Earlier this week I published an article on the rise of reasonable adjustments in the neurodivergent community consciousness and why they’re important to know for work. Here I expand how identify what is possible and how to go about getting them.
1. Know what is possible
Reasonable adjustments in relation to work can be split into four broad categories:
Changes to your role or organisation processes -
What aspects of your role could be done differently, like having no meetings days, or delegated to someone else, such as?
What employee experiences are disabling for you, such as surprise recruitment questions or performance management presentations?
Changes to work arrangements -
What working patterns align best with your energy levels? Do you need time off to attend medical appointments?
What locations work best according to how you work? What will the impact of lots of commuting have on you?
Changes to the workplace -
What physical changes would the office need to make, such as dimmer lighting and quiet space? What would a home work set up look like?
What do you need to access workspaces, such as car park space right by a building?
Provision of equipment and support -
What accessible hardware or home working equipment do you need? What software do you need to work more effectively?
What support and services do you need to access reasonable adjustments? What help do you need to access other benefits, like healthcare?
2. Translate this into what this looks like for you
If you are recently diagnosed or self-identifying as autistic, ADHD or AuDHD, you may not know what you need to succeed at work. You may know what is disabling for you at work, but don’t know how to turn that into an adjustment that works for you. I recommend that you do at least one, if not all of the following:
Get inspiration from social media. People are very creative and can enlighten us to all kinds of adjustments possibilities. The more you learn from online content, the better feel you can get for what will and won’t work for you.
Translate your needs into adjustments with trusted people. This could include a therapist or coach, or trusted colleagues and friends, who can translate your needs in different circumstances, e.g. everyday working, starting a client project.
Check with your employer if you have access to an occupational health assessment. Occupational health specialists will be able to help you articulate what you need at work and make formal recommendations to your employer.
Make an Access to Work claim, a government initiative to help folks understand and also gain access what they need for work (paid for by employers). I hear good things about AtW from people I know, but waiting lists are around six months.
3. Co-create with your line / HR manager
Whether you come with suggestions you’ve compiled yourself, are bringing an occupational health report or informing them of your Access to Work claim, it’s important you make your line and/or HR manager aware of your reasonable adjustment requests. Here’s what you can expect and do:
Ensure the right decision-makers are in the room. Line managers and HR managers in theory have the power to make reasonable adjustments happen. However, sometimes other, more senior stakeholders need to be involved, either to make cost-based decision and/ or if the line/ HR managers are being obstructive. If you can, find someone who can help you organise this.
Bring a friend. Autism and ADHD are classified as disabilities under The Equality Act, which allows individuals to invite a chosen person to join them and help advocate for their needs. This person can be from outside the organisation, such as a therapist, coach, trade union member or friend.
Explore alternatives. Sometimes proposed adjustments will be limited by structural, technical or cost constraints. In these instances, you can collaborate with the people in the room to co-create alternatives that could work.
Once adjustments have been agreed, you can agree to trial them for a few weeks to see how suit you. Some will work and some won’t and that’s ok. If they’re not, you can try something else.
The working world is far from perfect, built very narrowly in the image of the neurotypical mind. It can be rigid, disabling and unfair, and can be ruinous for our mental and physical health. Therefore it’s imperative that you figure out what is possible, what you need, and to get the right level of advocacy to access the reasonable adjustments you need to enable your success.