Supporting Neurodiversity in the workplace

It has been well documented that a diverse workforce is crucial to driving business growth and innovative thinking, not to mention inclusivity in our working environments.

Last month lots of organisations and businesses participated in a worldwide campaign championing and celebrating neurodiversity – the umbrella term for people who have dyslexia, autism, ADHD, and other differences in neurological make up or brain wiring.

While many businesses have integrated diversity policies concerning gender, race, age, sexual orientation, and caring responsibilities, few have considered neurodiversity.

With 1 in 7 people diagnosed with a neurodifference, businesses and employers have a great opportunity to be even more inclusive and benefit from the different thinking of the pioneers like Steve Jobs, the changemakers like Erin Brockovich and the trailblazers like Richard Branson.

Neurodiverse employees have all different kinds of strengths, depending on their condition type.

Strengths like creative thinking, process structuring, pattern recognition, high focus, out of the box thinking, reasoning skills and so much more.

Recent studies done at companies like Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Ford, Ernest and Young and more specifically SAP have reported that there have been:

• Significant productivity gains
• A boost in innovative capabilities
• Greater problem solving
• And better employee engagement

So, what can you do? How can you help support neurodiversity?

Here are some tips we have gathered:

• Educate yourself and your employees on neurodiversity
• Include neurodiversity in your diversity and inclusion statements
• Look at your recruitment process
• Provide access to quite rooms or zones
• Ask for neurodiverse volunteers to come along to think tank and strategy discussions

When we bring a mix of people to our businesses and organisations, we not only represent the different thinking of our customers, we also improve performance, magnify inclusion and of course our favourite - well-being!

Check out the details in the link below to access some really great resources from neurodiversity week - [ Ссылка ]

www.geelongchamber.com.au
www.partnersinwellbeing.com.au
written by Kylie Paatsch - The Fearless Way

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