What steps can organisations take to welcome neurodivergent people to the workplace?

While neurodivergent individuals have a lot to contribute at work, they also have invisible disabilities that require companies to be more accommodating

A few years ago, Goa-based game designer Tanvi (name changed on request) was down with COVID. She dealt with a severe bout of the illness for a few weeks, and then seemed to recover. But curiously, her brain fog didn’t seem to go away. In 2018, she had been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), so she thought she knew what ups and downs in mental health looked like. But this felt different. She was on medication, but they were not helping. She did not feel like having a career and was barely motivated enough to be able to work. She was also going through some personal issues, and that, combined with her workplace difficulties, made her feel as if she was being crushed under a mountain. 

In 2021, she visited a psychiatrist who specialises in working with women and was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)—a condition characterised by difficulty with attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behaviour. “I hadn’t realised I had ADHD,” the 34-year-old says. “I just thought I sucked at everything!”

Having received the right medication, she had what she describes as an “absolute turnaround”—her work performance improved drastically and she could learn better too.

Tanvi’s experience is not uncommon. A study suggests that in 2017, India had 197.3 million people with mental disorders, and the number had gone up significantly from 1990. India does have a National Mental Health Policy in place, first adopted in 2014. It even has a Mental Healthcare Act, passed in 2017. But the Act does not prevent discrimination in employment against people grappling with mental health diagnoses or include any suggestions about how employers can include mental health in their employee benefits policies. 

As a result, invisible disabilities such as BPD, ADHD, autism, bipolar disorder and others tend to be either stigmatised or dismissed altogether in the workplace, especially if the individual needs a lower level of support to be able to function independently. This is reflected in employment statistics for neurodivergent people. Some studies from the United States suggest that between 40-85 per cent of people on the autistic spectrum in that country may be unemployed. 

Understanding neurodiversity 

Individuals who experience disorders such as these often refer to themselves as ‘neurodivergent’ (‘ND’). The description comes from the term ‘neurodiversity’, coined to describe brains that present with Autism Spectrum Disorder, by Australian sociologist Judy Singer in 1998. Singer intended the term to represent that there was nothing ‘wrong’ with people whose brains developed non-typically—just different. Now, the phrase is used as an umbrella term for people dealing with a number of disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, ADHD and various learning disabilities. 

“Technically, ‘neurodivergent’ is not a medical term,” says Dr. Sanjay Garg, a senior consultant psychiatrist based in Kolkata. “It’s a useful social term to identify people who have both special needs and special abilities in particular fields.”

Globally, women and people of colour tend to be underdiagnosed with neurodivergent conditions such as autism. Girls are often taught to camouflage or hide autistic symptoms. They also often don’t fit the accepted diagnostic criteria, as most studies on these conditions focused on young males, thus identifying only the subset of symptoms that they displayed. This is why many women, like Tanvi, are diagnosed far later in life, having dealt with feelings of inadequacy, shame and failure for their whole lives. 

"Many neurodivergent individuals have difficulty with certain aspects of life, such as social interactions, responding to particular environments, sensory issues and so on, to which they react “outside social norms,” as Garg puts it. On the other hand, they may excel in certain areas, far outstripping others, and if provided opportunities within circumstances tailored for them, they perform as well as—and sometimes better than—their peers. 

“I have a patient who is excellent with numbers but can’t sit in an office, and has difficulty participating in day-to-day rituals such as eating with others,” says Garg. “In his office, he has been provided with a small room where he sits alone and is able to function very well.”

The numbers bear this out: research from Australia has suggested that teams with neurodivergent professionals can be 30 per cent more productive than those without them. Akshay CM, a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion consultant, additionally points out that neurodivergent individuals can bring in innovative ideas and a different perspective to the organisation, due to their perception of the world.

“Diverse ideas will enrich your products, and hyperfocus periods (periods in which many neurodivergent individuals tend to focus on only one topic and forego everything else) will ensure high productivity,” he says. “Plus, people tend to be loyal to companies that accommodate them—attrition rates are low.”

Acting with care 

So how can workplaces help neurodivergent individuals? Apart from providing employees with access to health insurance and therapy, inclusive policies are perhaps the best option. 

“The first step is to look at the recruitment process,” says Rajasekharan Pazhaniappan, co-founder of v-shesh, a disability needs organisation. There has to be a skill-match assessment, followed by proper training tailored to the neurodivergent individual’s learning needs. 

Adaptations in the process shouldn’t be ignored just because an individual is able to communicate well, or because their disability is non-physical and invisible. This can result in the individual having a crisis at work—a missed deadline or difficulties in learning—and then being blamed for having attitude issues, when inadequate support was the reason for the crisis. 

Even effective measures can fail if the company doesn’t have a feedback mechanism. One of the most common areas in which Rajasekharan sees this is the buddy system—when the person who is supposed to be the bridge between the company and the ND person has not been trained properly, and so talks down to the person rather than simply listening, building trust, and then helping to problem-solve.  

Managers and colleagues can also require training to learn how to communicate. Clear communication and enumerating expectations upfront are vital to ND folk, as vagueness and unpredictability are difficult to deal with for most. “There need to be education and awareness about working with people with neurodivergence, much like Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) and unconscious bias trainings,” says Akshay.

“It really helps me when people explain the context around things,” says 28-year-old Bengaluru-based marketing professional Perse (chosen name), who is considered to be on the autism spectrum and to have ADHD by her psychiatrist. “A manager in my previous workplace always took the time out to sit down with me and have a conversation, telling me why the work mattered, and what he was going to do with the results. That helped me do more things faster.”

To adjust and accommodate 

Another major concern is flexibility of work hours. The ability to focus often ebbs and flows with many of these conditions, and people have different ways of managing this. Tanvi mentions that her current company’s flexible-work-hour policy helped her immensely, as did the freedom to create her own learning models to undergo training to upskill. 

“The freedom to control my time and scope of work is what I miss the most since I was a freelancer,” says 22-year-old Abha Ahad, who was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago. “Sometimes you just can’t work at the same pace for eight  hours across five days; sometimes I want to work for four hours a day and sometimes 12! It’s so hard to get this in traditional workplaces with expectations of traditional routines.”

Location, or the option to work remotely, is another useful accommodation. Many ND individuals have unique needs and routines that help to regulate them. They can be difficult at best or impossible at worst to carry out in an office environment, which can also trigger sensory issues. Access to dedicated quiet areas, headphones, and adjustments in lighting and temperature in the workplace can be helpful. 

Perhaps the most important point to remember is that all neurodivergent individuals are different and have different needs. Individual accommodation plans can only work if communication takes place, and a general culture of accepting feedback, fostered by leadership, goes a long way.

Some companies have already started working on this. Bumble Inc, the company behind the dating app, has a dedicated employee resource group called ‘Neurobees’. “Neurobees’ mission is to provide support, education, and a platform for discussing neurodivergent conditions,” a company spokesperson told The Established over email. The company also observed Neurodiversity Celebration Week in March 2023 with free, live webinars aimed at raising awareness about neurodiversity. 

Tata Consultancy Services, meanwhile, states the company embraces neuro-diversity “as a vital aspect of the human spectrum.” It has started the ‘TCS Cares’ programme to extend ‘counselling and support to neuro-divergent individuals.’ “(It’s to empower) them to navigate challenges and prioritise their emotional and mental well-being,” says Sangeeta Chandran, Global Head, TCS Cares. Other companies that offer tailored support for neurodiverse people in the workforce include JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and software firm SAP. 

Identifying and dealing with triggers 

At the other end of the spectrum, most neurodivergent folk are able to identify activities that help them function more efficiently, whether with the help of a therapist or through prolonged experience. Ahad says it helps her to exercise in the morning before work to burn off some restless energy, allowing  her to concentrate better, while grounding techniques help with the anxiety that comes with inability to do monotonous routine tasks. 

Chef Nayantara Menon Bagla, who was diagnosed with adult-onset ADHD when she was 20, says she “runs her life on Google Calendar.” Apart from working out to strengthen her focus, the now 31-year-old, who runs her own business, dedicates a portion of her Sunday to planning for the week ahead. “I do not rely on memory and don’t ad hoc say yes to things. I also use scheduling tools like Calendly,” she says. “I’m perpetually looking for ways to make my life easier.”

Above all, neurodivergent employees look for respect and a sense of belonging as a valuable part of the work force—just like all others. “I’m afraid that people will not take me seriously because of my accommodation needs,” says Tanvi. “I don’t want to be treated as less of a person because of my disability.”

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