HR experts have suggested that employers should provide sound-proof working booths and designated mental health days off to support the emerging generation in the workplace. They recommend creating workplaces where everyone can thrive, including offering flexible work patterns, encouraging regular breaks and providing mentorship programmes.
These proposed actions were revealed as part of a report, by Benenden Health, to highlight what employers can be doing to support Generation Alpha entering the workplace. The company worked with Neurodiversity in Business to inform the report.
The healthcare provider’s chief people officer, Mike Hay, said: “It is important to understand and support neurodivergent individuals, including those within Generation Alpha, who will make up a growing part of the workforce.
“Communication is key,” he added. “Creating space for open, two-way conversations where employees feel safe to disclose their needs is essential, especially for those who may have faced stigma in the past.”
Dan Harris from the organisation added: “Due to greater awareness and recognition, Autism diagnosis has increased by almost 800% in 20 years and other neurodivergent diagnoses are also on the rise.”
Dan argues that businesses of the future need to adapt to these needs, otherwise they are set to fail. “These measures include increasing understanding through condition-specific training for HR, managers, and colleagues of neurodivergent people,” he said.
He also explained it’s important to ecnourage an acceptance of difference in thinking styles, and recognise the unique strengths neurodivergent people can bring to the workplace.
The study of 500 HR professionals, revealed that 77% are taking measures to ensure their workplaces are suitable for neurodivergent individuals.
They are making sure to encourage open communication, urging people to take regular breaks and implementing flexible working patterns to suit the incoming generation.
More than eight in 10 recognise making these changes as being important, suggesting everyone needs to feel supported in order for better productivity will be better productivity and creativity. And over two-thirds have noticed an increase in employees advocating for reasonable adjustments in the workplace within the last year.
This was mirrored in a separate survey of 500 13-18 year olds, which found six in 10 know someone who is neurodivergent. It emerged that when 47% enter the workforce, they already know they would want to work for a company that supports neurodivergent employees.
When the parents of the teenagers polled were questioned, it was found that 52% of children openly discuss neurodiversity with their parents – with 21% doing so regularly.
More than half attribute this to increased national awareness and a desire to be involved, while 49% know someone.
Mike Hay added: “This report is more than research. It is a starting point for meaningful change. In the next five years, the workforce will be the most diverse it has ever been, and we need to acknowledge that it takes time to learn and adapt our workplaces and leadership styles to support everyone’s needs.”