Understanding and integrating neurodivergent colleagues

In our country, approximately 20% of the population is considered neurodivergent (source: Atypikoo). Sometimes, a diagnosis is made and shared. Other times, neurodivergent individuals may not be aware of their condition. Sometimes, they hide their “diversity.” As an employer, how can you understand and integrate these different profiles? We’ll tell you almost everything.

Would you like to work with Ryan Gosling or Tom Cruise? Or have Simone Biles or Steven Spielberg as colleagues? Perhaps even Will Smith or Justin Timberlake? You guessed it, all these stars are diagnosed as neurodivergent.

In a society where it is increasingly common to talk about oneself, to confide (via social media, for example), or to take into account each person’s differences, the topic of neurodivergent individuals remains little discussed and studied.

Yet, it is an interesting subject, as neurodivergent individuals can bring enormous benefits to businesses.

What Are We Talking About?

You may have watched the globally successful series “High Potential.” It’s about the story of a young single mother with an impressive IQ who is recruited by the police to help solve murders, thanks to her different perspective on the elements of investigations. This summarizes the subject of neurodivergent individuals in the workplace in a few lines.
Specifically, the main neurodiverse profiles are categorized as follows:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): These disorders are characterized by difficulties in social interactions, communication, and repetitive behaviors.
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): This disorder involves marked inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity.
• “Dys” Disorders: These include specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia (reading), dyspraxia (motor coordination), dysphasia (language), dysorthographia (spelling), and dyscalculia (calculation).
• High Intellectual Potential (HPI): Individuals with HPI possess significantly above-average intelligence, often associated with divergent thinking and great creativity.
• High Emotional Potential (HEP): These individuals have very high emotional intelligence, making them particularly sensitive to the emotions of others.
• Hypersensitivity: Characterized by increased sensitivity to sensory, emotional, or environmental stimuli. Hypersensitive individuals have often been studied by the scientific community, which is not the case for HEP.

Strengths and Challenges

Here are some strengths and challenges for each neurodivergent group.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Strengths: Autistic individuals often have a great capacity for concentration, attention to detail, and in-depth expertise in specific fields. They may excel in tasks requiring precision and repetition.
Challenges: They may struggle with social interactions, communication, and adapting to unstructured work environments. They might also be unfiltered, meaning they say what they think without considering the “social” context.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Strengths: Individuals with ADHD are often creative, dynamic, and capable of managing multiple tasks simultaneously. Their energy can be a driving force for innovation and initiative. They are like popcorn that can pop in all directions.
Challenge: They may find it difficult to maintain attention on long or monotonous tasks and meet strict deadlines.

“Dys” Disorders (dyslexia, dyspraxia, etc.)

Strengths: These individuals often develop compensatory strategies, enhancing their ability to solve problems innovatively. Their intelligence is preserved, with only a few functions being affected.
Challenges: They may encounter difficulties with certain specific tasks, such as reading, writing, or motor coordination. Sometimes, their tasks or work need to be adapted, which we will revisit.

High Intellectual Potential (HPI)

Strengths: HPI individuals have rapid analytical capabilities, creative thinking, and the ability to understand complex concepts. They can also remember, long after, conversations, figures, or studies.
Challenges: HPI individuals can become bored quickly if tasks are routine. They may also find their colleagues uninteresting, as they may be slower, which can create tension.

High Emotional Potential (HEP)

Strengths: These individuals display great empathy, sensitivity to the needs of others, and the ability to manage complex emotional situations, reinforcing team cohesion. They do not hesitate to step back to value others.
Challenges: Their heightened sensitivity may make them vulnerable to stress and conflictual work environments. They may sometimes take things too personally.

Hypersensitivity

Strengths: Hypersensitive individuals are attentive to details, aware of the subtleties of their environment, and capable of perceiving nuances that others might miss.
Challenges: They can be easily overwhelmed by excessive sensory stimuli, such as noise or bright light, necessitating adapted work environments.

How to Promote Their Integration in the Workplace?

Integrating neurodivergent individuals into the workplace is not always straightforward. The primary reason is that some neurodivergent employees are unaware of their condition. Another reason is that some neurodivergent individuals hide their particularity. This is what is referred to as the camouflage of “neurodivergent” individuals. Some individuals fear being judged or mocked, or even discriminated against.
For others, several adaptations and practices can be implemented by companies. We have outlined 6 of them

1/ Training and Awareness
The first step is to raise awareness among all staff about the specificities of neurodivergent profiles. Dedicated training can help better understand their operational and communication modes, thus facilitating their integration.

2/ Adapt the Work Environment
Depending on neurodivergent profiles, some adjustments can make a significant difference. Providing closed offices (open spaces are often not suitable for neurodivergent individuals) or a calm environment. For some, it could also involve providing noise-canceling headphones or rooms with controlled lighting.
In terms of scheduling, considering flexible teleworking or adapted hours can be helpful for neurodivergent individuals to manage their concentration, work, and any fatigue that arises from social contacts. Another potential adjustment is allowing for frequent breaks to recharge attention.

3/ Adapt Project Management and Work Organization
For neurodivergent individuals, providing management tools such as Trello or Asana can be beneficial. They need clear priorities with specific deadlines. Depending on individual profiles, managers can assign specific tasks.
Finally, neurodivergent individuals often require macro-management and a certain level of autonomy.

4/ Establishing a Reference Person
Creating a neurodiversity advisor to support employees and adjust the work environment can be advantageous. This same advisor can encourage mutual assistance and kindness within the teams.

5/ Personalized Support
In some companies, it has been decided to put in place a mentoring or coaching system to help neurodivergent employees adapt and evolve within the company. This support, which facilitates their integration and professional development, is obviously more complex and costly.

6/ Regularly Assess Progress and inform both internally and externally about the practical results stemming from the implementation of these commitments.

Curation 1: Some Examples in the Workplace

Here are some examples of companies that value the recruitment of neurodivergent talents.

In Belgium, Passwerk is a company that employs consultants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for missions in IT, particularly in software testing and quality assurance. They adapt their work processes and corporate culture to support and integrate these profiles.

The multinational SAP launched an international program in 2013 aimed at recruiting autistic individuals. This program allowed for the hiring of 155 people in 13 countries for 26 different jobs in the IT field, thus valuing the precision and rigor often associated with autism.
Founded in Germany in 2011 and established in Montreal since 2019, as well as in France, Auticon is an international digital services company that specifically employs individuals on the autism spectrum as IT consultants, aiming to unleash their professional potential for the benefit of its clients’ projects.

Curation 2: Where Do They Excel?

Yes, certain sectors and professions are particularly adapted to neurodivergent profiles due to their specific cognitive characteristics.

Autistic individuals, those with ADHD, or HPI can excel in areas where their natural skills are valued:

1. Technology and IT sector.
2. Scientific and analytical research.
3. Arts and creation. Individuals with ADHD, HPI, and some autistic individuals possess overflowing imaginations and strong creative spirits.
4. Consulting and strategy sector.