Why employers should hire more neurodivergent workers

Rob Edwards became an advocate for neurodivergent people soon after his son's autism diagnosis nine years ago and subsequent ADHD diagnoses of other family members, including his own about three years ago.

Now, as chief executive officer of the U.K.-based Neurodiversity and Entrepreneurship Association, he makes the case for why companies should hire and support neurodivergent employees: The 15-20% of the global population that includes people who have autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia.

"People are starting to have more conversations about the real positives and the benefits of this huge population of people who are amazingly creative," says Edwards, who started NEA in 2023. "That different cognitive reasoning — different cognitive approaches to business, whether it's employed or self-employed — is a real benefit. It's people who can see the gaps in markets and in industries that a lot of other people can't."

Read more: 4 ways employers can attract and support neurodiverse talent 

Yet landing and keeping a job can be difficult for a neurodivergent person. Fifty-eight percent of neurodivergent employees surveyed last year reported that they had been mistreated at work, including one in four who had been bullied, and one in five who had been fired or forced to quit. The survey by EduBirdie, which polled 2,000 U.S. neurodivergent employees ages 20 to 43, also showed that one in three fear that disclosing their condition could cost them their job and that, unsurprisingly, 91% mask their symptoms at work.

Companies that want to attract neurodiverse workers need to make accommodations, starting with more inclusive hiring practices and job interviews, Edwards says. Structured interviews, skill-based assessments and alternative application formats can help minimize bias against neurodivergent candidates, as can work trials that allow candidates to show off their skills, rather than relying only on standard interviews that some neurodivergent applicants struggle with.

Sharing job interview questions and other information in advance can ease the anxiety that is common with neurodivergent people and help them be at their best, Edwards says. In the EduBirdie survey, 46% of the respondents didn't disclose their condition during job interviews because they feared discrimination.

"Research shows that a lot of neurodivergent people have a heightened sense of imposter syndrome," he says. "That comes from having lived a life where they've sort of felt that they weren't good enough."

Read more: How to destigmatize ADHD in the workplace to improve productivity 

For best practices, Edwards says, companies can look to others with notable neurodiversity recruiting programs, such as Charles Schwab, Citizens Bank, Dell, Microsoft, SAP and Wells Fargo.

A new way of thinking about work

To support neurodivergent people already on the work force, human resources and managers should be trained, and provide training throughout the organization, about the techniques and tools that provide a welcoming environment, Edwards says.

"The whole conversation needs to change so that we're reframing it and looking at the strengths that the neurodivergent employees can bring to the company," he says. "It's not just about, 'If we hire somebody who's neurodivergent we are going to have to think about accommodations; we're going to have to think of adjustments; we're going to have to change our processes.'"

Read more: Your employees with ADHD are struggling. Here's how to help

The survey showed that 58% of neurodivergent workers believe that a lack of understanding presents the main barrier to inclusivity. "It's an opportunity," says Ksenia Hubska, data lead at EduBirdie. "You need to know what these people need in order to prosper and show their best."

Neurodiversity awareness training can educate managers and coworkers about both the strengths and challenges for their colleagues, Edwards says. Companies can match neurodivergent employees with mentors to provide guidance and support, and tasks can be assigned to neurodivergent employees based on their strengths rather than focusing on what they may struggle with.  

Companies can benefit from the abilities of neurodivergent people to approach problems from a different angle and spot opportunities for new and different products and services that haven't been thought of, Edwards says. 

"They need that lateral thinking and thinking out of the box, which is what neurodivergent people are, on the whole, pretty good at," he says. "The world needs different ways of approaching problems and different inputs, and the neurodivergent brain can bring a lot of that to the table."

Creating a neurodivergent-friendly culture

It is also important for organizations to foster a culture where people are willing to share whether they have a neurodivergent diagnosis, Edwards says, including senior managers who can share their stories of navigating the positives and challenges of having a condition and finding success.

For Edwards, "everything fell into place" when he received his ADHD diagnosis and could fully appreciate his own strengths — such as an ability to jump into projects with a single-minded focus and drive — as well as the accommodations he needed to allow himself. "It's definitely made me kinder to myself."