Neurodiversity@Work? Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That!
We are just too busy to consider neurodiversity. Our managers already have too much to do”
…once said a real life tech business leader, in a real life conversation, not noticing my real life look of disbelief.
I am not sure what he was expecting managers would have to ‘do’ in order to accommodate and get the best out of neurodivergent employees..? Would they have to learn a new language? Would their to do lists suddenly become unwieldy, throwing organisations into chaos? Would there be no more lunch breaks, bathroom breaks or life outside of work?
Nope. None of the above.
The comment by this clearly enlightened leader is the epitome of all that is wrong with Diversity & Inclusion initiatives (or, if you prefer, Inclusion & Diversity, so long as you realise that reordering the words will have little effect on success…) We can’t make a ‘to-do’ list of diversity or inclusion. I mean seriously, what would it look like?
- Make sure women feel included
- Don’t say anything sexist, racist, bigoted or offensive
- Put ramps next to stairways
- Count the number of minorities in the organisation and publish to celebrate the sheer genius of our diversity…
Though obviously this is not how it is really, it is sadly not that far off. When we treat Diversity & Inclusion in a way that puts people into boxes and deals with each group one at a time, this is effectively what we are doing. And because of this, other phrases I have heard are
Let’s Make Things Better
Imagine the Possibilities
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