Once dismissed as clumsy fidgeters, people with neurodivergences are now much-sought-after members of the workforce. More and more companies are recognising how they can benefit from employing neurodiverse staff. But what does a neurodiverse-inclusive office look like? And what do companies need to think about in terms of their design?
Staring off into the distance, no eye contact, monotonous, robotic voice, zero facial expressions, an empathetic no-man’s land. As awkward as he might be when it comes to communication and emotional intelligence, Shaun Murphy – a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome brought from Wyoming to the renowned St. Bonaventure Hospital in Silicon Valley – is an exceptional medical genius, and a key asset for the entire hospital. The television series The Good Doctor, starring the then 25-year-old Freddie Highmore as Murphy, managed to bring the topic of neurodiversity and the “islands of genius” of neurodivergent people to a huge audience overnight.
“Autism isn't something a person has, or a shell that a person is trapped inside”, says American activist and author, Jim Sinclair. “Autism is a way of being. It is pervasive; it colours every experience, every sensation, perception, thought, emotion and encounter – every aspect of existence.”
The Australian sociologist Judy Singer, herself on the autism spectrum, coined the term “neurodiversity” in 1998, starting a path of destigmatisation and establishing a view that for the first time didn’t focus on symptoms and diagnoses, but rather on the acceptance of different ways of seeing the world.
“Neurodiversity is the umbrella term for the way all of our brains are wired differently, and therefore also work differently”, explains Graz-based occupational psychologist Julie Simstich, who runs her own practice called Hirnzigartig! – a portmanteau of “Hirn” (brain) and “einzigartig” (unique). “And this neurodiversity doesn’t just cover the fidgety little boys and daydreaming little girls like we might once have thought, but also neurodivergent people with dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dyslexia, sensory processing sensitivity, ADHD, autism and Aspergers syndrome.”
In a work context, she goes on to explain, neurodivergent people are absolutely crucial to a company’s success, and are a factor they’re loathe to neglect in the war for talents and employer branding. “There’s no alternative. With neurodivergent people making up an estimated 15 to 20 percent of the population, and that being many times higher than Austria’s unemployment rate, it’s obvious that they have long been part of our corporate world. The question is how well their needs are met and how well we manage to make their unique talents visible and useable.”
Neurodivergent people – as many studies and experiences from well-known companies have shown – are good troubleshooters, think outside the box and recognise highly complex patterns and connections in an instant. Which is why many end up in programming. The IT consultancy Auticon has offered neuroinclusion training since 2009. In 2013, software developer SAP became one of the first companies in the market to create its own Autism at Work Program. And tech giant DELL introduced a new hiring programme in 2018 as a way to recruit neurodivergent people and make its corporate culture more inclusive for them.
But how do you design an office around inclusion and neurodiversity? “Most people on the neurodivergence spectrum need a quiet environment and don’t tolerate distractions or lack of orientation well”, says Simstich. “So we recommend spaces with calming colours, neutral patterns, warm lighting, low odour emissions and sound-absorbing surfaces. And you need telephone booths, soundproof pods and escape spaces to help people concentrate. Sometimes even an egg chair can help as somewhere for people to withdraw for a few minutes.”
When it comes down to it, says the occupational psychologist, it’s about good, healthy workplace design that benefits everyone. “The only difference is that neurodivergent people suffer more acutely than neurotypical people if certain obvious quality standards aren’t met. When you think about it like that, staff are valuable seismometers who give you fast, direct feedback about whether a room is well designed or not.”
Bernhard Kern, CEO of Roomware Consulting GmbH, points out that inclusive office architecture doesn’t, however, mean that every room has to be just as silent, just as bright and just as bland as the next. “An inclusive office is one that contains many different moods and atmospheres, enabling people to work in very different contexts – peaceful and low-distraction for some, inspiring and energising for others.” Essentially: “If in doubt, go for less magnolia, more variety and more diversified workspaces.”
German futurologist Max Thinius, who is currently researching how neurodiversity and the digital working world affect one another for the University of Technology Nuremberg (UTN), warns against assuming that every neurodivergent person needs the same environment. “Some need a quiet place to work, others need a high-frequency screen to make sure their nervous system isn’t overloaded by flickering, some crave a working environment with lots of sensory stimulation and lively background noise. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution!”
One example of what a collaborative office landscape could look like is the MAM Competence Center in Großhöflein, Burgenland, which was nominated for the Austrian State Prize for Architecture and Sustainability. Baby product specialist MAM Health & Innovation GmbH’s new 4,500 m2 office and laboratory building comprises three cylindrical buildings with sophisticated quiet areas and movement spaces, and is designed to be an inclusive office that people with neurodivergences find welcoming and accessible.
“We wanted every workstation to have a certain amount of intimacy, so you can’t see further than six metres at once while sitting, or more than 30 metres while walking around”, says Martin Lesjak, partner at the architectural firm INNOCAD, who designed the building. “Being able to see further than that is uncomfortable on a psychological level and can be stressful for many people.” Even the carpeting, decorated with visually calming fractal patterns, follows stress reduction principles that NASA has applied for decades to help make the emotional day-to-day easier for people in space.
Whether they’re LaLa Land’s famed autistic doctor, a brilliant programmer in an international software firm or a white-coated researcher creating a prototype teething ring in a high-tech lab in Burgenland, staff with “islands of genius” need an inclusive, respectful, supportive environment to make the most of their talents. And it’s not just the employees themselves who benefit, but also the company itself – from greater resilience, more productivity and higher rates of innovation.
Wojciech Czaja
