We Need to Support Neurodiverse Employees in the Remote Working Era: Part 1
This is part one of a two-part series on supporting neurodiverse employees.
As companies plan to boost benefits and increase employee wages by another 4 percent in 2024 according to World at Work, embracing neurodiversity should be a top priority to retain workers.
Giving employees a hybrid schedule with the ability to work from home has been one way to maintain a competitive edge during a time when employee retention is so important. Now that the hybrid work style is commonplace — if not expected — employers should do their best to ensure that these new conditions accommodate neurodiverse individuals.
What does it mean to be a neurodiverse individual?
Neurodivergence is the term for when someone’s brain processes, learns, or behaves differently from what is considered typical. This can include individuals with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, or Tourette’s Syndrome, according to HRzone, an online publication for global human resources (HR) professionals.
About 14 percent of individuals have a neurodiverse condition, according to TextHelp.
Individuals who are neurodivergent often have unique strengths and characteristics, such as the ability to achieve deep focus and process information in a non-standard way. This, if bolstered, can enable them to thrive at various types of work.
Even governments are turning to neurodiversity.
There is currently an initiative called the Neurodiverse Federal Workforce Pilot Program, which is a collaboration between MITRE, U.S. federal agencies, academia, and private industry. Its goal is “to increase high-tech career opportunities within the federal government for individuals on the autism spectrum by providing a modified application and interview process, professional development coaching, and co-worker autism awareness training.”
Potential Challenges of Remote Work for Neurodiverse Individuals
It’s undeniable that the way we work has been shifted forever since the emergence of COVID-19. Working from home and hybrid working has been seen to bring novel challenges for neurodiverse individuals in some cases.
This includes the following:
- Lack of consistency — While remote or hybrid work means flexibility for some, it could mean a lack of regularity for others, according to Adjust Services, a UK-based neurodiversity training and consultancy firm.
- Lack of a fixed desk or workplace — Having a designated workspace can be fundamental for some individuals to maintain focus, and not everyone has the proper at-home working setup.
- Maintaining communication between colleagues — For some, it can be difficult to sustain consistent conversations between coworkers and managers without being in-person.
- Stress or anxiety over isolation — While some workers have large families, or roommates to share their homes with, others may live alone, and this has the potential to lead to a feeling of isolation after prolonged periods of remote work.
While preferences may vary, it is important to understand that every individual is unique and working remotely can impact employees, especially those with neurodiversity, in multiple ways. To help remedy this, continue to listen and seek perspective on how to best support employees, whether they appear to be struggling with any of the challenges listed above or not.
Commonly seen as a perk, the hybrid work environment can pose a number of working and communication challenges for some individuals. As leaders, there are multiple changes that companies can make to ensure they properly support the neurodiverse workforce. Read “Part 2” in this series for strategies and tips to lend the support needed in a constantly-evolving work environment or visit www.bluxinga.com for technology to support this endeavor.
