Despite having the right qualifications and academic ability, Victoria Walls was concerned she may never get a job offer and even feared “living on the streets” because of her neurodiverse triggers, which she says were repeatedly “activated” during the interview process.
Walls, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia, and generalised anxiety disorder, says: “The whole thing was so overwhelming for me. Performing well enough to get a job offer was so far down the list of things I was trying to process, I just fell at every hurdle.”
However, simple adjustments, such as receiving interview questions in advance, were all that were needed to help her secure a job at the insurance firm Zurich, where Walls is now a data scientist. “My priority when looking for a job was finding a team I could fit in with and a culture that would support my growth,” she adds.
What is neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity is an umbrella term that refers to the wide range of neurological or developmental conditions and learning disabilities that impact the way a person’s brain processes information. Common types of neurodiversity include Autism, dyspraxia, dyslexia, Tourette’s syndrome, ADHD and Asperger’s Syndrome.
The recruitment process is not accommodating for neurodivergent people
Job applications and interviews can be particularly challenging for the roughly 10 million neurodivergent people in the UK.
Rachel Morgan-Trimmer, a consultant and founder of neurodiversity training provider Firebird, says: “The recruitment process, and the workplace in general, is not accommodating. I see so many job ads that say ‘we are an inclusive organisation’ at the end of a long and confusing job advert. Without a proactive approach to inclusion – and promoting this within the job ad – a neurodivergent person might feel they have to hide their condition.”
A lack of inclusion is forcing 51% of neurodiverse adults to hide their condition during the hiring process, according to a survey by Zurich. Almost half of the 1,000 neurodiverse adults questioned say they’ve been discriminated against when looking for a job and one in five had been laughed at by an employer.
This has led to the majority of neurodiverse people in the UK believing employers see neurodiversity as a “red flag”. “There’s still a huge amount of prejudice and discrimination against neurodiversity,” Morgan-Trimmer adds.
Making the hiring process more inclusive
There are many things companies can do to make the application process more inclusive for neurodivergent people, according to Morgan-Trimmer. She suggests: shortening job ads, making the requirements clearer, setting expectations and time requirements, offering breaks during interviews and the option to use different communication formats, such as video or voice notes.
“Invite people to tell you if you’ve missed anything,” she adds. “That way you demonstrate that you care about inclusion and have tried to accommodate people without them having to make requests.”
Steve Collinson, chief HR officer at Zurich UK, says the current lack of neurodiversity inclusion in the recruitment process, highlighted by the company’s survey, is “extremely worrying”. “Too many neurodiverse people don’t feel safe to be themselves in the workplace, particularly during the hiring stage,” he says.
There’s still a huge amount of prejudice and discrimination
This is partly due to a “mismatch” in expectations, Collinson adds: “It’s really important for both candidates and employers to have a clear idea of the skills of a candidate and the core skills needed in a role.”
Zurich offers neurodiverse candidates a number of adjustments when applying for a role. These include avoiding the use of ambiguous or subjective language, being clear about the format and stages of the process and removing group interview assessments, which Collinson says can be particularly difficult for people who are neurodivergent.
Removing degree requirements for roles where they are not necessary has also helped, as well as providing interview questions in advance. “It’s really powerful to share adaptations that have been given before,” Collinson says. “In the past, we have shared interview questions with neurodiverse candidates up front. I don’t think it gives them any particular advantage, it just levels the playing field.”
A neurodivergent-friendly workplace
Creating a supportive work environment is also important when attracting and retaining neurodiverse employees. Zurich, for example, provides neurodiversity training for all members of staff and sensory maps that describe the temperature, noise and footfall levels of different areas of the office so people can find the most suitable place for them to work. Flexibility is also important and every role is offered on a part-time basis.
“All of those things make for an environment where people who are neurodivergent feel like they belong and they don’t have to hide who they are,” Collinson says.
We want to create an environment where people who are neurodivergent feel like they belong
Last week, Zurich added free neurodiversity assessments to its health and wellbeing benefits. An estimated 2.5 million neurodivergent adults are undiagnosed for ADHD and autism, according to autism research charity Autistica.
Explaining the addition of the benefit, Collinson says: “Our colleagues tell us that, once they understand themselves more, they can express and talk about their needs better and we can adapt to them.”
The workplace changes companies make for neurodiverse staff also benefit the wider employee base. “Many of the managers I work with have found that being inclusive to neurodivergent people makes for a happier workplace,” Morgan-Trimmer says. “People communicate better, they are more respectful to one another and employees just generally enjoy being at work more.”
Collinson anticipates that the changes at Zurich will improve retention rates and employee engagement levels. But, beyond the business benefits, he believes making the workplace more inclusive for neurodivergent people is simply the right thing to do.
He adds: “If you say you’re an organisation that celebrates diversity, you need to really mean it. Neurodiversity is just as important an element of that as other diversity characteristics.”
