The Importance of Championing Neurodiversity in your Team

It’s 2024, and we have progressed in leaps and bounds as an inclusive society. This is particularly the case in the workplace – and yet, there are always improvements to be made! Whilst most companies are putting in the work to ensure that they recruit diverse teams, this is simply the first crucial step towards an inclusive business. Diversity and inclusion are two different things: diversity means representation of marginalised groups, and a diverse recruitment process should therefore entail hiring employees regardless of their age, race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, disability or neurodiversity.

Inclusion, however, is the act of nurturing and retaining these employees, and actively supporting them at work. This is the responsibility of both an employer, and fellow employees.

Some may grumble that diversity is merely “trendy” right now, and they could not be more mistaken. The recent surge of diverse and inclusive teams should have occurred many years ago; our workforces should reflect the world we live in, after all. What’s more, ensuring that you have a diverse team is not simply a box-ticking exercise, but a cruciality for a non-static working environment with a multi-faceted array of perspectives, personalities and skill sets. In particular, a neuro-inclusive workforce embraces differences and also offers extra support to anyone who needs it.

What is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is another 2024 buzzword, from Gen Z sharing their personal diagnoses on TikTok, to Gen Xers finding out later in life how their mind really works. This may also be disregarded as just another trending topic, however, the number of conversations happening online and offline mean that more people are becoming educated about neurodiversity, and stigmas are rightfully being broken.

The term neurodiversity explains how different brains experience and interact with the world in different ways. Some of the most common diagnoses include Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Dyslexia. Despite a significant increase in education and awareness, there are still many skilled neurodivergent people who are unemployed. This is largely due to certain industries that are not neuro-inclusive – and it is imperative that this changes.

Some think that there is a “one size fits all” approach to good management, but this is not the case – particularly when you have neurodivergent team members. Today’s blog focuses on the importance of acknowledging and celebrating neurodiversity within your team, and ensuring that said employees feel seen, heard, understood – and actively championed.

Cater to Individual Employee Needs

First things first, it is important to tailor your management style to each employee. Whilst I’m not imploring you to tread on eggshells, you should definitely make a conscious effort to treat each employee as an individual, and get to know them on a deeper level. This also means that you should build trust, enabling employees to share their unique needs, without fear of repercussion or discrimination. This will allow you to be aware of any diagnosis – or pending diagnosis – that your employees may have, if they feel psychologically safe to share this information.

Also, neurodiversity defines a difference in brain function, so try not to assume that every person with ADHD, for example, will exhibit the same behaviours. Whilst there may be certain shared traits, everyone is unique. To strengthen working relationships, it is important that you get to know employees’ individual personalities: their interests, their skill sets, their working style – and neurodivergent team members should be no different. Most importantly, it is your responsibility to understand what they need to bring their best self to work.

So, how can you ensure that your workplace is neuro-inclusive? For example, you may have an employee with Autism Spectrum Disorder who performs best with a clear routine and structure to their day. Alternatively, a team member with ADHD may struggle to focus in a noisy environment. However, rather than perceiving these as obstacles to productivity, be solution-focused! You can ensure that said employee always has a clear schedule for the day, and consistency in their role – with regular check-in meetings with their line manager. You can also offer employees the option to work remotely, for example, if they feel overstimulated in an office environment. Not only will such solutions increase employee productivity, more importantly, this level of consideration will help them to feel safe, seen and happy at work.

Have Zero Tolerance for Discrimination

According to one McKinsey survey, an overwhelming 89% of employee respondents said they believe that psychological safety in the workplace is essential.

“Psychological safety is the absence of interpersonal fear. Feeling psychologically safe allows people to perform their best at home, school, and work.” (McKinsey Institute).

Unfortunately, neurodivergent employees are at a higher risk of feeling psychologically unsafe, as a result of being targeted by discriminatory behaviour. Bullying isn’t limited to pigtail-pulling in the playground; there are, in fact, more cases of workplace bullying than one might realise.

Bullying can also occur on varying scales: it doesn’t necessarily have to reach the extremes of physical and verbal abuse. In the workplace, discrimination can take the form of anything as ‘minor’ as office gossip, and can escalate to exclusion and isolation – which is detrimental on any level.

When discussing workplace bullying with your employees, it is vital that you stress your zero-tolerance policy, and the disciplinary consequences of such behaviour. Also, take this as an opportunity to flag the importance of bystander intervention: ensure employees know what to do when they witness discrimination at work, and have a clear process for them to follow.

What’s more, you should go the extra mile and promote intentional inclusion across your team.

Facilitate Regular EDI Training

This is where Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training comes in. EDI training provides a pivotal learning curve for managers and employees alike, and creates more mindful, empathetic teams. As a forward-thinking company, your values shouldn’t be limited to “not tolerating” and “not accepting” discrimination - but being actively anti-discrimination. Trust me, there is a big difference, and your employees will be able to sense this from the get-go. Effective EDI training is one of the first crucial steps to achieve this, helping you to facilitate a fair, inclusive space for all.

Furthermore, from a business perspective, it is within your best interest to prioritise EDI training - to both attract and retain talent. Did you know that 3 in 4 job seekers and employees told Glassdoor that a diverse workforce is an important factor in their decision-making process? Additionally, more than half of employees in the survey thought that their company should be doing more to increase diversity and inclusion. The question is: how will you build an inclusive culture that all your employees will thrive in?

Acknowledge, Accept and Celebrate

Once your employees have the knowledge and incentive through EDI training, you should give them specific guidance on how to practise purposeful inclusion in their day-to-day interactions: from inclusive language to practical adjustments and general accessibility. It’s also important to stress that we’re only human: mistakes happen, and it is our responsibility to learn and grow.

As I mentioned earlier, a neuro-inclusive workforce embraces differences. Whilst we, of course, always endeavour to be respectful to employees and colleagues, no one wants to be wrapped in cotton wool! Everyone’s level of self-assurance will vary – particularly depending on the stage of their diagnosis – yet, nowadays, there is far less stigma surrounding neurodiversity than in the past. Our differences are no longer something to hide or shy away from; on the contrary, many people are out and proud! Focus on people’s skill sets, as opposed to their limitations; you’ll certainly find that a neurodiverse mind is a great asset to your team!

And so, your main takeaway should simply be that neurodiversity – and all diversity – within your company is something to be celebrated, and certainly not swept under the rug.

To prepare you for those tricky conversations at work, I’d highly recommend our Courageous Conversations training. We would love to help foster an inclusive work culture at your company; at Global Training, we provide you with the skills and confidence to lead with insight, compassion and empathy, which will drastically improve your working relationships and team dynamics. We understand that human relationships in the workplace are the hardest part of the success journey to crack. Talk to us about helping your teams connect better. We design and deliver expert programmes to help build trust, team spirit and a happier, healthier workplace.

Visit our website to learn more - or get in touch today!