If you're neurodivergent, here are steps to make your workplace more inclusive
If you are neurodivergent - someone who is autistic, has dyslexia, or other cognitive profiles, and who communicates, behaves, or perceives differently than many others - you shouldn't feel pressured to self-identify to a potential employer or in your workplace if you don't feel comfortable.
However, employers with at least 15 people on staff are barred by the Americans with Disabilities Act from discriminating against those with disabilities - including conditions that may not be clearly visible - whether in the hiring process, or when it comes to promotions and pay.
Whether you do or don't self-disclose, here are steps you can take to assess a workplace's culture and to help make it a more inclusive space.
Before the interview: It's up to you whether you want to share that you are neurodivergent, says Neil Barnett, director of inclusive hiring and accessibility for Microsoft. But "if you want to advocate for yourself, being able to self disclose is a benefit'' because it informs the recruiter and can help you to be yourself and your "most productive'' in the meeting, he says.
Self-identifying before the interview also enables you to ask for some accommodations, such as an agenda of the meeting in advance, or more time for the conversation, says Barnett.
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According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employers have to "provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant with a disability that will enable the individual to have an equal opportunity to participate in the application process and to be considered for a job, unless it can show undue hardship.''
However, if you don't want to self-identify, you can still get an idea of how your prospective employer views neurodiversity.
"If the company has a DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) leader, that might be a safe person to ask what the company does for neurodivergent people,'' says Josh Crafford, vice president for technology learning and development for the financial services company Synchrony.
And if a company doesn't have much to say about neurodiversity, that might be a red flag. "You may want to keep looking for another company that does acknowledge it,'' he says.
After you're hired: Consider joining an employee resource or affinity group for neurodivergent staffers, or if your employer doesn't have one, you can get one started.
"There's strength in numbers and ERGs are a great place to start building conversations around neurodiversity,'' says Crafford.
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If you have yet to disclose to co-workers that you may learn or process information differently, but would like to, you can begin by telling a few people.
"I've always started sharing with only my trusted group of colleagues and slowly tested the water with work friends after I'm already in the company,'' says Crafford, who has dyslexia, high anxiety, dyscalculia (a learning disability that makes it difficult to process numbers) and ADHD.
And if you're neurodivergent and in a senior position, recognize that your self-identifying can have an impact that ripples throughout the organization. "If a senior leader who is a member of the ERG can share their personal story, it opens the door for others to share,'' Crafford says, adding that he was prompted to tell his story after an executive spoke about the experience of a family member. "The more stories that are shared, the safer the work environment becomes."