Reasonable adjustments
Peter Hamilton is head of market engagement at Zurich plc and the government’s Disability and Access Ambassador for the Insurance Sector.
He says Zurich has a reasonable adjustments process in place and provides manager training in disability confidence.
All the adjustments are very much tailored to the individual, but he says it is important to stress that the cost to the company is often minimal, but the benefits to the team member and to Zurich significant.
Hamilton advises: “In terms of recruitment, we need to be thoughtful on job adverts – do you really have to be a ‘good team player’ in every role? We need to be alert to making sure the process is clear and communicated in advance.
"Is an interview the right process? Can we provide a topics or questions in advance and give the neurodivergent person a real chance to shine. We’ve stopped using group exercises as part of our graduate recruitment, as that unnecessarily disadvantages some neurodivergent candidates
“The support we might provide someone with ADHD will very much depend on the individual."
According to Hamilton, this might include accommodations such as a flexible schedule, somewhere more private to work, noise-cancelling headphones, guidance and objectives for work being written down, breaks and time management (help), accommodations for meetings, career counselling, and training.
Additional help
To provide employers with additional help, NiB published The NiB Neurodiversity at Work 2023 Demand, Supply and a Gap Analysis Research Report, which was their 2023 research conducted by Birkbeck, University of London.
Harris describes this research as “the first of its kind, highlighting the needs and concerns of the neurodivergent workforce. We’ll be releasing additional research in April 2024.”
He recommends employers read the 10 key takeaways from the report, then dive into the recommendations in more depth.
- Your neurodivergent employees have strengths that are key to innovation.
- There’s an untapped need and opportunity to embed neurodiversity into DEI policies.
- Flexibility in workplace and working hours matters.
- Mental wellbeing requires urgent attention.
- Fear of stigma and discrimination is still widespread.
- Educating line management is essential.
- Neurodiversity-friendly career pathways are critical for retaining talent.
- Intention to leave is high for neurodivergent individuals.
- Intersectionality does have an impact.
- Self-disclosure drives access to adjustments.
While there is plenty of positive work being done by some organisations to learn more about ADHD and other neurodiverse conditions such as autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia, and dyscalculia and how to facilitate these conditions in the workplace, Edmans is realistic.
He says: “Neurodiversity is a relatively new topic of conversation in corporate diversity, equity and inclusion spaces.
"As members of GAIN, companies recognise the value and importance of fostering neuro-inclusive workplaces, but are still in the process of learning what this means and how best to support neurodivergent employees.
"At the same time, many neurodivergent people have deep insights to offer but have historically been excluded from the spheres of influence where their voices can be heard.”
Anita Boniface is a freelance journalist
