As the Covid-19 pandemic relented, many employers implemented return-to-office measures. While some employers opted for hybrid remote/in-office operations, a growing number called employees back to work onsite full-time.
As I counsel employers on return-to-office initiatives, all ask, “Will the accommodation floodgates open?” In many cases, they do. But oftentimes, return-to-office initiatives do not contemplate accommodation requests from neurodiverse individuals.
What is Neurodiversity and Why Does it Matter to Employers?
The Cleveland Clinic describes “neurodivergent” as “a nonmedical term that describes people whose brains develop or work differently for some reason.” The Stanford Neurodiversity Project describes the related term, “neurodiversity,” as “a concept that regards individuals with differences in brain function and behavioral traits as part of normal variation in the human population.”
Neurodivergent individuals, including those with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), dyscalculia, dyslexia, and other conditions, contribute to the workplace in under-recognized and, sometimes, misunderstood ways.
For example, an individual with ADHD may be more talkative or appear more energetic than colleagues. But those attributes may result in stronger client relationships, work outside of normal hours to address client concerns, and fast engagement with new colleagues, clients, and concepts.
Or an individual with ASD may have highly focused interests that lead them to specialize in cutting-edge subject matter, becoming an invaluable expert on topics that lead to rapid revenue growth.
But when neurodiverse employees request accommodation to address workplace limitations caused by their neurodivergence, reverting to template interactive process documents and procedures can lead to adverse results.
We all have our favorite forms, but is commitment to templates best serving the employee and enabling employers to meet our interactive process obligations?
A Tailored Interactive Process Yields Better Results
When a neurodivergent employee requests accommodation, employers often falter when they assume that a neurodivergent condition manifests in a specific way. This assumption may be based on personal experience, experience with others, or information available online. But neurodivergent conditions manifest in countless ways.
While template communications may work in some circumstances, when a neurodivergent employee requests accommodation, a tailored approach to understand an employee’s job-related medical restrictions and potential accommodations typically leads to better results for the employee and the employer.
Customized communications and an individualized analysis of an employee’s medical needs yield more specific information that’s relevant to the employee and their needs.
For example, if an employee with ADHD requests a “less busy workspace,” what does that mean? Without information from the employee and/or their health care provider, an employer may assume it means fewer coworkers walking by, fewer sounds or lower sound levels, fewer visual distractions near their desk, fewer virtual or in-person meetings, or fewer assignments. But without engaging appropriately to uncover an employee’s job-related medical restrictions, the employer may make uninformed guesses about what the employee is requesting and what they may need to overcome their restrictions.
How Should We Engage Effectively?
When an employee discloses a neurodivergent condition that may warrant accommodation, promptly initiating the interactive process reassures the employee that their request is important. Depending on the type of neurodivergent condition at issue, the employee may prefer to communicate in a specific way during that process.
For example, a neurodivergent employee with possible cognitive limitations may request to communicate in writing to process information before responding. Conversely, an individual who has difficulty taking notes while talking may request to engage verbally and have the employer send a written summary after the verbal conversation.
Modifying communication expectations and practices, within reason, can lead to a more robust interactive process that may limit breakdowns and information submission delays.
When drafting tailored communications for an employee to deliver to their health care provider, consider the essential functions/requirements of the employee’s position and draft a description of the employee’s job that’s easy to understand. Remember, the provider may have limited knowledge of your company and the employee’s position.
If the employer provides insufficient, vague information, the provider may only understand the employee’s perspective of their role, which may be inaccurate or incomplete. It may also lead to vague responses, requiring additional information requests to the provider, which delays the process.
Questions directed to an employee’s health care provider should be narrowly tailored to gather and understand the employee’s job-related medical restrictions, how those restrictions impact the employee’s ability to perform their job duties, and explore potential accommodations.
If an employee voluntarily discloses specific symptoms/restrictions, customizing questions to the provider based on those disclosures often leads to a more accurate understanding of the employee’s needs and uncovers more potentially reasonable and effective accommodations.
So, What’s Next?
More individuals are being diagnosed with conditions that fall under the neurodiverse umbrella. For example, autism diagnoses are up about 300% over the last twenty years. And the CDC says an estimated 15.5 million American adults had a current ADHD diagnosis in 2023. Approximately one half of adults with an ADHD diagnosis were diagnosed as adults.
With an increased prevalence of neurodivergent adults, accommodating limitations posed by medical impairment is here to stay. Employers must be prepared to engage to ensure they’re meeting their interactive process obligations and assist neurodiverse employees who encounter difficulties in the workplace.
