Creating a workplace that truly supports neurodiversity is a smart investment in many ways. Organisations that foster neuroinclusive cultures consistently outperform their peers in terms of productivity, innovation, and employee retention. However, achieving inclusion requires a shift in mindset, entrenched practices, and organisational culture.

Why is neurodiversity inclusion in the workplace necessary?

Neurodiversity refers to the natural variation in how people experience, process and interact with the world. It includes conditions such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and trauma-related differences like PTSD. While many of these conditions are widely recognised, their presence in the workplace is often misunderstood or worse, overlooked entirely.

It’s commonly accepted that 15–20% of the global population is neurodivergent. That includes:

• ADHD: Affects approximately 8% of children globally, with adult persistence rates between 2.6% and 5%.
• Autism: Current global prevalence is estimated at around 1% to 3%.
• Dyslexia: Impacts an estimated 15% to 20% of the population.

Each condition comes with its own blend of strengths and challenges. For example, individuals with ADHD may bring creativity and energy, but struggle with sustained attention. Autistic individuals might excel in logical reasoning and pattern recognition, yet find social environments overwhelming. Dyslexic employees often have strong visual thinking and problem-solving skills, while those with dyspraxia may face challenges with coordination but thrive in strategic roles.

These experiences aren’t uniform. Even people with the same diagnosis may have vastly different needs and preferences. That’s why a one-size-fits-all model is unlikely to succeed, personalisation is key.

Expanding Neurodiversity: Understanding PTSD in inclusive workplace design

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), on the other hand, is a condition that can affect anyone—often without them even realizing it. It results from experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event like accidents, unhealthy family dynamics, losing a family member, and even secondary trauma of geo-political situations.

While PTSD is not considered a form of neurodivergence, it can develop into a long-term mental health condition if not addressed in time—especially in today’s workplaces, which are constantly facing uncertainty and change.

Common signs of PTSD include:

• Avoidance behaviors
• Zoning out due to intrusive memories or flashbacks
• Hyperarousal and edgy behavior driven by nervousness or anxiety
• Sudden mood shifts and their ripple effects on others

PTSD doesn't just affect the individual—it can impact colleagues too, contributing to a negative work environment and lowering team morale.

Dr. William Brantley shared, "PTSD is a mental disorder that can develop after a traumatic event like an accident, disaster, assault, or combat. Symptoms include flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, nightmares, hypervigilance, and emotional numbing.

Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) results from prolonged trauma where escape was harrowing, like childhood abuse or long-term domestic violence. Beyond PTSD symptoms, it often involves emotional regulation issues, negative self-concept, and relationship problems."

He also shared the common workplace triggers of PTSD including, chaotic and loud noises, unclear feedbacks, fear of embarassment in team activities, burnout from scanning for threats, and shame or fear of misunderstanding. 

The triggers affect not only individuals with ADHD or autism, but people in general. However, those with ADHD and other long-term conditions are particularly vulnerable to trauma due to insensitive environments, frequent misunderstandings, heightened sensory sensitivities, and difficulty expressing distress.

Because they experience the world differently, they may struggle to express their emotions and often feel alienated—leading them to mask their feelings or deny them altogether. This makes diagnosing and treating PTSD more difficult and often delayed.

PTSD in the workplace: Your high performers suffer too

Making a case for high performers who regularly face performance pressure while navigating personal challenges:

Eram, a senior project manager at a tech startup, is known for her attention to detail and ability to lead under pressure. Unknown to most of her co-workers, she survived a serious car accident a few years ago. While her physical injuries healed over time, her emotional trauma went untreated, and she quietly developed symptoms of PTSD.

Now, certain behaviours and situations in the workplace trigger her. For example, routine team meetings or loud noises from nearby co-workers distract her and cause her to lose focus. She sometimes freezes when spontaneously called upon during brainstorming sessions. As a high performer, she fears being embarrassed in front of others, which is an emotional response tied to the helplessness she experienced during her accident.

She often spirals into self-doubt, skips meals, and works beyond regular hours, even in response to vague or overly critical feedback.

Despite co-workers noticing her “zoning out” or reacting irritably to minor issues, her PTSD goes unaddressed because such behaviours are often normalised in high-pressure environments.

While she may appear overproductive, her perfectionism is beginning to affect team morale and productivity due to the unpredictability of her responses. HR misinterprets her behaviour, overlooking the deeper issue of unresolved trauma.

Unaddressed PTSD can manifest in subtle, often misunderstood ways. Without awareness, it can worsen. By building understanding and offering the right support and structure, employers can create healing-centered workplaces that benefit both individuals and organisations.

This is why mental health awareness matters. Training both employees and leaders to recognise and respond to mental health conditions—including PTSD—is crucial. Support for affected employees might include flexible hours, quiet workspaces, and regular check-ins with clear, compassionate communication. Introducing PTSD-specific therapy within Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) can also help employees reintegrate into the workplace and perform at their best.

Outlining second aspect of PTSD in the workplace, Dr. Beth Kaplan writes, "In the case of PTSD resulting from a toxic manager, it can take years to recover fully.  Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for employees to experience PTSD due to dealing with terrible bosses or toxic work environments."

"Workplace-related PTSD can significantly impact an individual's sense of belonging, both in the workplace and in other areas of their life. When an individual experiences trauma, they may feel disconnected from others, including their coworkers, family, and friends. This disconnection can lead to feelings of isolation, loneliness, and a lack of belonging," she added. 

In the workplace, individuals with PTSD may struggle to form positive relationships with their coworkers and feel excluded or unsupported by their employers. They may also struggle with feelings of mistrust and may find it challenging to create meaningful connections with others,"

She added that to help employees with PTSD, "it is essential to create a workplace culture that is supportive, inclusive, and prioritizes mental health and wellness. This can involve providing resources and support for employees who have experienced trauma, promoting a culture of respect and empathy, and providing opportunities for employees to connect in meaningful ways. As a manager, there are several things you can do to help employees regain a sense of belonging in the workplace."

Some of the solutions she underlined include:

• Education and awareness around PTSD,
• Creating safe and supportive workplace, 
• Fostering a sense of community
• Providing resources for support like EAPs, mental health support services etc.
• Offering work flexibility 
• Encouraging open communication, acknowledging experience, and validating empathetically
• Ensuring zero tolerance for bullying or exclusion lead to stronger collaboration and performance across the board.

Inclusion across the employment lifecycle

True inclusion must be embedded across the entire employee journey:

• Recruitment: Use accessible, inclusive job ads and multiple application formats.
• Onboarding: Adapt induction to varied learning and processing styles.
• Performance Management: Ensure fair evaluations with room for individual needs.
• Progression: Rethink outdated assumptions about communication and professionalism.

The Neuroinclusion at Work report emphasizes enabling employees to own their own path — recognizing that not all will identify as neurodivergent or want to disclose. And barriers remain, as Deloitte’s 2024 Disability Inclusion @ Work survey reinforces the ongoing challenges.

Despite high rates of disclosure, 74% of adjustment requests were rejected, and 41% of neurodivergent employees experienced bullying or microaggressions.

The Neuroinclusion at Work report echoes this: many neurodivergent employees report higher exhaustion (45%) and isolation (23%), often due to inflexible systems and lack of support.

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Organisations that recognize and actively support cognitive diversity see gains in retention, innovation, and wellbeing. But the work must be ongoing, embedded, and co-led by neurodivergent voices.