Every employee brings something unique to the workplace, offering up a combination of skills, insights, and experiences that aid the organization along in its journey. Unfortunately, the desire for conformity forces them to suppress their individual natures to become a nondescript part of the workforce, but this doesn’t benefit the workers or the organization. Neurodiversity in the workplace is often suppressed rather than supported, treated as something to hide away as best as possible. Not only does this affect the worker’s health, but it also locks many of their abilities out of their reach merely because the organization is unsure of how to channel them in the right way. This only allows stigma regarding neurodiversity to grow.
A recent white paper on workplace culture and inclusion by Everway surveyed 500 US-based neurodivergent employees to better understand their experience on the job. Almost half of the respondents admitted that they worried their careers would be negatively impacted by their experience of neurodiversity, and this fear is not unfounded. The data showed that a large number of employees reported experiencing stigma at work, with many struggling against communication barriers in the workplace.
Acknowledging neurodiversity allows for productivity and efficiency gains for the entire workforce. (Image: Pexels)
Discussing Neurodiversity At Work Is Harder Than You’d Expect
As awareness of neurodiversity continues to grow, more and more workers are learning about their own conditions and seeking assistance to better understand how it shapes their day-to-day lives. Data shows that up to 20% of the global adult population is neurodivergent, experiencing conditions like dyslexia, autism, and ADHD. This improved understanding certainly opens up opportunities to create support systems around neurodiversity, but most workers aren’t comfortable bringing it up at work. Everway found that 19% of surveyed employees were unsure about how to bring the topic up with their employers.
About 32% of surveyed employees didn’t want to share their private information with the organization, but this suggests that the large majority are still ready to have this conversation, if not for the potential downsides. These concerns come from lived experiences. Workers often face issues in the hiring process or fail to see career progression due to their neurodiversity, and this limits their willingness to share.
Addressing Neurodiversity with the Experts: Saving Workplaces One Conversation at a Time
Neurodiversity isn’t just something for employees to work through alone. When employers actively take an interest in their workforce and create the right conditions for them to operate at their best, the organization flourishes as a whole. Unless the workplace is primed to welcome honest conversations about health, well-being, and identity, employees will be forced to lock away their skills, abilities, and insights until more optimal conditions are made available. This transition towards creating an open space for sharing experiences and providing support admittedly isn’t easy, but there are some experts with insights on how to explore the topic of neurodiversity a little further.
Cathy Donnelly, Chief People Officer at Everway, allowed us to broach this conversation on neurodiversity with the kind of honesty and openness the workplace requires today. With over 30 years of experience in Human Resources, she has witnessed the workplace evolve in more ways than one. A board member of the NOW Group, a social enterprise focused on helping people with learning difficulties and autism gain skills, find work, and live more independently, Cathy’s insights showcase her experience with building inclusion in the workplace.
THRD: We understand the experience of neurodiversity can differ from person to person, but could you elaborate on a few examples of what expressions of neurodiversity in the workplace look like today?
Cathy Donnelly: Neurodiversity shows up in many ways. Every neurotype brings differences in how people process information, communicate, and organize their work. While every person’s experience is unique, some common examples include an employee with ADHD who brings strong creativity and rapid idea generation, but finds long meetings hard to follow without breaks or structure.
We might have an autistic employee who prefers clear instructions and predictable routines, but they may find sudden changes or vague briefs stressful. Or a dyslexic employee who excels in problem solving and big-picture thinking, but needs more time or tools for reading-heavy tasks.
It’s important to remember that these are not deficits but are simply differences in how people think and work. When work is designed with that in mind, people can use their strengths more consistently. For organizations, this means better focus, stronger ideas, and more reliable performance across teams.
THRD: When we talk about neurodivergent employees facing communication barriers at work, how does this impact the organization overall?
Cathy Donnelly: Communication barriers often come from the one-size-fits-all approach to working. This can look like information shared in formats that are hard to process, such as long verbal briefings with no written follow-up. It can also include challenges in capturing ideas at speed, especially when thinking moves faster than writing or speaking.
These barriers affect individual productivity, and that carries through to the organization.
You may see missed deadlines because instructions were unclear or only shared verbally, lower engagement when employees feel misunderstood or excluded, increased errors due to processing overload or unclear expectations, talent loss when employees leave instead of asking for support, or even reduced innovation because different perspectives are not fully heard. Our research found that 56% of employees have experienced communication barriers at work. This highlights the scale of the challenge.
The opportunity is clear. When you use clear, accessible communication and give people choice in how they receive information and share their ideas, they contribute more fully, performance improves, and that benefits the whole organization. It’s proven in the research. Organizations improving employee communication have been reported to increase productivity by 21%.
THRD: Employees who are neurodivergent hesitate to discuss it due to the stigma. How do you suggest employers or their HR teams broach that conversation with employees?
Cathy Donnelly: Many neurodivergent employees hesitate to disclose at work, and the data shows why. Among the 500 neurodivergent employees we surveyed, 61% said they have experienced stigma in the workplace. Those who chose not to disclose their neurodiversity at work shared two main concerns: 44% felt it would negatively impact their career, and 42% worried managers or colleagues would view them differently
This tells us something important. The goal is not to push disclosure. The goal is to build trust and offer support in a safe, universal way. You can do this in practical ways:
- Focus on needs, not labels. Ask, “What helps you do your best work?”
- Normalize flexibility. Make adjustments available to everyone, not only those who disclose
- Share examples of support openly, so employees can easily see what is available to them
- Raise awareness of neurodiversity across the organization, and do so in a way that celebrates the strengths that come from neurodiverse teams
- Train managers on neurodiversity, and give them the tools to use flexible management styles
- Make policies clear, simple, and easy to access
When you create an environment where different ways of working are understood and accepted, people feel safer to access the support available to them and ask for more if they need it. This leads to better outcomes for individuals and a stronger performance across the organization.
THRD: Is maintaining an in-house therapist who can talk to employees something you recommend to HR teams?
Cathy Donnelly: An in-house therapist can be helpful, but it is not a complete solution. Most workplace barriers are environmental, not individual. So support should focus on improving how work is designed, not only supporting the person within it. This means also considering practical workplace adjustments, manager training, accessible tools and systems, and clear communication practices.
There are also other support channels that bring together employee support and workplace improvement. One example is Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). ERGs are voluntary, employee-led groups that bring people together around shared experiences. They create space for peer support, and they also help organizations improve how they work, especially when they are sponsored by Senior Leadership.
For example, at Everway, our neurodiversity ERG, Enable, has published best practice advice around digital and in-person meetings to make communication more inclusive across the company. The ERG also acts as a feedback channel, giving employees a safe space to share ideas and feel heard. This has led to real change.
A colleague in Denmark suggested that Everway join the Sunflower Lanyard scheme. The ERG explored the idea, built a business case, and supported a global launch in December 2023. This scheme offers a visual way for employees with non-visible disabilities to discreetly make others aware that a little support, understanding, or consideration would be appreciated, without having to share their condition. It also creates a culture of understanding, reminding staff to communicate in an accessible way and consider the inclusivity of their actions.
Last year, we also extended this by partnering with JAM Card and the NOW Group, empowering our staff to offer the same considerations to our customers. We also support employees through a mental health network, including trained mental health first aiders who offer confidential, one-to-one support.
Whatever support model you choose, it should be optional and confidential, easy to access, and positioned as support, not a fix. When you combine employee support with better workplace design, you reduce barriers and help more people perform at their best. Research shows that neuroinclusive employers report seeing improved employee wellbeing, engagement, retention, and innovation.
THRD: In our earlier exchange, one of the recommendations for supporting neurodivergent employees was to consider alternate interview approaches. Could you tell us a little more on methods that might be helpful to explore?
Cathy Donnelly: For most people, traditional face-to-face interviews create some level of anxiety. When this is combined with challenges in processing, communication, or social interaction, the experience can become overwhelming. Many traditional interviews rely on fast verbal responses and reading social cues. This can disadvantage neurodivergent candidates and limit their ability to show what they can do.
You can improve this by offering different ways for candidates to demonstrate their skills. You can use work trials or task-based assessments instead of relying only on verbal interviews and share questions in advance, so candidates have time to prepare. It might be helpful to allow written or recorded responses where appropriate, or offer extra time or breaks during the process.
You can also improve the structure of the interview itself by using clear, specific questions rather than abstract or open-ended ones. Additionally, you could also explain the format and expectations in advance, and reduce unnecessary steps or last-minute changes that might be disruptive.
These approaches help you assess real ability, not just interview performance. That leads to better hiring outcomes, because you’re more likely to find candidates who can do the job well.
THRD: With the shift in conversations around diversity and DEI as a whole, some employers appear nervous to discuss aspects like neurodiversity at work. How do you think employers can manage a balance between regulations and dedicated employee support programs?
Cathy Donnelly: As conversations around DEI shift, some employers are becoming more cautious. The risk is focusing only on compliance. Compliance sets the minimum standard. It helps employers meet legal requirements and provide adjustments where needed. But in practice, this often falls short.
Research shows that 70% of neurodivergent employees never disclose their neurodiversity at work. Of those that do, one in eight wait over a year to receive the adjustments they need. This leaves employees without support and organizations exposed to risk. When employees don’t feel safe to disclose, organizations lose the opportunity to unlock potential and address barriers early, often resulting in reduced productivity, higher absenteeism, and increased attrition costs down the line.
The impact goes further. When workplace culture does not support employee needs, 30% of employees quit within 90 days. In contrast, organizations with strong cultures of belonging reduce turnover risk by 50%.
This is where mindset matters. When you treat neuroinclusion as a business priority, you shift from reactive adjustments to designing work that supports people from the start. That shift leads to better outcomes. Companies such as EY, SAP, JPMorgan Chase, and Microsoft report retention rates above 90% in their autism hiring programmes.
In practice, this means moving from offering access through disclosure to universal access to support. It also means moving away from treating accessibility as an add-on to embedding it into everyday processes.
Universal design can help here. It focuses on shaping environments, tools, and ways of working so more people can succeed from the start. Instead of asking individuals to adapt to fixed systems, organizations adapt the work itself. This builds in flexibility, accessibility, and choice. Neuroinclusion is not only about meeting requirements. It is a practical way to improve retention, reduce risk, and help people perform at their best.
THRD: What are some ways that HR and business leaders can also work towards becoming “neuroinclusion” experts?
Cathy Donnelly: Becoming an expert does not mean knowing everything. It means moving beyond passive learning to consistent, deliberate practice. It involves seeking feedback, setting goals, and challenging the way things have always been done. Understanding different cognitive needs is a good starting point. But real impact comes from listening, learning, and making consistent changes to how your organization works.
Start by listening to neurodivergent employees and acting on feedback. You can also begin auditing your workplace for barriers in communication, tools, and processes, and partner with specialists to build strategies that embed neuroinclusion into how your organization operates. It is similarly important to create safe spaces for people to share their experiences and test small changes before measuring their impact. Over time, this builds confidence and capability.
There are many practical examples of how we seek feedback, ensure accountability, and make progress. For example, we regularly conduct anonymous Pulse Surveys to gather insights on the employee experience, management perceptions, system usage, and alignment with company goals. Employee feedback has driven positive changes, including the introduction of wellbeing afternoons, enhanced learning opportunities, and transparent career progression pathways. Frequent Town Hall meetings, led by our Senior Leadership Team, offer company-wide updates and highlight the positive changes being made.
We also believe in empowering staff to create and lead ERGs to provide safe spaces for people to share their feedback. We empower them to make changes based on this feedback and seek their advice. The insight gathered was then given to our Internal Systems team to advise on improvements. Additionally, during an office redesign, they offered advice on accessible design considerations, which were used to create a space where every employee could thrive in comfort.
We’ve created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council to ensure accountability of neurodiversity initiatives, and a Neurodiversity Network made up of neurodivergent employees who share their stories to raise awareness and understanding of neurological differences across the company.
We are partners with the Business Disability Forum, Valuable 500, and Disability:IN, each made up of organizations committed to making a difference for workplace inclusion and providing benchmarks to help organizations deliver impact.
At Everway, neuroinclusion is not just a word; it’s a commitment that embodies our culture, environment, and initiatives. The most effective leaders treat neuroinclusion as a core business skill, not a side initiative. When you make it part of everyday decisions, ways of working, and team culture, you build your expertise while creating an environment where more people can contribute, perform, and succeed.
THRD: With the data presented by Everway in mind, where do you see the attitudes towards neurodiversity in the workplace headed five years from now?
Cathy Donnelly: I think more organizations are realizing the benefit of neurodiverse teams. With that, we are seeing that attitudes are shifting from awareness to action. You can expect to see less focus on labels and more focus on work design. We also predict greater use of technology to support communication and productivity.
Neuroinclusion could become a part of performance and talent strategies. The next few years could bring in more demand from employees for flexible, accessible workplaces, and ultimately, stronger links between neuroinclusion and measurable business outcomes.
As this shift continues, organizations that act early will have an advantage. They will attract broader talent, retain skilled employees, and build teams that think in more diverse ways.
That is the long-term direction. When workplaces work for different kinds of minds, they work better for everyone.
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