Companies are looking for “neurodiverse” talent, including people with autism spectrum disorder. The incidence of autism in the U.S. is now 1 in 42 among boys and 1 in 189 among girls. Neurodiverse people often need workplace accommodations, such as headphones to prevent auditory overstimulation. But to realize the benefits, companies would have to adjust recruitment, selection, and career data sets. Companies implementing neurodiversity programs have encountered challenges, authors say. Many are hard to identify, and potential candidates do not necessarily self-identify. Microsoft is working with universities to improve methods of identifying and accessing Neurodiverse talent.People are like puzzle pieces, irregularly shaped. Historically, companies have asked employees to trim away their irregularities. Wittenberg says Innovation is most likely to come from parts of us that we don’t all share. The work for managers will be harder, but the payoff for companies will be considerable.
Summary: Austin & Pisano, week of 6/1 [Toni]
Austin & Pisano’s Harvard Business Review looks at neurodiversity as a competitive advantage through the problem of a population with neurological conditions having extraordinary skills, but remaining largely untapped. Several companies have reformed HR practices to capitalize on the talents of neurodiverse people, and in this process became better able to leverage skills of all workers. Because neurodiverse people frequently need workplace accommodations, managers have begun thinking about leveraging talents of all employees through greater sensitivity to individual needs, realizing everyone is to some extent differently abled as a result of our inherent “machinery”. Still, neurodiverse unemployment rates run high and even when they are working, they are often settling for jobs many leave behind in high school. It comes down to finding and recruiting, and common notions of what makes a good employee, which has “redlined” neurodiverse talent with needed skills. The behaviors of many neurodiverse people counter common notions of what makes a good employee; common criteria which screens out neurodiversity and is not the only way to add value. In recent decades competitive edge from innovation has become crucial, which calls on those who see things differently, offsetting tendencies for companies to look in only one direction.
6/1-Summary of A/P (Mikayla)
In the article “Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage” the passage begins by introducing the character John, a man with a strong work ethic, amazing technical skill and strong mathematical capability. Although on paper he is classified as a highly skilled and dedicated worker, he has been unemployed for 2 years because he is on the autism spectrum. This paper’s central argument is to speak on behalf of those with disabilities who struggle to find work in non-diverse and non-accepting environments. Its purpose is to spread awareness on behalf of those who have disorders and feel they are underrepresented in work environments. It presents the idea that even though neurodiverse individuals require some accommodations, having a more diverse staff incorporates new perspectives, cultures and various backgrounds. The neurodiverse community not only believes that they are underrepresented and underemployed even though they can complete the same tasks as typical candidates. Because the tech community is so open to implementing Neurodiverse candidates, they created new programs to help train people with disabilities and help them be more tailored to each workspace. Although they face many setbacks this article was presented not only to spread awareness but to make Neurodiverse individuals aware of the opportunities available for them and help them find the perfect spaces.
Responses – Week of 6/1
I hadn’t heard the phrase “neurodiversity” until I read this article, but I liked a quote from John Elder Robinson in the article which described neurodiversity as “the idea that neurological differences like autism and ADHD are the result of normal, natural variation in the human genome” which is accurate and inoffensive. The article explains that many people with neurological conditions have extraordinary skills in areas other people might not such as pattern recognition, memory, and mathematics. Despite these skills, the neurodiverse population remains largely unemployed (roughly 80% unemployment rate, this includes people with neurological conditions that prevent them from working in any capacity) because it takes more time and energy to hire someone with a neurological condition. Another two reasons why the neurodiverse population remains untapped is that traditional recruitment methods like job interviews and the belief that scalable work processes require absolute conformity to standardized approaches end up filtering out neurodiverse people who could be valuable employees. More and more companies in the last 4-5 years have reformed HR practices to capitalize on the talents of neurodiverse people, which has benefitted those companies in terms of productivity, reputational enhancement, innovation, and employee engagement. In the process, these companies are becoming better able to fully leverage the skills of all workers.
Week of 6/1 Summary of A/P
When we normally think of diversity inclusion, our minds may automatically think about race. However, Austin and Pisano highlight the importance of including neurodiverse individuals in that definition. The two authors dive into the alienation many individuals with cognitive disorders face when entering the workforce. While acknowledging that many struggle to find jobs, they include how those who have jobs have created an efficient workplace around them. Those who are given the opportunity to have a job, as stated by Austin and Pisano, do the job with precision and arguably care more about the job that those who are considered to be normal functioning. The authors then go on to suggest a series of ways that businesses and companies can set up systems for their neurodiverse employees to create a functioning workplace that is accessible for all.
Week of 6/1 A&P Summary
The lack of neurodiversity in the workplace has become a talked about topic recently. Austin and Pisano’s article, “Nuerodiversity as a Competitive Advantage” highlights the issue of representation, describes the cause of it, then further explains how to resolve this problem. In the article, Austin and Pisano enforce the idea that everyone has different abilities based on how they were raised, and many business owners understand the positive effect that can have on a person’s work. Unfortunately, people who have disabilities are not represented in the workplace as much as they should be. In Austin and Pisano’s view, “Because neurodiverse people are wired differently from “neurotypical” people, they may bring new perspectives to a company’s efforts to create or recognize value” (Austin & Pisano 2017, p. 99). These new perspectives and backgrounds could be especially beneficial to companies because it allows new ideas to be brought to the table. Although accommodations may be difficult to set up, it is important that businesses become more diverse. Overall, this article by Austin and Pisano is extremely important because of the message it displays: people who have disabilities are talented, valuable, and can be a real asset in the workplace.