Neurodiversity could be the next buzzword in corporations. It could be the next pseudo-inclusive program that looks at the employment parity of people within a given indicator - and changes nothing else. Such a company may even receive employer of the year or other awards for this indicator. Excel lights up green, once again.
Neurodiversity (especially in the context of the Millennial, Z and Alpha generations) should be a conscious recruitment strategy for large organizations because, when implemented uncompromisingly, it becomes a competitive advantage in the market.
It is not a fashion, nor a disease, nor does it require fixing
I won’t expand on this too much, but I have already encountered various misconceptions about neurodiversity in the labor market and would like to briefly distance myself from them.
Without stigmatizing anyone, this difference in perception is statistically noticeable in generations X and older - mainly because they faced other challenges (also important), and this was not one of them. It is a natural change in mindset.
Neurodiversity is not an excuse for one’s weaknesses, using the trendy term and the hype surrounding it. It is not an excuse for people who have difficulties at work. And it does not make neurodiverse people feel better about their limitations because “that’s just the way they are”.
It is not a disorder or disease, and therefore does not require “treatment” or “fixing”. We are talking about natural differences in brain functioning - which are not a deficit.
The closer we get to each neuroatypical person (which in itself can be difficult), the easier it is to support their individual needs - and develop their talents. We are talking about a very conscious acceptance of the other person’s mind exactly as it is.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s summarize it with a truism that is very important in this context: neurodivergent people are not a homogeneous group, even within the same diagnosis (e.g. autism spectrum).
One of the most annoying myths is the belief that neuroatypicality goes hand in hand with a lack of empathy, when it is often the other way around and understanding the feelings of another person can even come spontaneously. The way this empathy is expressed may be different from what we have been accustomed to so far.
We do not question the fact that there are different languages in the world - so why do we have a problem with this?
You may also have heard that neurodiversity means not being able to have a career. That these people will not reach high positions. Nothing could be further from the truth. When such a person really does have this problem, it usually means that the company is not suitable (or, to put it bluntly, not at all aware) of such people.
How to work with us?
Well, first you have to hire a neurodivergent person at all. This may already be impossible in your company, because, for example, recruitment processes by their traditional design naturally eliminate such talents.
This usually happens during the interview stage, which is based on a fast pace, answers and self-presentation, which neuroatypical candidates may find difficult, because not all of them are high-functioning or have the resources to simply… survive such an interview.
Of course, we can also add to this recruitment elements such as matching candidates to a specific answer key or paying attention to conformism or respect for hierarchy (naturally desirable in large organizations).
If this is what the process looks like, maybe you are not looking for specialists, but for laborers - and that is also okay - as long as it is consistent with the content of the job description.
The second thing that comes to mind is friction in the area of communication. The language of developed corporate structures is very nuanced, conservative and full of subtle hints. If people who communicate in a very direct way start to appear in such an organization, it leads to misunderstandings and conflicts in the teams.
And if there are teams, there is teamwork. While the awareness of the existence and the specifics of the work between neuroatypical and neurotypical people can be solved with training (only please make sure it is good training), the importance of matching neuroatypical people is often not discussed.
If, for example, you have people in one group who:
- those who question hierarchy and those who need it very much;
- very creative and those who need rigid and clear rules
without explicit mediation and communication between these people on a meta level (“beyond” work) and reaching a consensus (which may mean full agreement that such people cannot work together), this can mean conflict after conflict, which will eventually lead to the breakdown of the team.
In the context of teamwork, one more thing is crucial: even if a person prefers to work individually, care should be taken to ensure that they are not isolated; to create conditions for them to integrate comfortably. This is the ideal scenario.
In this one of the worst, the lack of awareness of the phenomenon of neurodiversity in large organizations naturally leads to social isolation, underestimation (often due to low scores in traditional performance evaluation methods), lack of support (especially from managers as the closest point of contact), and as a result, a feeling of loneliness, misunderstanding, overload of professional duties, and clinical burnout.
Best-in-class Ninjas in Digital Transformation
During several years of working in the field of change management in companies (including business, process and, finally, digital transformations), I noticed the abilities of neuroatypical people, who even accelerate transformation processes, and certainly ensure their high quality and maintenance.
Hyperfocus (the ability to concentrate intensely)
This is the ideal characteristic for a deep work model – as long as you create the conditions for it to exist and be utilized. It won’t work in organizations that are overrun with meetings, ad hoc work, and other factors that introduce chaos.
Exceptional attention to detail
The neuroatypical people I have met are great quality controllers - they are often the first to detect typos in copy or code, or minor interface errors. They are also often characterized by a very high visual memory and observational skills.
This is an area that is worth exploring in more depth to understand the specific characteristics of each person. For example, the lack of maintaining constant eye contact or recognizing emotions from facial expressions can go hand in hand with excellent assimilation of documentation or quick detection of anomalies in analytical/monitoring systems or reports from them.
Pattern detection, analytical and logical thinking
It is difficult to find other people who have a natural talent for working in the area of cybersecurity/InfoSec, regardless of which team they are in (again, if they are a good fit).
I have always seen the most striking examples in blue and red teams, but it was also often the result of the initial period of implementing neurodiversity awareness in a given company or… by coincidence.
Uncompromising when it comes to nonsense
If the transformation also includes optimizing internal processes, use the support of neuroatypical people, e.g. to identify unnecessary activities or procedures.
Honest and direct communication
This is one of the most difficult traits to understand in a corporate environment, but I believe it is essential for a neurodiverse environment. It is enough to understand that this direct communication is usually not personal (and does not involve blaming or looking for someone to blame, even if it involves investigating the cause). This precision of language can be the strength of transforming corporations, and not a topic for HR conversations or the creation of recovery plans.
One could go on and on, but corporations will not realize the potential of neurodiversity unless they create the right conditions and consciously recognize it.
Keys to success: Environment & Corporate Culture
Many large stores have “quiet hours” - a time when there are no marketing messages and often not even music playing from the speakers - and the lights are dimmed. If there is such a shop in your area, take advantage of the experience at least once and see if you feel better without excessive stimuli during such a mundane activity as shopping. It must be similar in a corporation.
If an employee has varying levels of concentration throughout the day, provide flexible working hours - and hold them accountable for results above all. If there are too many stimuli in the office, provide remote working.
If remote working will degrade the quality or pace of transformation (which in my experience is noticeable especially in the early stages), provide a space that is sensory friendly.
If employees can have their own workstations, allow them to personalize them. If there are any additional factors that are important to the person (from the perspective of comfort or safety), consider talking about their individual implementation and discuss the conditions.
What could such a factor be? For example, individual work in the company of your dog or cat.
A corporate culture that is open to diversity builds psychological safety. If the organization truly provides it, stress reduction will increase employee commitment and innovation.
Provide and seek feedback: let it focus on constructive criticism of the work, not an evaluation of the employee’s personality.
Provide support: mentors, technology (perhaps it is already available in your organization, but not used in this way), training.
Celebrate successes and show that neurodiversity is an added value to the team. And the best part is that it usually benefits all employees in the organization.