Category: Employment

Business and academic research on inclusive workplace cultures typically focus on race and/or gender. Disability and neurodiversity are often overlooked or excluded from this research and resulting policies and practices. A universal design approach is the way to take a holistic look at the issues and solutions for neurodiversity in the workplace. Indeed, these are good workplace practices for everyone. That’s what universal design is about.

A short paper by Preziosa and Hill uses the 7 principles of universal design as a framework for implementing inclusive practices. The authors present the 7 principles in a matrix, and used four principles, briefly outlined below, as an example:

Equitable Use: Avoid the need for people with disability to have separate service or experiences. Eliminate label-based inclusion, such as targeted hiring programs for autistic people. This segregates employees into specific fields and requires them to self-identify any “special” condition they have.

Flexibility in Use: Build in preferences outside the norm such as playback speed options for training videos. Offer to be flexible and acknowledge that individual differences are expected and welcome.

Simple and Intuitive to Use: Avoid unnecessary complexity and repetition of processes, tools, and webpages.

Tolerance for Error: Allow room for mistakes and edits. Ensure digital form, tools and software allow for review and correction.

The authors claim that neurodiverse employees who receive support services show higher retention rates, and most required less than 4 support hours a month. In addition, many benefitted from support with problem solving and organising their work.

Universal design and employment scenarios

The authors matrix consists of 7 universal design principles and 6 workplace elements. They are: Designing, Hiring, Contracting, Training, Performance Review and Wellbeing. The information is also good for managing groups and teams outside the workplace environment.

The title of the short paper is, What can organizations do to create an environment which successfully supports, engages and retains their neurodiverse employees?

Diversity, equity and inclusion are the current buzz words in the workplace, and it all starts with recruiting. So, how inclusive are job descriptions? Using gender inclusive language, meaning cisgender inclusive, now seems normal. Now we need to think about language for all marginalised groups. Grand Valley State University Libraries has an Inclusive Job Descriptions Toolkit to help. 

The toolkit is focused on university recruitment, but the information can be used in other contexts. They use the acronym IDEA – Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access.  

The first part of the toolkit outlines best practices and the second part provides an equity lens for reviewing the job descriptions. The appendices include additional language and job description templates.

The toolkit lists the components of a job description some of which are specific to the university context. However, all job descriptions should give an employee a clear guide to the role and what is expected of them. A job description answers the question “What does this role do?” The next section gives guidance on writing inclusive job descriptions. 

Writing an inclusive job description

Inclusive language reduces the likelihood of applicants from self-selecting out. Biased language can occur unintentionally and can have a negative impact on recruitment efforts. For example, a job being suited to a recent graduate may signal a desire to avoid older workers.

The section on tips for writing job descriptions has many of the usual points for clear communication. For example: conciseness, simple gender inclusive language, and avoiding acronyms. Other tips are on phrasing such as moving from “excellent communication skills” to “ability to communicate clearly and effectively”.

The toolkit lists gender, race, and ableist coded words that most people wouldn’t consider as non-inclusive:

• • Female-Coded Words: Agreeable, empathetic, sensitive, affectionate, feel, support, collaborate, honest, trust, commit, interpersonal, understanding, compassion, nurture, and share.
  • Male-Coded Words: Aggressive, confident, fearless, ambitious, decisive, head-strong, assertive, defend, independent, battle, dominant, outspoken, challenge, driven and superior.
  • Racially Coded Words: Excellent English-language skills, clear-spoken, native English speaker, cultural fit, nice, polite, Latino/Latina, professionalism
  • Ableist-Coded Words: Energetic, athletic, able-bodied individual, talking with students, walking through the building

The section that follows gives examples of how to make changes to phrasing. The section on ableist phrasing could do with some improvements, but it gives the idea. 

Equity lens

Applying an equity lens is a reminder that an organisation cannot embody IDEA without reviewing and updating their job descriptions and recruitment practices. 

“It is explicit in drawing attention to the inclusion of marginalized populations, typically communities of color, and can be adapted to focus on other communities. … An equity lens will not tell you what action to take. Rather, the lens helps you discuss and reflect on the equitableness of the action and decision-making process.”

The document can also be found on the Library Reports and Communication webpage. Grand Scholar Works is a service of the Grand Valley State University Libraries. Michigan USA.

Autism awareness campaigns have highlighted the socio-economic inequalities experienced by autistic people. A new stereotype has emerged from autism workplace campaigns such as autistic ‘talent’ and autism ‘advantage’. The aim of these labels is meant to encourage employers to hire autistic workers. But what we really need is a universal design approach. A briefing paper from Queensland University of Technology examines this new phenomena.

Marketing autistic people with ‘autistic traits’ will not guarantee inclusion even if it results in employment. Indeed, such marketing can result in thinking that all autistic people are the same. Nevertheless, highlighting the strengths and skills of autistic people could change negative perceptions and open up employment opportunities.

But these kinds of awareness-raising initiatives rely on ableist assumptions and a hierarchy of difference. That is, society still regards non-disabled people as the norm so people with disability remain outside this categorisation. Then thoughts turn to specialised accommodations.

Universal design as an alternative

The authors invite readers to focus on re-organising work so that the most number of people benefit without having to be excluded before they are included. They propose a universal design paradigm for inclusivity.

Contrary to traditional diversity and inclusion approaches that define or limit what diversity and inclusion mean, who is diverse and how they might be identified, Universal Design creates the conditions for diversity and inclusion to occur naturally.

Calista Castles, & Deanna Grant-Smith

Many of the diversity and inclusion measures that segregate socio-political groups, could benefit us all. A universal design approach negates the need for raising awareness of differences and can transition society towards acceptance of human difference.

If social, work and learning environments were universally designed we wouldn’t need special initiatives. These initiatives only serve to reinforce the marginalisation and stereotypes by reminding people of human difference. Or that special accommodations need to be made.

The title of the short article is, Autism at work campaigns: Are they creating inclusion in the workforce? This is an interesting briefing paper that succinctly spells out the issues of positive stereotyping any marginalised group.

Barriers to employment

An interesting and informative article from London South Bank University covers the topic comprehensively. The open access article can be downloaded in Word from the university website. The title of the article is “Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Employment of Autistic Adults”. In the UK they have The Equality Act and The Autism Act which emphasise access to work. Good to see this topic being covered.

Aspect Capable website has more information on a Australian initiative and the video shows how autistic people can achieve in the workplace.

Employers are experimenting with managing the changing face of work and employee feedback is of course essential. So, will universal design principles and the practice of co-design come to the fore in designing work? Perhaps. Regardless it is the way to sustain and build gender diversity and inclusion in the workplace. 

Most employees currently working in a hybrid model want it retained. A report by McKinsey found this was the case across the board. They also found that marginalised groups wanted it more than others:

• • Employees with disabilities were 11 percent more likely to prefer a hybrid work model than employees without disabilities.
  • More than 70 percent of men and women expressed strong preferences for hybrid work, but nonbinary employees were 14 percent more likely to prefer it.
  • LGBQ+ employees were 13 percent more likely to prefer hybrid work than their heterosexual peers.

However, the McKinsey report highlighted potential pitfalls:

• • Hybrid work has the potential to create an unequal playing field if not done correctly.
  • Companies need to prioritize the most critical inclusion practices: work-life support, team building, and mutual respect.
  • Marginalized groups are more likely to prefer a hybrid work model and would be more likely to leave if it was not available.

Hybrid good for inclusion

In their survey, 75 percent of all respondents said that they prefer a hybrid working model. Only 25 percent said they prefer to be full time on-site. 

“Consider, for example, the employee who may be hiding a disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation to avoid the stigma that can come with declaring it. Research shows that efforts to conceal such identities may take a toll on an employee’s well-being and performance. Ideally, employees would be comfortable sharing these identities with colleagues, and organizations would provide the inclusive environment in which they could. When they do not, however, hybrid work environments can relieve some of the strain.”

As employers navigate their way through new ways of working they shouldn’t mistake hybrid as flexibility. Some organisations were able to manage issues of isolation and mental health during the pandemic. Nevertheless, these issues remain across the business landscape, particularly for some traditionally underrepresented groups.

The title of the report is, How can hybrid work models prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion?

The article was re-published by the World Economic Forum with permission. There are links to other reports and discussion about experimenting with managing the changing face of work. Will universal design principles and the practice of co-design come to the fore in designing work? We shall see. 

The Future of the Office in Australia

Sourceable reports on the changing face of the office – the place where hybrid work is possible. The article has a real-estate focus but includes a nod to access and inclusion:

“… employers are facing rising pressure to address environmental, social, and governance issues in their offices and policies. Buildings that are inclusive and accessible for all workers have become more prominent in the industry, with popular features of new office buildings including prayer rooms and gender-neutral facilities.”

If we say older people make more loyal and reliable employees, what does that say about younger people? And anyway, are these stereotypes valid? Ironically, public policy uses age stereotypes to overcome stereotypes about older workers. However, the connection between age and workplace competence is not supported in the research. 

One of the key issues here is that there is no clear definition of what an ‘older worker’ is. This makes it difficult to build relevant public policy. The range of ages is between 40 and 64 depending on who is doing the research.

The other issue is how to manage the intersection of age with other characteristics such as gender and work type. So, there is a need for an approach that acknowledges people of a given age are not all alike. The stereotypes are a social construct and have little to do with individuals. Hence, employment programs should be based on individual need rather than age. Indeed, older age based programs only serve to entrench the stereotypes.

Age discrimination is not related to one age group. Younger people face discrimination in the workplace too. The research indicates that the attributes canvased by advocates of older workers are not necessarily those that employers seek. 

Public policy that pushes for a longer working life also makes several assumptions. People who work in jobs that cannot be done in later life, are overlooked in this scenario. And ‘productive ageing’ might not mean paid work, or that retirement is unproductive.

Population ageing has brought calls to prolong working lives. This has the potential to be a good thing for individuals and the economy. However, not everyone has a job-type that will support the extension of their paid working life.

Public policy

Policymaking should aim for measures that support all people in transition, for instance, in entry to work, job loss and re-entry to work, based on the assumption that the needs of young and old are not
much different. 

Advocates for older workers might be doing them a dis-service by perpetuating stereotypes. Younger and older workers are not in competition. Consequently both will benefit from efforts to promote their sustained employment.

Philip Taylor and Warwick Smith provide a thoughtful overview of the situation in their conference paper, Rethinking Advocacy on Ageing and Work. 

Professor Philip Taylor is a CUDA Board Member and presented at the UD2021 Conference in Melbourne.

The pandemic has shown that workplaces can be almost anywhere. People who previously experienced physical barriers to workplaces found working online from home a blessing. But that doesn’t mean employers and managers don’t have to worry about accessibility and inclusion any more. Hybrid working where some staff are onsite and others online is where there are a few problems to solve. G3ict has some workplace lessons from the pandemic to share. 

Creating an inclusive workplace means catering for equity and accessibility in physical and virtual spaces. Platforms such as Zoom evolved quickly and now include automatic captioning for meetings and webinars. But there are additional things to consider in hybrid settings where some participants are online and others are in the conference room. 

Many conference rooms now include technology to accommodate hybrid meetings, but there is more to do. We need protocols around seating, placement of a sign language interpreter, captioning and the ability to use the “chat” function.  

Including people with disability – some tips

Including people with disability – and you might not know they have one – requires an approach that allows for equity and dignity. For example, a person should not have to ask for captioning to be enabled. If they have to ask they probably won’t because they don’t want to be singled out. If the captioning is clear, and AI captioning can be patchy, it’s good when sound is distorted or digitised. 

Not everyone will be viewing on a large screen, so presentation slides should allow for this. Large text with good colour contrast will ensure a higher level of readability for all. Not all vision conditions can be solved with glasses so it help people with low vision too.

The G3ict blog post discusses other details such as workplace furniture and products. Even fabric textures, patterns and colour contrasts can affect some people.  As the blog says:

“There is no handbook on how to create a fully accessible hybrid workplace, but engaging staff from a cross-disability perspective for ideas and product testing on both the physical and virtual side is critically important.”

“Set-backs in your plans should not be seen as failures but rather learning opportunities to move you towards a workplace that is accessible, inclusive and functional for everyone because truly hitting a “reset button” is not a singular action but a journey we must all be on together.”

When home is the workplace

Computers and internet provided the opportunity for some people to occasionally work from home. That was pre-Covid-19 when Home was still Home. But now Home is the workplace as well as home. It’s also been a place for education, long day care, and a place to stay safe. For some, home is all four at once: workplace, school, childcare centre and safe haven. Open spaces have taken on an increased value as a means of escape from the same four walls. But not everyone has easy access to open space, public or private.

Our homes were never designed for any of this. Not on a long-term basis anyway. Then there are the institutional homes – the aged care industry has not fared well in providing a sense of home for its residents. So we need a complete re-think about what it means to be “going to work at home”. 

A paper from Ireland looks at the impact of the pandemic on everyday lives and the need to adapt the built environment. The authors argue that: 

“There is now a key opportunity to implement universal design, to allow the best possible use of space, to enable everyone to live, work and socialise safely and equally.”

The authors discuss issues related to the public realm, housing design, and green infrastructure, and access for people with disability. They conclude that the pause mode caused by Covid-19 gives an opportunity to improve the lives of city dwellers. 

The title of the paper is, The impact of Covid-19 on our relationship with the built environment. 

From the abstract:

This article aims to explore the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the built environment in Ireland. It considers how our homes might suit the future needs of all citizens, particularly the needs of the most vulnerable members of society.

The growth in ‘working from home’ has highlighted architectural issues such as space within the home and the local community, as well as the importance of public and private open space. Covid-19 has exposed the most vulnerable, and the nursing home model is under scrutiny and will need to be addressed. 

The Covid-19 pandemic offers the potential for architects to provide a vision of a built environment that addresses biosecurity issues, accessibility and climate change. Architects need to re-purpose towns, villages, and urban areas, and develop new housing typologies which will integrate living and working within the one dwelling, and promote a sense of community in local neighbourhoods. Adaptable, flexible buildings alongside usable and accessible public spaces are necessary to meet change.

Comparing people to potatoes is a good way to explain diversity in the workplace. Although potatoes come in thousands of different varieties, shops give us the same regular sample to choose from. The same applies to our workplaces – we choose the same sample of the population. And if an employee doesn’t think or act like the majority, they are “weeded” out. Weeding out is often unintentional. That’s because employers haven’t yet worked out that humanity is neurodiverse. 

The term neurodiverse is often applied to people who are autistic. This is where stereotypes arise. The extra bright person who thinks differently to those around them is just one. Neurodiversity includes people with ADHD, dyslexia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and other cognitive conditions.

According to Kat Crewes we have seen a good deal of progress in workplaces. She says that research from EY suggest that neurodivergent people make up 20 per cent of the population. Yet many can’t get jobs or jobs they could excel in. 

Larger corporations are realising the benefits of designing workplaces that include people who are neurodiverse. Crewes mentions Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, and Deloitte. 

After hiring 100 neurodiverse people, EY found that their problem solving and creativity helped their business. A similar story for Hewlett Packard’s software development. But it is a big risk for someone to say they are autistic or neurodiverse. 

Designing the workplace

Many workplaces are getting up to speed with physical access. But we have to consider other design aspects such as sound and light sensitivity. Neuro-inclusivity requires a more nuanced approach. That includes giving neurodiverse people the opportunity to share their experiences. 

Crewes says that defining what accessibility means for a neurodivergent person is the first step. That means creating a safe place to speak up. She also explains more about people with ADHD and other cognitive conditions. The spectrum includes all genders, cultural backgrounds, and ages. They are working in every type of profession and organisation. 

We are a long way from accepting people who are neurodiverse into the workplace. This exclusion is often the result of failing to adjust. It does take effort to design for inclusion. And it is not all one way. Embedding neurodivergent people within the workplace is a learning experience for everyone.

The Kat Crewes’ Aurecon article is titled, Designing for a neurodiverse workplace. The second half of the article has the information on workplace design. 

Book review: Stories about the neurodiversity movement

The Commons Social Change website features a new book which is a collection of stories about the neurodiversity movement. The collection gathers the voices of both activists and academics. The introduction explains the approach to commissioning the chapters. 

The chapters are open access and the book title is: Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement: Stories from the Frontline.

Introduction

The first book to bring together a collection of neurodiverse contributors to talk about events that shaped the movement, and which they themselves were involved with. Focuses on activists’ direct experience effecting change for people who identify as autistic rather than abstract accounts that reflect on autism’s social construction or essence.

Provides a one-stop shop for readers interested in the history and ideas of the neurodiversity movement and how these ideas have shaped production of expert and especially lay knowledge about autism. Gathers a collective of autistic activist/academic voices and engages in current theoretical debates around knowledge production and epistemic authority within (critical) research on autism.

From the abstract

This edited collection offers a historical overview of the autistic community and neurodiversity movement through first-hand accounts. Awareness and impact of the movement has grown, but misunderstandings persist. 

The book covers the terms neurodiversity and neurodiversity movement, the breadth of the movement. There is an overlap with and divergence from the medical model, and its emphasis on self-advocacy. 

Contents of the book

Introduction, Steven K. Kapp

Gaining Community

Historicizing Jim Sinclair’s “Don’t Mourn for Us”: A Cultural and Intellectual History of Neurodiversity’s First Manifesto, Sarah Pripas-Kapit

From Exclusion to Acceptance: Independent Living on the Autistic Spectrum, Martijn Dekker

Autistic People Against Neuroleptic Abuse, Dinah Murray

Autistics.Org and Finding Our Voices as an Activist Movement, Laura A. Tisoncik

Losing, Mel Baggs

Getting Heard

Neurodiversity.Com: A Decade of Advocacy. Kathleen Seidel

Autscape, Karen Leneh Buckle

The Autistic Genocide Clock, Meg Evans

Shifting the System: AASPIRE and the Loom of Science and Activism, Dora M. Raymaker

Out of Searching Comes New Vibrance, Sharon daVanport

Two Winding Parent Paths to Neurodiversity Advocacy, Carol Greenburg, Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Lobbying Autism’s Diagnostic Revision in the DSM-5, Steven K. Kapp, Ari Ne’eman

Torture in the Name of Treatment: The Mission to Stop the Shocks in the Age of Deinstitutionalization, Shain M. Neumeier, Lydia X. Z. Brown

Autonomy, the Critical Journal of Interdisciplinary Autism Studies, Larry Arnold

My Time with Autism Speaks, John Elder Robison

Covering the Politics of Neurodiversity: And Myself, Eric M. Garcia

“A Dream Deferred” No Longer: Backstory of the First Autism and Race Anthology, Morénike Giwa Onaiwu

Entering the Establishment?

Changing Paradigms: The Emergence of the Autism/Neurodiversity Manifesto, Monique Craine

From Protest to Taskforce, Dinah Murray

Critiques of the Neurodiversity Movement, Ginny Russell

Conclusion, Steven K. Kapp

Download Full Book
Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement: Stories from the Frontline

The above text is reproduced from The Commons Social Change website. The book is also available on the SpringerLink website. 

Neurodiversity is rarely considered in the workplace. People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, anxiety or depression can feel stressed and uncomfortable. Consequently they are less productive. Employers could be missing out by not considering neurodiversity in the workplace. 

As many as one in eight people are neurodiverse according to an article in The Fifth Estate. COVID led to sterile environments. Offices removed their fabric coverings and other soft elements to make cleaning easier. But it makes spaces noisy, clinical and uninviting. 

Even working from home isn’t the answer for everyone. Just because you can work from home doesn’t mean you should. Long hours in a hard chair at the kitchen table isn’t optimum.

The article discusses colour, signage, the size and shape of spaces, textiles and plants. Even games such as Foosball tables have a place.

The solutions are in design of the office, the office culture and inclusive policies. When it comes to neurodiversity we have to ask, what is neurotypical anyway? Workplace designs that consider diversity are good for everyone.

There is more in this article titled, Considering neurodiversity to create better, more productive workplaces. The Fifth Estate also has an ebook for purchase, My (new) Happy Healthy Workplace

Related articles

7 things an autistic person needs in the workplace are:

• • No two people are alike
  • Ditch the stereotypes
  • Ask how we would like to be referred to
  • Be open to having a conversation to discuss what works
  • Be flexible to customise our working environment
  • Help us maximise our strengths
  • Provide us with opportunities to progress

Research on designing technology for neurodiverse users reminds us that this ends up being good design for everyone.

The Autism Research Starter Pack has strategies for including people with autism.