Neurodiverse Workers: Hidden Challenges, Untapped Potential

As organizations strive to build productive workplaces, one challenge they face is recognizing that people do their best work in diverse ways. Employees process information, collaborate and handle workplace demands differently, so leaders need to create an environment that accommodates various work styles and needs. This includes supporting the work approaches of both neurodiverse and neurotypical employees, and when organizations do this, they can achieve performance gains leaders may not have thought possible.

Neurodiversity refers to natural differences in how people experience and interact with the world. It usually includes variations in cognitive functioning and neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia.

Neurodiverse employees represent an untapped pool of talent that often encounters barriers to career growth, from exclusionary hiring practices to workplace environments that do not support or benefit from their diverse ways of thinking and working. Recent estimates suggest that 15% to 20% of the world’s population is neurodiverse with the un- and underemployment rate among neurodiverse individuals estimated to be as high as 85% to 90%.

Research shows that neurodiverse individuals offer unique abilities in creativity, innovation and complex problem-solving — skills that organizations often desire. But Gallup finds that 37% of employed neurodiverse individuals choose not to share their condition with coworkers, feeling that peers and leaders will stigmatize their natural ways of thinking, feeling and behaving.

Further, 46% of neurodiverse individuals also don’t ask for accommodations during the application process, feeling it would be a disadvantage and might cause them to be labeled “high maintenance,” “difficult” or “needy.” And while 45% of respondents say they told their manager or supervisor about their neurodiversity, many still “mask” or camouflage their identity to appear neurotypical.

A lack of understanding about neurodiversity can worsen these concerns. Some respondents say their supervisors blamed their neurodiversity for experiencing challenges at work, denied its legitimacy or even publicly criticized their way of thinking. Some respondents report being denied promotions or being seen as inadequate by coworkers. There’s a disconnect between what neurodiverse employees have to offer and how others perceive them in educational and workplace settings.

In reality, Gallup research from the new Neurodiversity in the Workplace report shows that neurodiverse and neurotypical employees report facing similar workplace challenges — from having little control or oversight over their work to managing tasks without clear direction. Both groups also find certain tasks, such as following written and verbal instructions, easier to manage compared with other workplace responsibilities. Additionally, their CliftonStrengths profiles are largely similar. But neurodiverse employees still experience essentially all workplace challenges more acutely, often because of a lack of acceptance or understanding in the workplace.

To better address these challenges and identify solutions, Gallup studied how organizations can create a higher-performing, more inclusive work environment and examined whether neurodiverse individuals show distinct strengths patterns and top-ranked talents compared with neurotypical peers.

Understanding the Neurodiverse and Neurotypical Employee Experience

Gallup asked a series of questions about the employee experience. Both neurodiverse and neurotypical respondents were grouped by their most dominant CliftonStrengths domain (Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building or Strategic Thinking) and asked how easy or difficult various work activities were for them. Gallup researchers evaluated responses for the three easiest activities at work.

Both groups found activities such as understanding and following written instructions, understanding and following verbal instructions, and working from home or working remotely relatively easy.

Researchers then evaluated responses for the three most difficult activities, which showed many people struggle with having little control or oversight over their work, being productive in a noisy setting, and working on tasks without clear direction.

While all employees categorize these activities similarly in difficulty, neurodiverse employees tend to describe them as slightly more difficult, with the degree of additional difficulty varying by task and person. The only area where there was no significant difference between the groups was understanding others’ emotions.

Given these shared difficulties, addressing these common workplace obstacles benefits all employees, regardless of neurodiversity status. Managers play a key role in shaping a supportive work environment. While strengths don’t significantly vary based on neurodiversity status, allowing for individualized, strengths-based approaches to these challenges can greatly improve workplace experiences.

How Neurodiverse and Neurotypical Strengths Compare

Gallup analyzed the order of all 34 CliftonStrengths themes across neurodiverse and neurotypical populations. The findings show that strengths closely align between the two groups, with some variation. These results are consistent with other Gallup research showing that the structure of talent does not vary across cultures and that strengths-based development is applicable and beneficial for all populations Gallup has studied.

Neurodiverse individuals tended to rank higher in Ideation (+3), Strategic (+2) and Command (+2) themes compared with neurotypical respondents. This suggests that neurodiverse employees have a talent for innovative thinking, project management and problem-solving.

Neurotypical respondents scored higher on Achiever (+3), Discipline (+3), Responsibility (+2), Harmony (+2) and Consistency (+2) — themes associated with goal-oriented behavior and structure. This may reflect that neurodiversity can be linked to motivation from internal values rather than external rewards, which aligns with less common Executing themes such as Achiever and Responsibility for neurodiverse respondents.

Despite these differences, there’s no universal strengths approach. While neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals show some variation in strengths, their overall profiles are more similar than different. Many neurodiverse individuals excel in themes that their neurotypical peers display, like Achiever and Discipline, just as neurotypical individuals often display Ideation and Strategic talents.

Rather than using CliftonStrengths to generalize about populations, organizations and individuals should focus on how strengths-based development applies to each person’s unique talents.

Making the Workplace Better for Everyone

The challenges neurodiverse employees face in the workplace are not entirely unique. Their neurotypical peers experience many of the same issues, just to different degrees. This means that building a more inclusive culture isn’t only about supporting neurodiverse employees; it’s about improving the workplace for everyone. Addressing these challenges goes beyond inclusion, allowing organizations to maximize their workforce’s capabilities. When leaders remove common workplace obstacles, they create an environment where all employees can thrive, perform at their best and feel valued.