What might ‘reasonable adjustments’ look like for your neurodivergent staff?
Having a diverse workforce and supporting staff to be their best at work and flourish is key. Investing in diversity of thought and lived experience benefits everybody, supports retention and helps to address workforce challenges.
The following suggestions have been produced by adults with living experience of autism, ADHD or both.
Everyone will need different things to help them thrive at work and these ideas are just a few examples to use or build on. Try to develop and maintain a culture where colleagues can safely request and suggest adjustments, without judgement.
Workplace reasonable adjustments are changes that you consider as an employer to prevent staff with a disability being disadvantaged compared with colleagues who don’t have a disability. This resource covers autism and ADHD in relation to disability.
Adjustments need to be fair to both the employee and employer. When deciding if changes are reasonable, consider effectiveness, practicality, costs and feasibility.
Environmental and sensory:
• A workspace with natural or dimmed lighting
• Protected ‘quiet’ offices or breakaway spaces for staff to work from or have time out in
• Have a file of photos of buildings or rooms your organisation uses available to staff. This can help alleviate anxieties or stress about new places and spaces
• Offer neurodivergent staff their own desk rather than asking them to ‘hot desk’. This can help them remain organised and provide consistency which reduces stress
• Be flexible on dress codes or uniforms – support staff to find appropriate alternatives if needed
• If you are providing catering, check with staff that they can eat the food you’re providing
• Avoid having air fresheners or heavily scented soaps in shared spaces.
Social:
• Consider neurodiversity training for yourself and your team
• Encourage moving around, fidgeting or ‘stimming’ in the workplace. You could provide desktop ‘fidget toys’ for everyone to use to support this
• Allow staff to work alone, accept that they may not be up for small talk as this can be difficult, and it’s not necessary to productivity or wellbeing
• Not everyone is comfortable attending things like social events and team building days. Always invite people but make sure they know it’s optional and they won’t be judged if they decide to give it a miss
• Promote non-traditional social networking opportunities such as a book club, fun pin board or online colleague forum rather than drinks after work
• Suggest walking or outdoor supervisions and check-ins if people would prefer them.
Accessibility and equipment:
• Assistive technology such as screen readers and note taking equipment
• Two computer monitors
• Flexible or clearly defined working hours
• Record meetings or provide a summary afterwards
• Allowing staff time after meetings to decompress and process information, rather than starting a task straight away
• Be clear on deadlines
• Try to provide comprehensive information and do not to assume staff will ‘read between the lines’
• Offer hybrid working
• Use bullet points or step by step instructions
• Use non-serif fonts such as Arial on pastel coloured backgrounds
• Normalise the use of texts and voice notes so staff can revisit information or express themselves verbally rather than over email
• Some staff may benefit from informal tailored check-ins with a line manage which could be at the start and end of the week, or daily when they start work. These check-ins could be used to outline tasks for the day or to look at where you can support each other.
General:
• Some people struggle to explain their needs or don’t wish to keep restating them. Suggest they create a ‘profile’ about their needs for you to refer to if this is the case
• Find out your colleague’s preferred method of communication which could be text, audio, video, phone-call or face-to-face for example
• When considering adjustments, also consider someone’s life outside of work and how this might impact them at work. Consider their energy levels, commitments and health and wellbeing
• Policies and procedures shouldn’t unnecessarily discriminate against anyone with a disability, or other ‘protected characteristic’
• Someone may need to take leave because of issues to do with their neurodiversity, not illness, adjustments can be made so this counts as ‘disability leave’ rather than sick leave.
• Reasonable adjustments are a legal right under the Equality Act 2010. Neurodivergent people are entitled to ask for them and all employers should consider their request. If you can reasonably make appropriate adjustments, you should.
