The future of the workplace is neurodiverse

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When Sancho Angulo disclosed that he was neurodivergent in a job application, the hiring manager told him that policy work was not meant for people like him. 

Angulo was shocked to hear that, considering his master’s degree in public policy and administration and extensive experience in the field. 

“That is an inflection point for everyone, when you have that piece of you that’s weaponized against you,” said Angulo. 

But it’s a challenge not unique to him. 

Many workplaces don’t see neurodivergent conditions as something filled with potential. In fact, according to a recent Ernst and Young report, 86 per cent of neurodivergent people in Canada are either unemployed or underemployed. 

At the same time, 22 per cent of Canada’s population are people with disabilities (including hidden disabilities) and 15 per cent identify as neurodivergent. 

“Neurodivergent individuals are an untapped talent pool with skill sets and mindsets that can help support Canada’s labour shortages. Neurodiversity in teams enables a variety of different ways of thinking and processing information to achieve better outcomes,” states the report. 

In February 2023, Angulo created Infinity, a network for neurodivergent public servants. It’s the first interdepartmental network touching all parts of the federal public service dedicated to connecting, empowering, and supporting neurodivergent employees. 

Infinity hosts networking events, mentorship opportunities and provides a community for neurodivergent employees (including folks with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and Tourette’s Syndrome.)

In just a year and half they’ve grown to more than 1,800 members across 82 government departments and institutions. 

They are the largest government-wide neurodiversity network in the G7.

When it comes to workplace wellness, employers need to actively shift their focus to understanding the spectrum of neurodivergent needs and making policies that are adaptable and flexible to meet people where they are, said Angulo. 

Breaking misconceptions about neurodiversity 

For neurodivergent people in a workplace, some misunderstandings include thinking autistic people have difficulty forming professional relationships, that people with ADHD can’t manage tasks, or those with dyslexia can’t read well. 

None of these are true, said Angulo.

Sometimes, neurodivergent folks even internalize these perceptions, Angulo added. For him, it was drilled into his brain that he was bad at managing relationships. 

However, he discovered that this perception of himself was limited and based on the incorrect idea that only neurotypical people can manage meaningful relationships. 

He cites people with ADHD as an example. These people are often excellent in roles like first responders and emergency management because they are innately able to think on their feet and react quickly, compared to a neurotypical person.

“I think the biggest [misconception] that crosses all neurodivergence is that having neurodivergent people at work is a risk… that you’re somehow taking a leap of faith [or] you have to plug your nose when you have a neurodivergent person,” said Angulo. 

“I think it’s important that we reframe it as, first and foremost, an opportunity for us as an organization to grow and to learn.” 

Up to 90 per cent of neurodiverse employees choose not to disclose to their employers about their neurodiversity and 65 per cent said they would never disclose, said Tammy Morris, the accessibility and neuro-inclusion Leader for EY Canada. 

“Everybody should operate under the assumption that within your organization, you have many people with non-apparent disabilities that are choosing not to share with you,” said Morris. 

“So it’s not us versus them, those people with disabilities and those neurodivergent people. It is we and us, because all of our teams most likely are neurodiverse.” 

It’s okay to hire outside of the “work culture”

The hiring process can be burdensome for a neurodivergent person who may find it difficult to perform under the stress of an interview with the weight of many unwritten rules. 

They have to say the right things at the right time, not appear robotic in their answers, be lighthearted, and fit into the company’s culture, said Angulo.

“There’s a huge emphasis on culture fit, on hiring someone that you can see yourself going out for beer with. But that denies you access to a huge pool of talent, and someone who is neurodivergent and has to navigate the hiring process,” said Angulo. 

“I’ve been able to develop strategies to kind of improve that. But it certainly isn’t perfect.” 

Angulo said employers should be much more flexible in the way they conduct assessments and interviews. 

Most of the time, interviews are performative and show a person’s ability to interact and answer questions in the “right way.” Instead, the focus could be testing tangible skills that prove an individual’s capabilities in the job itself.

“There are a disproportionate number of neurodivergent people who have advanced degrees, but because of the challenges they have faced in the hiring process, have not been able to break into those roles as a result,” said Angulo. 

Ernest and Young Canada consults with organizations looking to adapt their workplaces to better support neurodiverse people. 

The company goes through each stage of an employee’s lifecycle, from hiring to exit interviews, to understand what employers can do better, said Morris.

Changing your business’s language is an effective first step, she added. 

That could mean in the hiring stage, using strength-based language to show that they’re hiring neurodiverse people because they recognize their talent, rather than doing so to meet a quota. 

Also, it is helpful to be transparent about accommodation policies from the beginning so potential hires don’t have to try to anticipate the bureaucracy of the process. 

Out of a limited “professionalism” view

When it comes to making accommodations within the workplace, most revolve around flexibility—in schedules, work settings, or deadlines, said Angulo.

It starts with having conversations from the beginning with employees about what helps them perform the best at work. 

For instance, Angulo said that if you’re giving a task or instruction, make sure that it is articulated in writing and provides a clear deadline rather than saying, ‘Get it to me when you can.’ 

For folks with executive function challenges, that’s effectively a blank check, he said.

Employers should also endeavour to overcome the current generation gap of what is professional in the workplace, he added.

“There’s this idea of work, in the past, where it was very ‘wear a suit and tie, be attentive’—a concrete idea of what is professional and what isn’t.” 

For instance, Angulo likes to have fidget toys at his desk because they help him concentrate (like many other neurodivergent folks). For many neurotypical people, playing with a fidget toy while working through a difficult problem may come off as “unprofessional,” but those are exactly the kinds of things workplaces can shift their attitudes about to help neurodivergent employees. 

“If we want to fill in that critical digital skills gap that we’re experiencing, especially in specialized fields and in the public sector … we need to embrace the fact that many of these people are going to be those who think differently.

“[They] are going to have very different lived experiences, and they’re going to be disproportionately, I find, are neurodivergent,” said Angulo.

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