Recruiting neurodiverse workers is a growing trend in hiring, especially within companies that are spearheading Autism at Work initiatives. Hiring neurodiverse teams has competitive advantages – after Microsoft began Autism at Work, numerous Fortune 500 companies followed suit, and a neurodiverse software testing group in Australia was found to be 30% more productive than their neurotypical colleagues.
Neurodivergent folks – people who are diagnosed with autism, ADHD, intellectual and developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, and other variations in brain function and neurotype – often face difficulties at work once they manage to tackle barriers related to high unemployment rates. A third of autistic people report feeling discriminated against or bullied in the workplace, and inclusion beyond the hiring process is necessary to keep autistic people like me employed and have opportunities to grow professionally. As employers prepare to onboard a host of new interns and entry-level employees, keep these important tips in mind to actively include and uplift neurodiverse workers.
Ask questions and create genuine relationships
As an autistic person, I often struggle with social cues along with making friends and finding mentors since social difficulties are a well-known hallmark of autism. Part of being a person with a disability is that you are often forced to be an advocate, but making genuine relationships requires vulnerability, honesty, and people who understand you. There are different ways we cope socially and adjust, and masking is part of how we do our part to avoid bullying or ostracization.
One of my biggest fears at work is the fact employers don’t have experience with neurodiverse employees, so they treat us with kid gloves instead of respect. I understand a lot of people have fear of the unknown – what accommodations or access needs are necessary? What is the right thing to say or do?
It’s okay if you don’t have all the answers right away, but first and foremost, follow the golden rule: treat us the way you’d like to be treated. Young neurodivergent workers are also figuring out their place within the company or workforce, so feeling welcomed and included right off the bat helps set the tone and allows us to do our best and feel supported at work.
Allow us to show up as our full selves. Ask us how we are and what interests us. Invest and take an interest in us just like you would anybody else. Neurodivergent people are human as well. One of my best work experiences was when I’d occasionally go to lunch with my supervisor, and during that hour, we would just talk about completely unrelated topics like my fitness journey or family vacations. The things we are passionate about (at work and outside of work) play huge roles in our lives, and I know for me, I am always very happy to tell you all about whatever interests me personally and professionally.
Host trainings for employees and all levels of management
A lot of corporations and businesses love hosting diversity training, especially for management. Yet colleagues have previously told me they’ve never interacted with an autistic adult before since their only experiences surrounding neurodivergence were with children. I know people at all levels – interns, staff, managers, and executives – all benefit from training. Diversity trainings are educational, and disability inclusion needs to be at the forefront given how many Americans have disabilities or are neurodivergent.
A great recommendation is to have a disability or neurodiversity at work training be led by someone with that experience. It’s one thing if a professor or HR expert says things about disability and neurodiversity, but it’s a whole other, more relatable experience if someone who is neurodivergent shares their experiences as well as what we think you should know. It also helps promote a level of openness within a company to show first-person perspectives combined with meaningful professional advice. To have authentic representation, see if there are any neurodivergent employees who may be interested in being part of a panel discussion along with an HR team member, or hire an external neurodivergent consultant to talk about the experience. Your mileage especially may vary if there is neurodiversity within HR.
Hire and promote neurodivergent leaders
I often find myself saying the future of work is having neurodiverse leadership. Currently, a lot of neurodiverse hiring programs are run by well-meaning folks who are neurotypical, which means a lot of nuances that make the hiring process inaccessible are missed. Having neurodivergent leaders brings personal experience to the table, and ways to keep fostering a culture of inclusion for current and future employees. Neurodivergent leaders can help to introduce policies to make companies more inclusive of all people and have procedures and ideas become accessible as well.
To continue with a neurodiverse approach to hiring and company culture, it’s also important for more neurodivergent people to hold roles in HR and recruiting so outreach can resonate more strongly with neurodiverse job seekers. Not just because hiring us is the right thing to do and combats employment disparities, but because neurodiversity is a competitive advantage.
Foster a culture of openness
When I previously wrote about disclosing disability at work, I spoke with Scott Beth, the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Intuit. Beth talked to me about a culture of openness, where senior leaders were willing to be vulnerable and share their stories. I recall managers and leadership talking about their own coming out as queer, or documenting their mental health struggles, which in turn led to employees company-wide opening greater dialogues about diversity and identities.
In larger companies, employee resource groups are a way for diverse populations to feel supported – they’re self-led, and often bring people with similar experiences together. However, while ERGs help people feel included, it’s important for them to have actionable outcomes and take those values company-wide. For new neurodivergent employees and interns, letting employees know how to join ERGs, whether or not a disability ERG exists, and sharing how to start an ERG can help to bring more awareness and safe spaces for discussion and support into the workplace culture. Having groups with common traits is an option to meet colleagues and begin to build a culture of openness.
As companies continue onboarding new and eager employees, there is a lot of potential with greater neurodiversity in the workforce. Inclusion is not as simple as offering accommodations to applicants with disabilities, but is an actionable practice that requires we examine our biases and ways of thinking. As we become more inclusive, we are able to reap the benefits of working with people of all abilities.
Haley Moss is a leader on disability inclusion, autism and neurodiversity in the workplace, employment policy, accessibility, and lawyers with disabilities.