How Neurodiverse Employees Benefit from Remote Work

About 15%-20% of the world’s population has some kind of neurodivergence, so, statistically speaking, you already manage a few neurodiverse individuals. 

Many neurodiverse people hide their differences because they worry about being judged.

The traditional office model is outdated! 

Renting commercial property just to have somewhere your staff can congregate is impractical and expensive. Prices have doubled since 2010, even though the pandemic caused demand to plummet.

If you have the technology to telecommute, why wouldn’t you use it?

Plenty of other companies have already made the transition, causing remote work to grow by 173% from 2005 to 2020. Working from home is cost-effective, and better for your staff - especially if they’re neurodivergent.

Challenges Neurodiverse Workers Face in the Office

It’s fair to assume your workplace is like most others – there’s buzzing fluorescent lights, noisy office equipment and a steady stream of chitchat. 

You’re slightly too cold and mildly uncomfortable in your business casual clothes. Chances are you can shrug off those things if you’re neurotypical, but neurodivergent people don’t have that luxury.

For neurodiverse people, the trouble begins long before they start their workday. 

Whether they take public transport, bike or drive, their commute is full of sensory issues and variables they can’t plan for. For them, situations like getting honked at or being packed in a train with strangers are overstimulating and anxiety-inducing.

Once they get to work, they have to mask - meaning hiding their usual behavior or personality to seem neurotypical - which is utterly exhausting. 

Even then, they might struggle to understand your intentions or manage professional boundaries. If they don’t have any neurodiverse colleagues, the office can feel isolating.

Telecommuting is the obvious solution to these problems. If you need convincing, listen to the 94.9% of neurodiverse workers who say it helps them do their best work.

About 34.9% of them agree their ideal workplace would be fully remote — and only 14% said they’d want to work in-office full time.

Ways Neurodiverse Staff Benefit from Remote Work

Although the idea of a “safe space” has become a joke in many circles, it’s not a laughable or ridiculous idea. 

It’s necessary for a large percentage of working adults. Here’s how making your workplace safer for neurodiverse employees helps them.

1. Fewer Miscommunications

Neurodiverse people sometimes struggle to navigate workplace etiquette because of its unwritten social rules. 

While striking up a conversation at the water cooler or using exclamation points in emails seems normal to you, those things can feel foreign.

If you let your team telecommute, they don’t have to worry about making unintentional social blunders or gritting their teeth through stressful face-to-face interactions. 

Instead, they’ll message you and their colleagues as necessary, reducing miscommunications.

2. Less Burnout

Masking for an entire eight-hour workday is tiring. 

About 45% of neurodiverse employees admit they feel exhausted on the job — compared to 30% of neurotypical workers. Letting them work from home reduces their fatigue and lowers their chances of developing burnout.

Bill Yuksel, the head of a not-for-profit organization, experienced burnout when he had to work in person. 

His mild dyslexia and severe dysgraphia, coupled with an open-plan office, made his work overwhelming and defocused him throughout the day.

Most days, he had to take his work home in the evenings and work through his weekends.  

After switching to remote work, he developed a sustainable system that gave him flexibility — and his free time back. He says remote work has enabled him to “thrive” in his personal life.

3. Better Engagement

Your employees won’t deal with as many sensory issues or distractions when telecommuting, improving their engagement. 

Considering 77% of remote workers already say that they’re more productive when they work from home, your neurodiverse team members will thrive.

Hunter Hansen, a business analyst with autism, said interruptions from colleagues affected his ability to “lock in and focus” when he worked in an office. 

For him, his home office is his ideal sensory environment, enabling him to work effectively.

Remote Work Makes Life Better for Neurodiverse Workers

When working remotely, neurodiverse employees can turn down their video call volume, wait to reply to emails, wear noise-canceling headphones and use fidget devices.

Their newfound freedom to use accommodations and work at odd hours increases their productivity and improves their work-life balance.

Angela Lashbrook, a senior reporter, says her form of face blindness — a condition associated with autism that makes recognizing faces difficult — used to unintentionally offend her neurotypical colleagues. 

When she began working from home, she gained confidence as a journalist and became a happier person overall. She said it changed her life for the better.

Many neurodivergent individuals also deal with multiple mental and physical health issues. 

For them, working from home is the difference between near-constant distress and a fulfilling personal life. For this reason, many have shared their stories in hopes others will follow in their footsteps.

As a professional, Ksenia Cheinman manages a distributed team in Canada. As an individual, she manages generalized anxiety and various chronic health conditions. 

She’s worked remotely since 2014, going from a regional employee — and her company’s only telecommuter — to a regional manager. She didn’t return to in-office work but still climbed the corporate ladder.

Cheiman says the flexibility of telecommuting allowed her to better manage her mental and physical health, lessening her symptoms and enabling her to be the most productive she’s ever been. 

Instead of pouring her all into masking in person at an office — which required her to be minimally present in her non-work life — she gets to thrive.

Those Benefits Translate to Better Business Outcomes

Working adults with neurodivergence usually have better detail processing, can hyperfocus on their everyday tasks and are more creative than the average person. 

Letting these qualities shine by embracing telecommuting will lead to better business outcomes.

People who are happy with their work and are in a good mood when they’re on the clock take fewer mental health and sick days. This lower absenteeism rate helps them meet their deadlines. 

And, they’re less likely to spend their free time searching for a new job. In one survey, 42.6% of neurodiverse workers admitted they’d be willing to leave their current job for a different company within one year.

Accommodating your team by letting them work from home makes them less likely to find work elsewhere. As a result, you spend less time — and money — on hiring. 

Improving your retention rate this way looks good to neurodiverse candidates, motivating them to apply. Collaborating with people who actually want to come to work is also better.

Business leaders often share this sentiment. 

For instance, Bryan Gill, JPMorgan Chase’s global head of neurodiversity, said hiring neurodiverse employees ultimately strengthened workplace morale and company culture to an extent they never expected. 

Since research shows telecommuting benefits neurodiverse staff, it’s the only way forward for inclusive workplaces. They’ve gritted their teeth and put up with the traditional office model for too long. 

Now that working from home is accepted, there’s no point in going back.