Mental Health and Neurodivergence at Work: How Workplaces Can Support Workers with Different Needs – ChamberUK

As October marks National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Claudia Plowden Roberts of the Center for Employment Studies explains how workplaces can support workers with different needs.

In the UK, one in seven people have a neurological condition and one in four people have a mental illness, where the two can co-occur, for example, people with ADHD and people with Autistics are at greater risk of mental health problems than their neurological counterparts. Some research has found that people with dementia can understand autistic people and that this affects a person with diabetes’ mental health and overall health.

Improved support for and understanding of neurodiversity and mental health remains a priority for employers, but amid the rush to understand mental health and neurodivergence, this is not a trend you are stable. This means that some neurologists are lagging behind their neurologist peers, which means their needs are not being taken into account, leaving them vulnerable to mental retardation.

Policy Changes

Policy changes to support neurodivergent workers are needed within many organizations. A reasonable corrections policy can describe the support provided to all employees, but this can sit next to a neurodiversity policy that specifically emphasizes the support and methods that the organization provides to neurodivergent employees. This can be very reassuring during the application process for an applicant who was worried about the support provided.

Welfare policies and access to support services, such as Employee Assistance Programs, can also help employees have a better experience at work, supporting their performance and job satisfaction. Additionally, it would be beneficial for employers to engage with outside experts in the field of neurodiversity as well as those who have experience living and working with neurodiversity when developing policies and procedures, which will help ensure value and usefulness.

Other employers may also have good examples of D&I strategies that can be learned from shared webinars and online resources. Neglecting mental health and neurodiversity from these policies only perpetuates negative attitudes and unconscious biases against neurodiverse employees, meaning that organizational culture and practices are cause for concern.

Reasonable changes include:

• The Equality Act 2010 ensures that employers make reasonable adjustments for disabled or disabled employees. By ‘reasonable’ this means that the amendment must not harm others, be practical, affordable and have a positive effect on the person making the request. Employers must understand that reasonable adjustments may need to be modified, increased or decreased to reflect the current needs of the individual. Having the right adaptations means that people with hearing loss can participate fully in work and the Access to Work scheme can help fund sensible adaptations, meaning there are fewer barriers to work. implementing these types of support.
• Reasonable changes may include:
• Adapting working conditions to include “back-to-back” or “innovative” areas for different ways of working, or using an appropriate communication style (verbal vs. written) to ensure that the worker can work well.
• Having flexible ways of communicating with different employees can help support them to work and feel empowered. Communicating clearly and concisely, that takes into account individual preferences, for example, written by email or verbally.
• Flexible or hybrid working hours can allow a person to have some discretion about how or where they work, taking into account social issues, energy levels and sensitivities, where to rest may be useful.
• Use of assistive technology or software, such as screen readers and Text-to-Speech functions.

Reasonable adjustments also apply to the recruitment process. When developing policies and procedures to include diverse applicants, it is important to ensure that job postings and descriptions are clear and accessible. The amount of information provided about the hiring process is good, and this can include information on how to go to the interview, what to wear and what topics will be discussed. Once employed, a more inclusive approach can look to provide greater flexibility in the tools used and ensure that the approach used is appropriate for the task at hand.

Many recruitment processes rely heavily on personal interviews, which can be difficult for some and are often unrelated to the job at hand, putting some applicants at a disadvantage before they can demonstrate their suitability for the job. that part.

Ideally, employers can encourage conversation about neurodiversity in a safe, open environment where people feel comfortable sharing. Employers should avoid adopting different views of mental health and mental health and one-size-fits-all practices for different employees, instead understanding individual differences and how they can be supported or how they are best understood. Employers, managers and colleagues can benefit from training on many topics including awareness of neuroticism, unconscious bias, improving communication and improving inclusion.

These policies and sensible changes can help the well-being of all employees – they can be used to improve performance and ensure people are happy at work. Many people may not have a test or certificate, so it would be best for employers to make these policies accessible and applicable to as many of their employees as possible.

A Final Thought

In general, people with autism will have different needs and preferences, so more time and effort should be invested in developing and developing policies and systems that support people with individual, enabling diverse employees to thrive and for employees to feel that their well-being comes first.

For more Chamber UK analysis of the UK’s political position on neurodivergence, please click here.