Should I tell people at my workplace I'm neurodivergent?
...and how do I even go about making that decision?
This post is focussed on supporting neurodivergent folks in the workplace - up next, I’ll flip this around to speak to leaders of organisations.
The gist of this post:
Neurodivergent people have a wide range of experiences when disclosing their neurodivergence at work. In an ideal world, we could talk about things openly and get the support and accommodations we need. However, this is not yet the case. So, keeping yourself safe is key when deciding whether to share this information.
To inform your decision, it might be helpful to understand your workplaces’ support structures (or lack thereof) in relation to neurodiversity, as well as related areas such as diversity and disability.
Leaders of organisations can, and should, take steps towards creating environments where talking about challenges and helping others become the norm.
Why I’m writing about this:
I wanted to tackle disclosure first up because it is something that neurodivergent folks will probably find themselves thinking about at some point: should I let my workplace know about my brain differences and the supports I would find helpful? And first of all, how do I even make that decision?
Employers can't require you to disclose disability or health conditions in NZ
Although I think we can do so much better than the legal requirements here, it's worth being aware of what employers are allowed to ask about disabilities and health conditions. An important point is that employees aren't required to disclose any disability or health condition unless it would affect their ability to do the job to a reasonable standard.
The New Zealand Human Rights Commission has an informative FAQ on this here. (Requirements may differ in other countries)
So now that we’ve established that rather un-aspirational bare minimum, let’s have a look at how things have played out for others in this situation.
There are potential costs and benefits to weigh up, which will vary depending on your situation
Neurodivergent people have experienced a wide range of outcomes when disclosing their neurodivergence at work. For example, people with Autism Spectrum Disorder experienced a range of different outcomes after their disclosure, from positive outcomes such as better acceptance, awareness, and workplace accommodations, as well as negative outcomes such as stigma and discrimination (Lindsay et al, 2021).
On the "potential costs" side, awareness and understanding of neurodivergence can vary widely. Because of this, neurodivergent folks might worry that their diagnosis will be misunderstood and that they may be subjected to judgement or discrimination. They might wonder if disclosing a diagnosis might cause their employer to downplay their abilities, or put more focus on their challenges or mistakes.
On the other hand, if your manager and workplace are supportive, disclosing your neurodivergence might lead to greater understanding. It might even spark more awareness and learning, and encourage others that are in a similar situation.
My experience
I recently started talking about my ADHD diagnosis at work. To sum it up, it felt scary and emotional, but the end result was better than I expected. I ended up having lots of great conversations and taking some small steps towards better awareness at the organisation. Reflecting on that experience, several supportive factors and privileges helped me along the way, and I acknowledge that this unfortunately won't be the case for everyone. (And in case this all sounds a bit too self-congratulatory: below, I compare this positive experience to a decidedly less positive experience from my younger days.)
Those supportive factors were:
I was 40, mid-career, and had been in my role for a couple of years already, which all make it a lot easier to talk about my challenges.
As a first step I opened up to colleagues I knew and trusted in our employee-led Women's Network, who were immensely supportive.
At the organisation, there was a culture of openly talking about mental health issues. For example, one of the leadership team had previously spoken openly about their challenges with depression. While there wasn't the same level of discussion about neurodiversity, I have a hunch that this kind of openness and willingness to be vulnerable is an important part of building a supportive culture.
I had a great manager who was understanding of different needs and working preferences. I knew this because of their approach in our 1:1 conversations and the way they prioritised the "people leadership" aspect of their role.
The more I spoke about neurodiversity at work, the more I realised that so many people can relate - whether they identify as neurodivergent themselves, have neurodivergent family members, or had mental health challenges. I also noticed that even among neurotypical folks, there is a growing interest and desire to use neurodiversity as a lens or tool to help understand what makes people tick.
I compare this to my experiences in my 20s (before I knew I had ADHD), when I had been diagnosed with depression after presenting to my GP with what I now suspect were executive functioning challenges (a hallmark of ADHD). My experience with telling people back then was mixed - while I had support from family and friends, some people didn't know how to react, so they didn't (*crickets*), and others used that disclosure as a way to invalidate my experiences.
Having gone through those two contrasting experiences, I can understand why there's no "one size fits all" advice for people in this situation.
Assessing the level of safety for disclosure in your workplace
For neurodivergent folks thinking about whether to disclose their neurodivergence at work, it's worth looking into your organisation's behaviour and track record.
The thing to pay attention to here is that there may be a difference between what an organisation says in its policies or corporate documents, and how people behave.
If, like me, you find these kinds of discrepancies a bit hard to disentangle, here are some questions you could think about concerning your workplace's policies and practices, social support, and your manager's attitude and knowledge.
These questions could also be used by leaders to consider how supportive their workplace culture is.
The three categories below are based on factors that support disclosing mental health at work, from Hastuti & Timming (2021).
Organisational support: policies and practices
Does your workplace have policies and processes about disability, mental illness or neurodiversity?
What training is offered to staff on diversity and inclusion, neurodiversity, mental health, or supporting wellbeing?
Social support - looking beyond policies and training to understand how people behave
Is it acceptable and normal to talk openly about challenges? Is it OK to ask for help? When people ask for help or mention that they're struggling, what happens?
How's the tone from the top? That is, are people in leadership roles OK with presenting a less-than-perfect version of themselves, making mistakes and admitting when things go wrong?
For larger organisations, are there employee-led networks for neurodivergent people or other minorities, and are they well-supported? For example, do they have a sponsor on the leadership team that talks about the group and helps them achieve things within the organisation?
If it's possible to talk with people within your organisation that have had similar experiences, how did things go for them? Have they had positive experiences after disclosing their neurodivergence or other difference?
Your manager's attitude and knowledge
Does your manager have a track record of listening to concerns and helping you solve problems?
Are they flexible and open to doing things in different ways?
Let me know if these resonate for you in the comments below.
I’m also launching my weekly group chat for paid subscribers - come and join our supportive conversation with weekly coaching questions.
Some sources and further reading
If you are interested in diving into some further detail, here are a couple of review articles and a piece of commentary that I found useful:
Hastuti, R., & Timming, A. R. (2021). An inter-disciplinary review of the literature on mental illness disclosure in the workplace: implications for human resource management. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(15), 3302–3338.
Kidwell, K. E., Clancy, R. L., & Fisher, G. G. (2023). The devil you know versus the devil you don’t: Disclosure versus masking in the workplace. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 16(1), 55-60.
Lindsay, S., Osten, V., Rezai, M., & Bui, S. (2021). Disclosure and workplace accommodations for people with autism: A systematic review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 43(5), 597-610.
I’m also acknowledging the discussion about disclosure in Dr Devon Price’s book: Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity, which has informed my approach to this topic.
If you know of any other good resources on this topic, please drop them in the comments!
Great article Jen!