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More adults today identify as neurodivergent than ever before. That’s a broad term for a group of neurological differences which includes autism, ADHD, and dyslexia, among others. But organizations still have quite a way to go to make workplaces inclusive and accommodating to neurodivergent employees, a new study has found.
Around 59% of working adults with ADHD, dyslexia, or another neurodivergent condition worry that disclosing it will negatively affect them at work, according to a survey shared exclusively with Fortune from Understood.org, a nonprofit that advocates for neurodivergent people.
There’s valid reason for that concern. Around 32% of respondents say they were denied their request for accommodation, and another 23% reported losing their job or getting demoted after putting in an ask. Accommodations for neurodivergent employees vary but can include flexible work arrangements, noise-canceling headphones, a desk assignment near a window or away from high-traffic areas, switching out lighting, or purchasing assistive technologies like text-to-speech software.
“That statistic is troubling to me,” Nathan Friedman, co-president and chief marketing officer at Understood.org, tells Fortune. To him, the share of people seeing adverse impacts to their career after requesting an accommodation shows that organizations have not done enough to make workplaces equitable for neurodivergent people, reduce stigma, and improve understanding about neurodiversity.
“This is something that all workplaces should embrace,” he adds. “Not only is it the right thing to do for the workplace and the people, but it’s right for the bottom line, for the company, for leaders, and for mankind. I mean, it’s quite clear.”
Companies that make their workplaces inclusive of neurodiversity see higher productivity, employee engagement, and retention rates. But general awareness about the condition still has a long way to go. Around 68% of employees polled by a management consulting firm earlier this year said they were unfamiliar with neurodiversity, and only 14% said they received training on managing a neurodivergent employee.
It’s up to HR teams to work with managers to help them understand these conditions, how accommodations can support neurodivergent employees, and what training they need to supervise them. Disability accommodations are often wrongly believed to be expensive and challenging to provide. In reality, most accommodations employers make are free, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Accommodation Network, and one-time accommodations that did cost money were just $300 on average.
However, HR teams must also ensure employees know it is okay to ask for an accommodation, how one can be requested, and who workers should approach to request one. Around 60% of neurodivergent respondents said they have no idea what accommodations they are entitled to, and 49% do not know who to talk to about requesting an accommodation at work.
“There’s a lot of mystification and misinformation out there that needs to be rectified,” says Friedman. “Whether individuals have a checklist, whether HR leaders embrace [neurodiversity inclusion], there’s a lot of things that can be done that are easy to make their workplace more inclusive.”
Paige McGlauflin
paige.mcglauflin@fortune.com
@paidion
Today’s edition was curated by Emma Burleigh.
Around the Table
A round-up of the most important HR headlines.
- Walmart is eliminating hundreds of corporate jobs and telling remote staffers to move to an office and work partially in-person. Wall Street Journal
- Nike is cutting 2% of its Converse workforce as the corporation undergoes a $5 billion cost-cutting plan. Bloomberg
- The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking to relocate 17 New York air traffic controllers to Philadelphia, but the workers aren’t budging at any incentive to uproot their lives. New York Times
The average American worker with a college degree would only accept a new job offer if it had a base salary of at least $100,000, but roles with that pay level are few and far between. Business Insider
Watercooler
Everything you need to know from Fortune.
About time. More U.S. states are stepping up with their own solutions to address the child care crisis, freeing up time and resources for working parents to reenter the labor force. —Moriah Balingit, Susan Montoya Bryan, Dylan Lovan, Daniel Beekman, AP, Seattle Times
Backtracking. Tesla is rehiring some Supercharger employees, including the team’s North American director, just a few weeks after the company slashed the whole division. —Dana Hull, Edward Ludlow, Bloomberg
Downhill. A new study has found that Gen Z earns less money and has more debt than millennials did at their age, as the young generation can’t shake financial struggles stemming from the pandemic. —Orianna Rosa Royle
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