At Leyton UK, we’re committed to building the most inclusive culture possible. We believe that the more diverse a team is, the more productive it is and the more successful it can be.
Because of this, we place great value on celebrating and gathering opinions, skills, and experiences from all areas of society, including those who are neurodivergent and those who are neurotypical.
No two brains are ever quite the same, but neurodivergent people have natural variations that mean they process information in a way that’s different from what is considered neurotypical. Some common examples of neurodivergence include dyslexia, ADHD, and autism – but there are many more, each representing a different set of cognitive capabilities that can give rise to unique talents and ‘out of the box’ ways of thinking.
The employment gap for neurodivergent people
According to The Brain Charity, 15-20% of people in the UK are neurodivergent. And yet, despite this huge number, the Department for Work and Pensions reports that just 31% of those with a neurodiversity condition are employed. An earlier report found that only 3 in 10 autistic people were in employment.
Dave Sweeney, Sales Enablement Executive at Leyton UK, says that that number is far too high. Dave recently spoke with us for our Life at Leyton Podcast, as we wanted to learn more from his experiences of having autism in the workplace.
“A minimum of about 70% of autistic people are unemployed,” says Dave. “Now, some of that is out of necessity because their support needs are so high that maybe they wouldn’t be able to hold down a job. I’m one of the lucky few – maybe because I can mask highly, maybe because my loudest autistic traits aren’t things that prevent me from being able to hold down a good job and one that I’m very happy in. But there’s a massive majority of our community that isn’t able to have that kind of sense of self and purpose that having a career you like can give you.”
How employers can support their neurodivergent workers
Dave continued by sharing his advice for employers on how they can be more inclusive towards neurodivergent people when it comes to hiring: “I think for any manager, for any recruiter, for anyone really who’s got an open position – think about what can be done to maybe open up some of those roles. And I don’t mean positive discrimination here, I just mean making them more attainable.”
Earlier in our conversation, Dave emphasised the importance of creating safe spaces, pointing to some historical parallels: “There’s a famous graph of the rise of left-handedness through the middle part of the 20th century when suddenly we didn’t think it was a sign of the devil anymore, the number of people who were openly left-handed skyrocketed. Then it levelled off by the 1970s. All that happened is people who were always left-handed felt safe to say so. And we’re in that period now with things like autism and ADHD.”
“… it’s the same reason why the average age at which people come out as gay or bi or trans is reducing,” he adds. We’ve made that space safer to do so. All of these things are the same. When the environment feels safe, people start to become visible. It’s not that it’s suddenly a trend, it’s that we’ve created a space where they feel like they can talk about a thing that always existed. So, find that space that feels safe.”
We also asked Dave to share his views on how autism can show up in the workplace and what leaders or colleagues can do to make things easier or more inclusive.
“As someone who works in the world of sales enablement, training, coaching, I have a bit of a mantra. Nothing you do to make something more accessible for a minority will make it less accessible for the majority,” he says. “What I mean there is clarity. If you’re displaying information in a clear way, if you are explaining why rather than just telling, that’s really important.”
“… there’s got to be reasoning,” he explains. “Because if there isn’t, we’ll ask for it. And what so often happens, in any part of life, when an autistic person asks for the why we’re met with a defensive or sometimes even confrontational response. Someone thinks we’re arguing. We’re not. We just want clarity. That’s what our brains thrive on.”
“And everyone thrives on clarity, right?,” he adds. “So, it’s a good thing for everybody. But next time someone asks you why, think about that. Are they just seeking clarity, or are they arguing? It’s very likely the former.”
Dave also suggested that managers should understand that sometimes company socials, team nights out, and other team-building events can cause a lot of anxiety for neurodivergent people: “There are different ways that we can build team morale to get to know each other better. We can have social events that don’t always feel like they are leaving out some people,” he says.
“I think the way that benefits more than just a neurodiverse person is that if everything you do is around alcohol, or sport, or any of those related activities… it’s not that the activity itself is bad. It’s perfectly fine. Go enjoy it. Absolutely. But let’s have some variety. Let’s think about things that everyone can enjoy, whether they’re autistic, whether they need to leave early because they’ve got childcare to worry about, whether they don’t drink, whatever it might be.” “Being a bit more inclusive with how we build our teams and build that atmosphere, it does benefit everybody.”
You can hear more of Dave’s advice on how employers can support their neurodivergent workers by listening to our Life at Leyton Podcast episode: A Conversation on Neurodiversity in the Workplace
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