“The ‘average’ employee no longer exists, and with over half of young professionals identifying as neurodiverse, leaders now have an opportunity to transform differences perceived as challenges into healthier workplaces.”
– Maria Ross, Forbes, 2025
It’s a powerful statement and one that HR leaders can no longer afford to ignore. If your organisation still designs for the ‘average’ employee, it may be time to re-examine your neurodiversity strategy – or risk losing top talent.
For decades, many workplaces have operated on an implicit standard: a “typical” employee who thrives under fixed hours, open-plan offices, rapid-fire meetings, and standardised communication norms. But this model, built around outdated assumptions, is increasingly out of step with reality.
Today’s workforce is more cognitively diverse than ever. Approximately 20% of the population is neurodivergent – including those with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and more. And tellingly, 53% of Gen Z professionals now identify as neurodivergent or relate to neurodivergent traits, according to recent surveys.
This shift signals a pivotal moment for HR and people leaders: do we continue building systems for a fictional “average,” or redesign for real people, with real variation in how they process, create, and contribute?
The Myth of the Average Employee
Human brains are wired differently. That’s not a flaw – it’s the foundation of innovation, creativity, and resilience. Yet, most corporate systems still lean on uniformity:
- Set meeting cadences and schedules.
- Communication styles favouring extroversion or speed.
- Environments optimised for sensory-neutral or neurotypical comfort.
These norms may work well for some. But for others – particularly neurodivergent employees – they create friction, fatigue, and barriers to performance. The result? Lost potential, lower retention, and rising burnout.
The Cost of Not having a Neurodiversity Strategy:
- Higher attrition among early-career professionals who don’t feel seen or supported.
- Missed innovation opportunities due to homogenous problem-solving approaches.
- Diminished psychological safety, especially when differences are masked or penalised.
This isn’t just a DEI conversation – it’s a business resilience strategy.
The ROI of a Neurodiversity Strategy
Let’s be clear: embracing neurodiversity isn’t about charity or compliance. It’s about unlocking performance, loyalty, and adaptability in a rapidly changing world.
1. Innovation at Scale
Neurodivergent thinkers bring distinct cognitive patterns. Whether it’s hyperfocus, systems thinking, or creative pattern recognition – these perspectives are innovation assets.
“Companies that embrace diversity of thought are 70% more likely to capture new markets.”
– Harvard Business Review
2. Retention and Engagement
When people don’t have to mask who they are, they contribute more – and stay longer.
3. Access to Untapped Talent
Rigid hiring and performance frameworks often exclude exceptional candidates. By embedding flexibility – in how roles are structured, assessed, and supported – organisations can access broader talent pools and reduce bias in recruitment.
4. Wellbeing and Burnout Prevention
Burnout isn’t always about workload. It’s often about cognitive overload, sensory stressors, or misaligned workflows. Building with neurodiversity in mind improves wellbeing for everyone – not just those with diagnoses.
From Accommodations to Systemic Design
The key to a neurodiversity strategy isn’t to customise every experience for every person. That’s unsustainable. Instead, forward-thinking organisations are embedding modular flexibility – adaptable systems that allow individuals to optimise how they work within shared goals.
When organisations stop viewing neurodiversity as a challenge to be managed it becomes easier to find the clues around how systems and processes within your organisation might be broken
Organisations that have a neurodiversity strategy in place that goes beyond surface level inclusion, uncover deeper, more sustainable and impactful ways to support neurodivergent employees.
Reframe “challenges” as system feedback:
- Struggling with back-to-back meetings? That’s not a performance issue – it’s a design flaw. It might not be lack of resilience but a signal that your meeting culture is too dense or fossilised.
- Prefers written over verbal updates? It’s not about social discomfort – it’s a communication style mismatch. Communication styles differ: direct vs indirect or spoken vs written. These are preferences for effectiveness, not problems.
- Avoids constant context switching? That’s not resistance – it’s deep focus being disrupted. Someone who thrives when working in bursts of deep focus might struggle under constant context switching. That’s not lacking agility, it’s a different rhythm.
By listening to these patterns, HR leaders gain insight into what needs redesigning, not who needs fixing.
Addressing Common Concerns
Change brings discomfort – especially when it challenges long-held assumptions. Here are common objections HR leaders face when designing a neurodiversity strategy, and how to reframe them:
“We can’t personalise for everyone.”
You’re right – but you don’t have to. Instead, design choice into the system: flexible hours, multiple communication channels, meeting alternatives, and clear role expectations with space for individualisation. Individualising every detail isn’t necessary but building flexibility into the system so that people can gravitate toward what gets the best out of them is the viable solution.
“We need standardisation and fairness.”
Fairness doesn’t mean sameness. Standardise outcomes and accountability, not behaviours or workflows. Equity recognises that different people need different supports to reach the same goals. The goal is not chaos, but modular flexibility is. Define core inclusive expectations but leave room for variation in how those expectations are met.
“Won’t this hurt cohesion?”
Only if transparency is lacking. Foster shared language, inclusive norms, and team-based agreements. Make neuroinclusion a team conversation, not a series of one-off exceptions. If some employees get ‘special treatment’ others may feel unfairness unless the system is transparent and equitable.
A Tale of Two Teams
Consider two teams in the same company:
- Team A: 9 – 5 hours, mandatory stand-ups, open-plan office, uniform metrics.
- Team B: Flexible scheduling, optional synchronous meetings, quiet zones, outcome-based evaluations, neuroinclusive onboarding.
Which team will attract and retain Gen Z talent? Which will likely report higher psychological safety, lower burnout, and faster ideation?
(Hint: it’s not Team A.)
Leading the Way Forward
In a world where adaptability, innovation, and empathy are critical leadership traits, neuroinclusion isn’t a nice-to-have – it’s a strategic imperative.
As an HR leader, your influence extends across the organisation. You set the tone for:
- How performance is measured
- How talent is nurtured
- How differences are understood
Neurodivergent professionals are already in your workforce and without a clear and actionable neurodiversity strategy in place to support them, the business impact could be huge.
The question is: are your systems helping them thrive, or forcing them to hide?
Executive Takeaways
- The “average” employee is a myth. Systems built around it are becoming liabilities.
- Over half of Gen Z professionals identify as neurodivergent – and expect inclusion as standard.
- Having a neurodiversity strategy drives measurable value: innovation, retention, wellbeing, and access to talent.
- You don’t need to overhaul everything. A neurodiversity strategy can embed flexibility, transparency, and equity into your core people practices.
- HR leaders who invest in cognitive diversity today will lead the most adaptable, innovative workplaces tomorrow.
Let’s Make the Shift – Together
At NeuroBridge, we partner with organisations ready to rethink how they design for people – all people. From diagnostics to team coaching, we help HR leaders build and implement a neurodiversity strategy that bridges the gap between good intentions and inclusive action.
Speak to one of our experts to explore how we can support your journey toward a truly neuroinclusive culture.
