is a range of diagnoses under each category, and often a co-occurrence of conditions.
People with autism
Strengths: People with autism are persistent, concrete, honest, and loyal. They also have exceptional focus on detail and memory ability. A person with autism with a passion for a subject will become a specialist and be able to recite detailed information about it. Consider Greta Thunberg, as an example, one of the youngest and most impactful environmental change activists.
Challenges: They are hyper-focused, may experience social awkwardness, and have fewer interests.
People with ADHD
Strengths: People with ADHD are creative, rapid decision makers, have high energy, are hyper-focused, have passion and courage, are resilient, can multitask, are big-picture thinkers, and remain calm in a crisis. Some of the world’s most famous CEOs have been diagnosed with ADHD; Richard Branson is a classic example.
Challenges: They can be impulsive, hyperactive, have difficulty focusing, and are easily distracted.
People with dyslexia
Strengths: People with dyslexia are often entrepreneurial, extremely observant, have excellent visual reasoning, are good in social interactions, and enjoy problem solving. Albert Einstein is often given as a classic example here.
Challenges: They struggle with reading, writing, and/or spelling.
In an environment that blocks strengths from shining through, people feel unrecognised and unsupported. Yet, if organisations play to these strengths, they can draw out the magic of innovation, connectivity, and agility – key skills in business today. We ideally want to create organisations that put very simple accommodations in place to not only make them inclusive for everyone but also to attract and retain talent.
The numerous social and mental health challenges that those classified as neurodivergent will face can result in them experiencing social exclusion, loss of self-esteem and confidence, and employment difficulties. As a result, they often put a significant amount of effort into trying to navigate a neurotypical-centric society, which can result in exacerbated feelings of anxiety and depression.
Interestingly, more men than women are diagnosed with neurodivergence as the diagnostic tools are based on how males typically present. In contrast, women are generally better able to “mask” their neurodivergent traits within social settings and are usually misdiagnosed with mental health challenges first.
Turning a challenge into an opportunity
While neurominorities may not respond to situations in the same way their neurotypical colleagues do, this does not exclude them from being valuable additions to businesses operating in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world. The Gallup Global Workplace 2024 Report found that a staggering 62% of employees are not engaged. In addition, 15% are actively disengaged. Moreover, one in five employees report loneliness in the workplace, and this is particularly prevalent among employees under the age of 35, indicating that the sense of social isolation is growing amongst the younger working population.
These stats highlight a trend of decreasing wellness in the workplace around disengagement, a lack of inclusion, and feeling isolated. This is extremely disturbing, and neurominorities will feel these challenges more acutely.
However, people with neurodivergence bring a number of critical abilities required for an organisation to sustain itself in a complex and fast-changing world. Businesses must look to their overall employee engagement strategy – which enables all staff to work in an environment that allows them to thrive based on their abilities and strengths – to ensure that it accommodates the needs of neurominorities as well. This starts with the talent attraction and hiring processes.
Interestingly, given the strengths of certain neurodivergences, there is a higher prevalence among certain functions in a business, such as creatives, information technology, actuaries and, yes, CEOs!
We are seeing that human resources practices are evolving to be more flexible and personalised to cater for different needs, such as flexible work hours and hybrid options, particularly since Covid-19 times. While this bodes well for individuals with neurodiversity and will help them deliver their best performance in their roles, people with neurodivergences still often remain unrecognised and uncatered for as their needs extend beyond flexible working hours and locations. Where a work environment is not safe or respectful of neurodiversity, the individual will not voluntarily disclose their condition and is often left reeling with not being able to advocate for their needs or required accommodations to function best.
Required accommodations may be as simple as having noise-cancelling headphones, lighting design, a quiet space to self-regulate, and access to voice recognition applications, for example. When the neurominorities are not recognised, the challenges may lead to unnecessary poor performance, poor communication, and higher turnover. The cost of losing talent and reemployment would outweigh the costs of accommodations. In the context of a war on talent, this is unsustainable for businesses.
While these factors impact individual staff members, they can also have a devastating impact on organisations as a whole. A disengaged workforce and a lack of talent, key skills, and productivity can negatively impact the business’ ability to function optimally.
How to build an inclusive culture for everyone
Successful employee engagement stems from how businesses manage output and create support systems for everybody. If all people and all diversities are included, all people will have the conditions to thrive.
There are three prongs to building an inclusive culture:
- Awareness raising
Facilitate awareness across the business around neurodiversity and neurodivergence. - Capacity building
Equip human resources and talent management professionals to review practices, train managers to lead neurodivergent teams more effectively, equip neurodiversity ambassadors and change champions. - Strategy, values, and culture enablement
Build neurodivergence into employee engagement. Update the divergence, equity, and inclusion strategy to support the alignment of neurodiversity with business talent needs and crafting a fully inclusive culture and workplace. Understand the business case and enrol senior leaders, the CEO, and executives to the journey.
Building inclusive cultures brings the benefits of employing a diverse range of people and talents. It also creates an environment to foster innovation and enhance output. There is less groupthink and more unique problem-solving, higher productivity, higher brand recognition and employee engagement.
The Gallup report says, “A great manager builds an ongoing relationship with an employee grounded in respect, positivity, and a deep understanding of the employee’s unique strengths and talents, essentially recognising and leveraging each individual’s unique ‘gifts’.” If all individuals are respected and acknowledged for their unique gifts, including the neurominorities, we reap the benefits as a business.
Ultimately, making inclusions for neurodiversity and neurodivergence will benefit all employees of an organisation. The shift is about ensuring that everyone is engaged and wanting to contribute. It is not about singling out one category of people but rather about holistically including everyone.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Current data shows that globally, one in five employees may be neurodivergent.
- Neurodiversity and neurodivergence are on a spectrum of abilities, and all people bring unique talents and discrete needs to the workplace.
- Talent and people strategies must be holistic to accommodate all diversities, including the unseen diversities, to enhance employee engagement.
- Businesses with a culture of inclusion benefit from the diverse range of strengths people with neurodivergence bring to their roles.
- Businesses that do this are shown to be more productive, innovative and sustainable in a complex and fast-changing world.
Dr. Sarah Babb is passionate about building future-fit inclusive businesses. She has 30 years’ experience in leadership and team development, culture change management and purpose-driven impact initiatives. She is co-founder and MD of Stimm, founded to stimulate neuroinclusive communities and cultures across workplaces for neurodivergent adults. Sarah is an adjunct faculty member at GIBS. She holds an PhD in leadership development, MBA cum laude (GIBS), PDM (HR), and a BA (Industrial Psychology).
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