The importance of neuroinclusive design for workplaces

Despite representing up to 20 per cent of the population, neurodiverse employees continue to face ignorance, inappropriate workplace setups, and ineffective methods of inclusion, degrading the working experience, affecting business productivity and increasing worker stress.

According to Alana Hannaford, head of PDS Advisory Australia at JLL, many of the common irritants can be easily rectified. Moreover, they are important not just for everyday comfort, but for the culture an organisation is creating.

“Neuroinclusion matters because workplaces are used by people with a wide range of cognitive, sensory and communication preferences, many of which aren’t visible and may never be formally diagnosed or disclosed,” Hannaford said.

“When spaces are overly loud, visually chaotic, harshly lit, or even confusing to navigate, people often change their behaviour to cope.”

Retreating to work from home more often, isolating oneself at work, avoiding certain areas of the office, and spending energy on immediate issues over work are all behaviours that can arise from an ill-suited environment.

Dr Brendan Daugherty of Pandion Health shared a similar sentiment based on his clinical experience of ADHD in the workplace, stating: “Every year a neurodivergent employee spends compensating rather than thriving is a year of cognitive bandwidth diverted away from the work they were hired to do.”

“Organisations rarely see that cost until it becomes a crisis.”

He also commented on the misunderstandings that can affect the type of support neurodivergent employees receive; for example, the difference between ADHD burnout and standard burnout. Symptoms may escalate sharply if cognitive capacity maxes out, and the ability to work normally can quickly shift to impossible.

Daugherty said: “The signal HR most consistently overlooks is the love/ability gap. If someone hates their job and can’t focus, that’s understandable. But if they love their work and still can’t do it, then that’s a clinical signal, not a motivation problem.”

Hannaford said: “From an asset lens, it can also reduce perceived quality of the building experience and contribute to tenant dissatisfaction or talent attrition, particularly as expectations around wellbeing and inclusion continue to rise.”

Daugherty and Hannaford both stressed the need for office environments that cater to different needs, rather than attempting a one-size-fits-all solution. For spaces looking to become more neuroinclusive, the key is being open to “an approach to designing and running workplaces so they support a broader spectrum of neurological and sensory needs, without requiring people to label themselves or disclose a diagnosis” as outlined by Hannaford.

She raised the dual objectives of catering for hypersensitive (sensory avoiders) and hyposentitive (sensory seekers) employees, reducing “unnecessary cognitive load and sensory stressors, and increasing choice, clarity and personal control.” In practice, this can mean providing quiet focus areas, spaces for collaboration, and dedicated low-stimulation areas.

Hannaford further explained how to provide sensory comfort and predictability, recommending the management of reverberation and acoustics, reducing glare and reflections, providing clear layouts and reducing clutter.

In a similar vein, Daugherty explained that “the goal is optionality, not a single ‘neuro-friendly’ solution”.

He also referenced workplace wellbeing programs and standard EAP that “have a role to play, but they tend to fall short when the underlying issue is undiagnosed ADHD. That’s because they’re built around a neurotypical template.” As such, this may mean supporting both psychological and medical support for neurodiverse employees.

He said: “What helps isn’t squeezing more output through performance management. It’s understanding the brain you’re working with and giving evidence-based treatments in the context of the whole person.”

Neurodiverse employees bring innovation, unique problem-solving capabilities and abilities outside the perspectives often shaping an organisation. But, as Hannaford added, “it only works fully when design is reinforced by operations and culture, so the space performs as intended in real life, not just on day one”.

At its essence, many of the office adjustments are both easy to implement and benefit all employees, not just those who are neurodiverse.