How accommodating is your workplace of neurodiversity?

The word neurodiversity has gone mainstream and modern workplace culture seems to be developing a greater awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity.  However and despite progress in promoting workplace diversity, prejudices keep the employment prospects for neurodiverse individuals shockingly low.  I wonder how accommodating in practice are workplaces to the individual with cognitive differences?  How often do workplaces show a willingness to change their practices in order to accommodate needs and differences?

NEURODIVERSITY AND NEURODIVERGENCE: SOME DEFINITIONS

Diversity and variation is an undeniable fact of nature.  While a group of people can be neurodiverse, meaning that the group contains variations in cognition and thinking, an individual is neurodivergent, meaning that the person’s cognitive thinking differs from established norms.  Examples of neurodiversity are autism, ADHD, dyspraxia and dyslexia.  This blog post focuses primarily on workplace accommodations for an autistic employee.

THE WORLD NEEDS NEURODIVERSITY

Neurodiversity adds so much value to life and work.  People with cognitive differences can have strengths and specialisms, insight and innovations that are important to a workplace, as this graphic by Dr Nancy Doyle so effectively shows.

The Overlapping Strengths of Neurodiversity. DR NANCY DOYLE

Important interviews such as this one with an employee at a majority-autistic company place the experience of the individual at the centre of workplace accommodations. It is time to rethink how we adapt workplaces to neurodivergent needs.

A WORKPLACE SCORE CARD

In my work, I have observed that a neurodivergent person can internalise chronic stress and anxiety in a workplace without fully appreciating that the fault is not theirs but rather that the workplace is not creating the right conditions for them to thrive.  By changing the focus from the individual to the workplace, a person can gain insight into the fact that workplace conditions are not adequately supporting their neurodiversity.

I have developed a scorecard that supports neurodiverse people to highlight areas where their workplace may be under-supporting them.  This may be an imperfect tool but I would hope that in some way it makes the case that workplaces need to be willing to make changes to accommodate neurominorities in their workforce.

Remember it is not just the individual but also the changemakers at work that need to consider how accommodating their workplace is of neurological differences.

Examples of changes to the workplace may include:

·       the nature or quality of tasks expected of the person

·       the degree of regularly scheduled support, job coaching or mentoring a person is offered

·       the environmental conditions of a person’s workspace

·        whether the workplace is the right balance of cultural fit for a person

·       whether a person feels accommodated or validated in everyday workplace decisions

HOW DOES A NEURODIVERGENT PERSON EXPERIENCE YOUR WORKPLACE

Here are some headings under which a workplace could consider making accommodations for neurodiversity on their staff.

QUALITY OF WORK TASKS

An accommodating workplace should have a focus on work that suits everyone’s strengths.  How does your company ensure that staff have a clear understanding of work tasks and what is expected of them.  Have you considered what percentage of a person’s work is task-oriented or people-oriented and whether that is the right  balance to interest or motivate the person to fulfil their role?  What is the balance of personal interaction, written interaction and independent work in a person’s workday and have you checked whether it is the right balance for a person’s needs?

HIRING PRACTICES AND ONGOING MENTORING

Adjustment of hiring practices and mentoring are crucial to building a neurodiverse workforce.  Is your company’s interview process and reasoning clearly explained to candidates in advance.  Does your onboarding process take into account a person’s needs or perspectives?  Does your company provide regularly scheduled on to one sessions with a manager or on-site mentoring that could support somebody feeling stressed in a new role?  Would designated job coaches support neurodivergent individuals to progress in their careers, and if so, how could your workplace introduce this?  How embedded is learning and development in your support of company employees?

WORKPLACE ADAPTATION TO NEED AND DIFFERENCE

A workplace should accommodate for sensory or language processing differences that a neurodivergent person frequently needs to cope and/or thrive.    What efforts does your workplace make to learn what accommodations a person may need?   Do you have a mentor or job coach at work that is regularly available to staff for support or to manage on-the-job stresses?  How are any sensory or language processing differences accommodated at work?  An example might be headphones to prevent auditory overstimulation.  Other examples of accommodations are that a person can work remotely or in a quiet and private space with limited interruptions, that OT is made available to a person to assess their workspace, or that a person is allowed to make adjustments to their personal workspace to accommodate their sensitives or better match to what they might need?

WORK CULTURAL FIT AND OPENNESS

Communication is the most needed, and easiest, workplace accommodation.  It is worth examining whether your company has a culture of awareness and openness.  Too often a neurodivergent person is expected to provide teaching moments for other employees at an individual level.  An employer would do well to consider what support can be provided at a systemic level to reduce that pressure on the individual.  In examining support of neurodiversity at your company, it is worth considering whether staff receive regular constructive feedback from a manager in a way that suits them, and what measures the company puts in place to communicate that a person’s perspective is welcome. 

One big benefit of an inclusive work culture is that it fosters diversity of thought, different approaches to work, innovation, and creativity.  When offering one to one meetings with employees, does your company take the time to explore whether the employee believes their job is a good match for them technically and culturally. 

VALIDATION OF SUPPORT AND WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE

Working as an autistic person can involve a lot of teaching moments which can in itself be exhausting and lead to burnout.  Does your company take the time to gauge a person’s overall relationship to their job, and whether their job has an effect on their stress and anxiety levels.  Does working in your company require an individual to accommodate internal bias or lack of awareness about neurodiversity in the workplace?  Does the individual need to mask who they are or are they comfortable and validated enough to be their authentic self at work?   In reality, how flexible is your work culture and how often does it prioritise well-being over defending the status quo? 

A supportive employer will make efforts to ensure that the workplace practices communicate that a person’s perspective is valid and will support a person’s needs by making changes that can enhance a person’s experience. 

If you would like a copy of my Workplace Score Card, please reach out to me at anne@careercounsellor.ie.

SUGGESTED READING

Interview with an Employee at a Majority Autistic Company (askamanager.org)

The World Needs Neurodiversity: Unusual Times Call For Unusual Thinking (forbes.com)

From neurodiversity to neurodivergence: the role of epistemic and cognitive marginalization | SpringerLink

AskEARN | Neurodiversity in the Workplace

Neurodiversity Is a Competitive Advantage (hbr.org)

Neurodiversity Resources For Employers — Neurodiversity Hub

Coping with Anxiety in the Workplace

In relation to problems you may experience in your career, coping with anxiety can frequently come up. 

It is very difficult to cope with anxiety: worry about the future is characterised by feeling undefined, overwhelming and out of our control. 

I would suggest that the best strategy to pull anxiety back is to turn those characteristics around:

·       by defining it

·       by putting it in perspective

·       by clarifying what elements of your stress are within your control.

This post focuses on the elements of your stress within the workplace that are within your control. A job change may not necessarily solve this problem for you.  It can help to stop and think more closely about what you are experiencing in the now.  You are learning how to cope with stress.

What are the Problems Within the Workplace

The first step is to make sure you are very clear on where the problems lie.  Identify the sources of stress and whether you can develop a response to them.  For example, it may be that you are unclear about who you report to and what is expected of you.  Perhaps nobody is developing your skills. Or there may be elements of your work that you find especially challenging, and these may flood your thoughts but actually represent only a small portion of your work.  Perhaps stress is a pattern that has followed you from job to job, indicating that the core changes you want to make are in how you respond to work stress in general.  Perfectionism can also be a source of stress and may require a response where you adjust your personal expectations or your kindness to yourself when you experience a setback.  It’s important to be clear on what you are experiencing before you can decide how best to respond.

If you are trying to articulate what is wrong, this graphic may be helpful. These are ingredients for happiness and well-being. Where work is meeting none or few of these needs, it can be considered a source of stress.

Ingredients for Happiness and Well-Being. Source: Dr. Patricia Daly, University of Limerick, 2019

Are any External Factors Impacting on your Performance and Happiness

If one aspect of life is causing you distress and it begins to impact on other parts of your life, it inhibits your ability to act purposefully and protect yourself from burnout.  It may be helpful to mention to someone at work (that you trust) that you are experiencing difficulties outside work.  Each company culture is different, and someone who understands your work context could be a helpful ally in figuring out what would be the next step in order to cope with work tasks alongside this external stress. You may need nothing more formal than an occasional check-in by your colleague, or you may decide that it would relieve your stress to be open about difficulties you are experiencing outside work to a manager or to HR.  Generally it is best to try to put strategies in place that can keep home stress and work stress separate.

Relaxation is a Skill

If we can turn on relaxation, then we can turn off tension.  Regulation of anxiety through relaxation is a skill that can be learned through practice.  While implementing change, take time for yourself and self-care strategies that meet your needs, such as alone time, exercise you enjoy, phone-free evenings, early nights or meaningful connections with others.  Develop skills that you enjoy outside of work. Consider mindful practices that keep you in the moment, such as writing in a daily journal or sitting quietly while drinking a hot drink.  When you are working, pace yourself and plan breaks (or rewards) after periods of intense work.

Keep the Consultation Going

Not knowing when or how to say ‘help’ can lead to escalating anxiety.  If you do not have clear communication with your boss and this causes you stress, try to establish a regular slot or structure to communicate better.  Explore whether you can prioritise some tasks while delegating or postponing others.  There may be skills or training that would interest you and increase your enjoyment of work. Generally a communication breakdown is bridged when people have a better understanding of each other’s needs and experiences.  Make sure your employer understands your needs and keep the consultation going by communicating with your employer and colleagues on a regular basis.

Who Can You Talk To

A friendly chat with someone you trust is a vital support to stress in the workplace. Reach out to someone who knows you well and who can provide an external point of view.  This may be a family member, a friend, a colleague or a person you studied alongside.  Consider the value of a professional support service such as a counsellor, who can help you towards insight, self-acceptance and who can support you if you decide to no longer engage in behaviours that create stress for you in the workplace.  Sometimes, validation from someone who cares about us is all we need to cope.

Don’t Overdo It

When  managing anxiety in the workplace, small changes can make a big difference.  Small changes, implemented thoughtfully, can change your life.  Once you have a clear idea of what is causing you stress, try setting a reasonable response to it.    In the long run, little and often may the best strategy to change.

How a Guidance Counsellor can help with Career Burnout

‘Stress is a reality – like love or electricity – unmistakeable in experience yet difficult to define.’[i]

Career Burnout is a form of stress.  It is a gradual building up of work-related stress to the point where it is having chronically negative impacts on your life.   

The Lobster Pot

Burnout is hard to recognise because what can often start as high job satisfaction becomes over time a waning optimism and eventually chronic stress.  You can’t quite figure out what’s wrong but something is wrong.  It’s the lobster pot metaphor: it heats up gradually and you can’t quite tell whether the problem is with you (the person) or with the pot (the context).

Burnout is depicted as having three strands: if you are feeling exhausted in your work, cynical about your work (and losing your sense of identity with it) and feeling reduced in your ability to do your work, you are exhibiting warning signs of burnout.

Fuzzy Thinking

The trouble is that stress can lead to fuzzy thinking which makes it hard to define and even harder to imagine that the solutions available to you will help.  You are being asked to think clearly at a very moment where you are feeling unable to do so.  It is difficult to live through something and make sense of it at the same time.

Here are the ways that I think a Guidance Counsellor can help:

1.       Making Sense of What is Happening to You

Life is made up of everyday individual actions and interactions.   Guidance counsellors are trained to help you bridge the divide between who you are and the world in which you exist.  By making sense of what is happening to you, your understanding increases.  By making meaning from your experiences,  you become able to separate what you need to respond to and what is outside of your control.

Life experiences can feel like fact but the very act of talking them through with someone else can change them.  This act can help you to reframe your understanding of yourself and think more clearly how the world in which you exist is impacting on you. 

2.       Adding in Objective Information

Sometimes an objective assessment such as a Career Assessment provides useful information to add to the context of your experiences. Tools such as an Interest Profile, a Personality Quiz or an assessment of your Career Values can help you make sense of your career issues and why your current context is no longer working for you.  You can also reconnect with forgotten career aspirations and begin to consider whether your current work is still meeting your needs.

Whether you need a big change such as a change of career, or a small change such as a change in your hours, your responsibilities or your communication with direct management, assessment helps you to gain awareness of your skills and how you can use them to change your context and ultimately help you to cope. 

3.       It’s not You, it’s Them

Many coping strategies for stress and burnout focus on developing personal resilience.  These elements, while helpful, don’t suit every person and every situation.  There needs to be a recognition that sometimes people are being asked to deliver beyond what would be considered reasonable. 

Example of an approach that focuses only on personal resilience. Source: hellodriven.com

This HBR article quotes a survey by Gallup that found the top five reasons for burnout are:

1. Unfair treatment at work

2. Unmanageable workload

3. Lack of role clarity

4. Lack of communication and support from their manager

5. Unreasonable time pressure

While a focus on personal resilience is a valuable tool, workplace practices and expectations feed into personal burnout and a person’s context needs to be addressed if they are to break the cycle.  Burnout is a system problem and most likely things at work will need to change.

Knowing Yourself Better Helps You Plan For Change

The process of guidance counselling can help you to bring yourself to an a-ha moment of what kind of change you are looking for.  Clarity – the very opposite of fuzzy thinking – is a major component in planning for change.  By taking a step back, you begin to explore options which you have not been considering because you have been feeling overwhelmed from your current work context. 

Sometimes a dilemma enhances our freedom to choose.  The process of guidance counselling can give you a new vocabulary for breaking down your old coping routines and building new ways of developing your career.

i Eugene Kennedy and Sara Charles. On Becoming a Counsellor. Gill & McMillan 1977