British financial services companies must do better when it comes to creating a neurodivergent-friendly workplace, consultants have warned.
For too many firms, it's an "afterthought and not a focus", Jill Finch, founder of autistic-led social enterprise A Collective, said.
She commented: "Sensory differences can make the workplace arduous, so we opt out of the ‘social’ side. This is seen as not being a team player but we’re trying to ensure we’re fit to work and won't let colleagues down.
"Our brains are monotropic: we focus strongly on a small number of tasks at any given time. If able to do this, we can deliver exceptional work, but the pay off is that interruptions are painfully hard to deal with, so we don’t respond well.
"Neurodivergent-friendly workplaces are human-friendly, benefiting all of us."
For many advice companies, whose staff are often client-facing, workplaces have not developed to provide reasonable adjustments, such as allowing some colleagues to sit behind the scenes in roles such as paraplanning.
But even when companies do so, if they simply put colleagues into 'suitable roles' without proper consultation, this can reinforce "unhealthy stereotypes", according to Andrew Burnett, founder of DiffandNet.
This makes it difficult for neurodivergent colleagues to thrive and help the business succeed.
Burnett said: "Neurodivergent people are discriminated against in employment - only 20 per cent of autistic people in the UK are employed, and 50 per cent of managers say they would not hire neurodivergent people.
"Some companies have actively sought to recruit neurodivergent people, but in many cases this reinforces unhealthy and unhelpful stereotypes of neurodivergence, such as 'they’re good at numbers' or 'they’re natural problem solvers' or similar tropes.
"Companies who really want to be allies can, and should, do better than recruiting neurodivergent people into roles which neurotypical managers feel might be appropriate."
She added that company bosses should also commit to transforming workplaces and practices to make work more inclusive for everyone.
Some progress
However, Jasmine Miller, director and neurodiversity expert at Jasmine Miller Coaching, believes progress has been made.
She commented: “UK companies have made progress in employing and harnessing neurodivergent employees' potential, with growing awareness of their unique strengths.”
The same view was shared by human behaviour specialist, Michelle Mills-Porter FPSA, of The People Reader.
She said: “A positive shift towards recognising the unique contributions of neurodivergent individuals is emerging.
"There are instances where neurodivergent individuals are sought for their specialised skills, such as problem-solving, detecting anomalies and generating creative ideas."
According to Miller, it is important to shift the perception from viewing neurodivergence as an issue to seeing it as an asset.
