Neurodiversity in the Workplace: How To Design Inclusive Offices

Every one’s brain responds to external stimulants differently. This can make creating an office that accommodates the needs and preferences of all quite the challenge for employers.

But it’s a challenge shrewd companies need to take on, especially as there is an increasing awareness of neurodiverse individuals in the workplace, such as adults who have ADHD. Couple that with the return to office, where employees are pivoting to in-person work after having been accustomed to controlling their own environments from home, and it becomes clear that inclusive workspaces with a variety of environments tailored to different types of sensory proclivities are not just an attractive feature, but a necessity.

Presenting in a NeoCon 2022 online session in June titled The New Inclusivity: Neurodiversity and Workplace Inclusion, Kay Sargent, director of workplace at architecture firm HOK, and Sarah Oppenhuizen, director of interiors at HOK, drove home the point that designing inclusive workplaces isn’t only the right thing to do, but that there is a business case for offering workplaces that allow all workers to thrive.

When workplaces are designed to not just house employees but to really accommodate their varying individual needs, the speakers said, it leads to higher productivity and engagement and reduces mental health stressors which cause workplace issues like absenteeism and burnout.

“We take the spaces that we design seriously, and we would love to believe that every space we design is creating an amazing environment for the people that are in it,” Sargent said. “But we also have to acknowledge that if we are not designing the space well, it can have a negative impact on individuals. So, we believe we have a moral obligation to create spaces where everybody can thrive and be successful.”

Neurodiversity refers to the idea that there is a natural variation of human cognitive function — in the way we learn, socialize, interact with our environment, focus, or take in information, among other sensory processing tactics. A majority of people operate and respond to outside stimuli in a range deemed “neurotypical.” Those that fall outside of that range, which is about 15%-20% of the population, according to HOK’s research, are considered “neurodiverse,” with conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, or autism.

“One in seven people are considered neurodiverse, but what's really interesting is less than 50% of the people that are neurodiverse even know it, because it's gone so undiagnosed or underdiagnosed for so many years,” said Sargent.

One of the goals of the neurodiversity movement is to remove the stigma associated with common neurodivergent conditions and recognize these individuals as having a normal variation in cognitive function rather than a disability.

And even without these neurodivergent diagnoses, many people can extend into ranges that are considered neurodiverse without even realizing it. Among those who are considered neurotypical, our ability to process information or perform in the workplace can be severely impacted over the course of our lives by mental health challenges or severe periods of stress, for example.

Sargent said that in the past year, the World Health Organization has begun to change the definition of neurodiversity and has instead started to focus on the assumption that “cognitive and social exclusion really happens at the point where there is a misalignment between the interaction of the individual and the built environment.” Sensory distractions in the workplace, like smells, noise, visual clutter or other things that might bother us lead to cognitive distractions, loss of focus and discomfort. At the next level, this causes loss of engagement and productivity and can manifest itself as stress, anxiety, burnout and absenteeism.

“So it’s really the impairment plus the environment that equals the disability. If someone has an impairment and the environment is set up to support that individual, then they’re not disabled. But if the environment is misaligned with their specific needs, then they are,” explained Sargent. “So now the responsibility is not on the individual, but is shifting to be on the environment itself, and it puts the onus on us [as designers] to create environments where everyone can be successful.”

There are two main reasons that your office should be designed with neurodiversity in mind.

It’s Mutually Beneficial. Neurodiverse employees bring a special skill set and advantages to the workplace. Some of our era’s most famous and successful entrepreneurs, including Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Richard Branson, are considered neurodiverse. These employees can be hyper focused at times, especially on small details, and can often think outside the box — identifying patterns that others struggle to pinpoint. With greater capacity for innovative thinking, they can — in the right environment — actually be 140% more productive than their colleagues, said Sargent.

However, these employees can have trouble operating in traditional or standard office setups that don’t give them the right space they need to thrive.

“What's happening right now is that a lot of people don't want to admit or make an issue of their [neurodivergences], so they’re neurotypical passing, masking or camouflaging,” said Sargent. “And all of this silent suffering they’re going through is adding to stress, burnout and job loss.”

The Value is Universal. Designing inclusive offices has benefits for all employees — including those who are neurotypical, especially as the need for inclusive workspaces is even more heightened now that remote work has allowed many of us more control and the ability to curate our ideal work environment.

“When you design for the extreme, then you benefit the mean,” said Sargent. “So an individual who is neurotypical really will benefit from having access to all of these different spaces, perhaps based on the task that they're doing and where they can be most productive.”

Whether neurotypical or neurodiverse, most people have either a hypersensitive or hyposensitive response to sensory stimulation in the workplace. Hypersensitive people prefer environments that have “controlled stimuli.” This means places that are quiet and clean, aren’t overcrowded, and have simple, neutral patterns and colors. On the other side of the spectrum, people that are hyposensitive like busy environments with excitement and noise, bright colors, and places to move around. So, for example, you might have a neurotypical employee that is hypersensitive to sound and will find it difficult to work in a bustling environment.

“We also have to recognize that there are some individuals who are both hyposensitive and hypersensitive, depending on what the sensory stimulation is,” explained Oppenhuizen. “So when we talk about diverse space types, we're really talking about developing a whole ecosystem of spaces that fall on all ranges of the sensitivity scale and addresses those different sensory experiences.”

Oppenhuizen and Sargent presented a number of strategies and specific considerations for how to design inclusive workplaces that can successfully cater to and support all employee needs within the same office space.

The 6 C’s. All workspaces should include spaces for the daily modalities of work we all utilize, which Sargent and Oppenhuizen call the “6 Cs:” Concentrate, Commune, Create, Congregate, Contemplate, and Convivial.

These are fairly self-explanatory concepts — concentrate spaces are ones where employees can do heads-down work without being disturbed; a congregate space is one where teams or small groups can meet together to collaborate; convivial spaces are ones where employees can mingle in a lively, cheerful way; and so on. But in the workplace, individuals will utilize and interact with these spaces in different ways, or need different setups for each modality of work.

“The critical thing to consider is that you have to provide these spaces for all of these different modalities of work for both hypersensitive and hyposensitive people,” said Oppenhuizen, noting that the key is to provide an array of choices that can accommodate the needs of different individuals, or even the same individual on different days.

So, for example, a concentration space for a hypersensitive person could look like an enclosed office, phonebooth pod, or individual conference room to use as a workspace. A hyposensitive employee may prefer a concentration space that’s not enclosed, but is set off to the side and has a moveable screen where they can create as much or as little privacy as they’d like. As another example, a congregate space for meetings and collaboration looks different for each sensitivity; a hypersensitive employee will likely be most successful in a small conference room to gather with a few colleagues, while a hyposensitive one will seek out a large meeting table in the middle of the office with whiteboards or digital screens.

Spatial Sequencing and Zoning. Sargent and Oppenhuizen said a critical component to providing all these offerings in one space in a way that makes them successful is spatial sequencing and sensory zoning. In other words, designers need to “consciously make decisions about hyposensitive and hypersensitive settings [and how they are arranged] to ensure that we're not creating conflict within plans. You don’t want someone that is trying to focus and do quiet, heads down work next to a group of people collaborating,” said Sargent.

Individual workstations might be situated next to designated quiet rooms or small conference spaces, which would be arranged on the opposite side of the floorplan from group break rooms or high-activity social areas that are meant to be energetic. Spaces that are somewhere in-between — like larger conference areas with closed doors, client meeting rooms, or open, library-style worktables — can be laid out between the ones that are deemed specifically for one purpose or the other.

“As we lay out the ecosystem, the importance of sensory zoning means that the people who need to concentrate can be far away from the people who want to have social conversations,” said Oppenhuizen. “There has been a tendency within design to plot those social spaces right in the middle of a floor plan, which is not conducive to people who are trying to concentrate.”

Sargent backed up the importance of sequencing, adding that “open concept plans tend to get a bad rap because everyone throws everything in the middle and it’s a catchall. But when we zone them appropriately, we create areas that are louder and for engagement, or ones that are for people working alone in quiet spaces, but together. People can then naturally gravitate to the right spaces, and it creates spaces that are equitable, functioning at a high level, and welcoming to all.”

Attention to sound masking and noise levels is also an important consideration here, as noise can be one of the greatest distractions in an office environment.

“[Designers] often try to make one acoustical level across the entire suite and add things like sound masking. You might need more sound masking or natural sound in concentration spaces, but in spaces that are busy and social, you actually want to encourage a little more energy and buzz,” said Sargent.

The presenters also added that choosing appropriate colors and finishes is important to keep in mind for each workspace. Quiet rooms for hypersensitive employees should use muted and calming colors, while social and collaboration spaces can use ones that are bolder and more energizing.

“Everything in each space — the lighting, finishes and acoustics, all need to be fit to the purpose and the task of those specific spaces,” said Sargent.

Choice and Control. One of the things the presenters emphasized was the importance of choice throughout the workday and an individual’s ability to control their immediate surroundings.

“When you have assigned work points, everybody ends up having the same thing. But one size misfits all,” said Oppenhuizen. “When you have free-choice work points, people have options that are based on what they need for the day and how they need to use those spaces, and those are important considerations for people across the hypo- and hypersensitive scale.”

In addition to offering a variety of spaces for employees to choose from, giving individuals the ability to control details of those spaces with ergonomic furniture or movable aspects also goes a long way toward creating comfort in the office. For example, HOK’s research found that a high percentage of employees are sensitive to visual distractions such as people walking by their workspace. To alleviate this, Sargent suggests moveable screens or shields that can easily block out visual clutter or movement at a given time.

“Those adjustments can be really critical and helping people create that right environment on a microscale,” said Sargent.

10 Design Strategies to Implement. Based on research surveys HOK has conducted looking at the top sensitivities employees have in the workplace — which for most groups was sound and visual stimulation — Sargent and Oppenhuizen summed up by offering 10 design strategies and takeaways for creating the ideal workplace ecosystem for all:

1. Having the option to select where you will work.
2. Spaces that allow you to move.
3. Having a dedicated space you can be assigned to.
4. Access to natural daylight.
5. Work points located in low-traffic areas.
6. Dedicated quiet rooms.
7. Spaces that have areas to retreat to.
8. Rooms where you can turn the lighting down or off.
9. Spaces that incorporate natural elements.
10. Adjustable ergonomic furniture.

Sargent said that business owners can often feel overwhelmed by the idea of trying to provide all these spaces at once in one area. “There is a lot of low-hanging fruit. If you don’t have quiet rooms, you can easily create them. If you have quiet rooms but they have crazy graphics and bold colors in them, then you're short-circuiting the people that you've designed them for, so you can go back and think about how to design those rooms differently.”

The presenters closed by emphasizing that offices should no longer be designed as just a workplace, or even an environment, but as an experience that addresses and welcomes the needs of all employees and their sensitivities.

“We are no longer designing environments for the typical person, because there is no longer a typical individual. People have a wide variety of needs, requirements, and sensitivities, and we really need to think about that,” said Sargent. “Every human, whether neurotypical or neurodiverse, is being assaulted by the amount of stimulation that is coming at us every day. So, creating environments that address those [sensitivities] is critical for all people to feel like they can be successful in a workplace environment going forward.”