Creating a neuroinclusive workplace requires more than awareness. Drawing on his lived experience of autism and ADHD, Johan Lammers shares practical ways employers can reduce everyday barriers, improve communication and make work more sustainable for neurodivergent employees.
As an autistic employee with ADHD, I perform well at work, yet being around other people in the office gradually drains my capacity. That experience has taught me that capability and sustainability are different: what I can contribute, and what allows me to keep contributing. The 2024 Neuroinclusion at Work report from CIPD and Uptimize found that 45% of neurodivergent respondents felt exhausted at work often or always, compared with 30% of neurotypical respondents. These findings give employers a reason to examine working conditions alongside what employees deliver.
Neurodivergent employees do not all experience work in the same way, which is why adjustments should be shaped around individual needs rather than assumptions about a diagnosis. For employers, this means asking what people have to navigate alongside the job itself, and which demands can be reduced. Clearer expectations, different ways to participate and dependable support can make everyday work more manageable, with fewer repeated requests for help. Where possible, employers should build flexibility, clearer communication and accessible working practices into everyday routines, rather than waiting for employees to encounter difficulties and request adjustments.
As Fair Play Talks has previously explored, adapting communication styles to support neurodiversity is an important part of creating a more inclusive workplace.
ADJUST WORKING CONDITIONS TO THE INDIVIDUAL
After burnout, I reduced my working week from five days to four to allow more recovery. On ordinary office days, I spend up to four hours there, then finish at home, where I concentrate more easily. I attend longer sessions and events, including full days when needed. The arrangement works well for me and my employer.
Other employees may benefit from more frequent breaks, shorter working days or predictable periods for focused work. Where hours are reduced, reviewing workload and deadlines helps ensure the same demands are not simply squeezed into less time.
Interruptions deserve similar attention. An employee with ADHD may answer a colleague’s brief question easily, but returning to the original task can take more effort. When requests arrive throughout the day, repeated restarts become an additional demand. To reduce those restarts, managers can agree which requests can wait during focused periods and how colleagues should raise an urgent issue.
Noise, lighting and background activity can also make concentration more demanding. Discussing which conditions create difficulty helps identify changes that fit the individual and the role. In public-facing roles, breaks or access to a quieter space may depend on colleagues providing cover. Planning that cover helps ensure the adjustment remains usable during a busy shift.
MAKE EXPECTATIONS CLEAR
Unclear instructions can also leave employees repeatedly trying to work out what is expected. An autistic employee may be told to “take initiative” and “check before making changes”. They understand the task, but the boundary between the instructions remains unclear.
A manager can make that boundary explicit: “You can change the layout yourself. Check with me before changing the deadline or sending it outside the team.” A written reference reduces the need to reinterpret instructions or ask again. If a new request takes priority, the manager should also explain which existing task can wait and agree any changes to deadlines.
OFFER DIFFERENT WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE
Clarity matters in meetings too, where people may have to absorb information, formulate a response and find an opening to speak at once. An employee can have a useful point, yet miss the opportunity while judging when to contribute.
Pressure to appear engaged in a particular way can add to that effort. Research published in PLOS ONE describes workplace masking: hiding or modifying aspects of oneself to fit expectations. Participants reported pressure to conceal differences, alongside exhaustion and effects on mental health.
The issue is also highlighted in research covered by Fair Play Talks, which found that eight in 10 autistic employees reported masking and emotional exhaustion at work. Giving ideas more than one route into a discussion can make participation easier:
- Share the purpose and key questions in advance.
- Allow written contributions before or after the meeting, and leave time for responses during it.
- Circulate decisions, responsibilities and outstanding questions afterwards.
These practices give employees time to prepare, contribute and check what was agreed. They also give managers a fuller picture of contribution, with less reliance on quick speech, eye contact or constant visibility when assessing the quality of ideas and work.
MAKE SUPPORT EASIER TO ACCESS
For these practices to be dependable, employees need a clear route to individual support. A standing agreement can reduce the effort of requesting the same change repeatedly. Employees may need support without having a diagnosis or wanting to share it; the CIPD survey identified concerns about stereotypes, stigma and career consequences among reasons for not disclosing.
In the UK, employers also have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees and applicants where applicable. These may include changes to working hours, communication methods or the working environment. As Business Disability Forum has highlighted in Fair Play Talks, psychological safety is essential for disabled and neurodivergent employees, particularly when it comes to asking for support and requesting workplace adjustments.
A UK Expert Academic Panel report published in October 2026 recommends support based on individual needs and working conditions, with everyday practices that reduce reliance on disclosure. A clear process can put this into practice, with HR following up when requests stall:
- Provide a named confidential contact and explain who can authorise changes and when a response can be expected.
- Record agreed changes, who will implement them and when they will be reviewed.
- Agree with the employee what can be shared, and confirm continuing arrangements when a manager changes.
Managers also need the knowledge and confidence to recognise barriers, discuss adjustments without making assumptions and ensure agreed support is maintained.
REVIEW WHAT MAKES WORK SUSTAINABLE
My capacity also changes from day to day. Some days I get very little done; on others, I can get through what feels like five days’ work in a single sitting. It is tempting to treat those bursts as my everyday benchmark. I have gradually learned to accept the variation and work with the capacity I have.
Employers can account for that variation by considering contribution over a period appropriate to the role, alongside whether agreed changes make the work more manageable. When office attendance changes, for example, a review can explore whether concentration and recovery have improved and whether the arrangement supports tasks that require people to work together in person.
Support is equally important when performance is already affected. A sustainable arrangement may involve a smaller workload, fewer simultaneous priorities or changes to responsibilities. Reducing barriers requires organisations to take responsibility for how work is arranged. Begin by asking: “Which parts of the way we work make your job harder, and what could we change?” Then agree a specific change, who will implement it and when you will review whether it helps.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Johan Lammers holds an MSc in Organisational Psychology and has professional experience in organisational development. Diagnosed with autism and ADHD at 42, he combines research with lived experience as the founder of sensoryoverload.info, a learning platform providing practical resources for neurodivergent adults.
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