This Food for Thought Lunchtime Talk, presented by the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, explores Neurodiversity at Work: learning from a global study on accessibility in the workplace

This was a hybrid talk, taking place in our office in London and online, via Zoom.

Inspired by the concept of biodiversity, neurodiversity is a concept that recognises neurological differences in individuals, including Autism, ADHD, dyslexia and Sensory Processing Disorder. An estimated 20% of the human population has at least one neurodivergent condition, and yet workplaces do little to accommodate to their needs.

Commissioned by the #ChangeTheFace Alliance, and working alongside four members of Alliance (Colt, Nokia, Samsung, and Vodafone), the Tavistock Institute and Inner Ambitions recently completed the largest global workplace survey on neurodiversity in tech to date.

TIHR researchers (Dr David Drabble, Elyce Cole, and Anna Sophie Hahne) will host this Lunchtime Talk on workplace neurodiversity, equity, and inclusion. The Neurodiversity in the Tech Sector study reveals that nearly half of neurodivergent employees feel impacted by their neurodivergent conditions, at least on most days, in the workplace, while only 40% have disclosed their condition(s) to anyone at work.

These challenges have their roots in the workplace environment, culture and systems; ultimately, workplace culture determines the possible horizons for inclusivity and accessibility. We offer thoughts and steps for companies to create organisational environments that make support available, regardless of whether employees have disclosed their neurodivergence or whether they have a formal diagnosis.

Join us to explore how organisations can do better to support neurodiversity at work, for an overview of the research findings, and for implications on what it means to be equitable and inclusive at work.

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Dr David Drabble (he/him), Senior Researcher/Consultant, Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR)

David is a researcher in the socio-technical systems tradition. Keenly interested in the drivers of modernity, he is particularly driven to understand the impact of technology on society and organisations. He has had key roles on several digitalisation and teleworking projects, and recently completed his PhD on the impact of hidden discord in global virtual teams.

As a practitioner of theory-based evaluation, he has worked on over 30 Theory of Change evaluations which has resulted in an edited book: Strategic Thinking, Design and the Theory of Change (Edward Elgar, Spring 2023). He is a past UK Evaluation Society Council member. David continuously strives to apply social science to understand change and to present findings simply and with elegance through data visualisation and storytelling.

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Elyce Cole (she/they), Senior Researcher/Consultant, Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR)

Elyce is a systems-psychodynamic organisation development (OD) and change researcher-practitioner at the TIHR. Her work focuses on organisational issues linked to group dynamics, power, authority, and group identity/intersectionality. Her expertise includes OD and change in the public and VCSE sectors, specifically within public health, education, tech, and health and social care, regarding: advising teams on improving their team effectiveness, designing organisational culture change initiatives, and creating innovative systems-psychodynamically-informed leadership development programmes.

Within TIHR, she co-leads two working groups centring EDI principles, Integrating Intersectionality and Identity at the Institute (4Is) and Equitable Evaluation. Externally, she holds leadership and membership roles in various professional organisations related to groups, organisations, and leadership.

Elyce holds an MA in Social-Organisational Psychology from TC, Columbia University, an MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalytic Studies from UCL, and is a Systems Psychodynamics PhD Candidate at the National Institute of Organisation Dynamics Australia (NIODA).

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Anna Sophie Hahne (she/her) Senior Researcher/Consultant, Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR)

Anna is a quantitative researcher at the TIHR and works on research and evaluation projects across a wide range of sectors including mental health, children and families, employment, environment and social care at EU, UK and local level.

Anna specialises in quantitative research methods and statistical analysis of primary and secondary data but also has expertise in qualitative methods. She mainly works on developmental, process and impact evaluations including theory-based evaluations, innovative research methods, quasi-experimental approaches, economic evaluation and literature reviews.

Anna is part of the Institute’s capacity building team delivering training to government departments. Within the institute, she is part of the environment group and the quantitative research group. Anna holds a BA in Psychology and Education Science and MSc in Psychology.

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LOCATION

The Tavistock Institute, 3rd Floor, 63 Gee Street, EC1V 3RS