Source : THE AGE NEWS
By Danielle Abril
For years, Ashley Palardy didn’t understand why she was completely drained after a day at the office. Her exhaustion and anxiety would get so bad that sometimes she’d lock herself in the bathroom for an hour or sequester herself in a private space during lunch to decompress and then go straight to bed after work. But a year ago, she got her answer through a diagnosis: She has autism.
Palardy, who also has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is a contractor for two companies and has worked remotely in Houston and Austin for about three years. But as she looks for a full-time position, the 26-year-old worries about flexibility.
Neurodiverse workers say they are being left behind by a rise in return-to-office policies.Credit: The Age
“It really does scare me,” she said, adding that she’s hesitant to ask for accommodation that would be covered by the American Disabilities Act out of fear of discrimination. “I want to do well … but I know how much time and energy it takes to show up.”
Anxiety is rising for some of the millions of people who identify as neurodivergent – those whose brains function differently such as those with ADHD, autism or dyslexia. More companies are requiring workers to return to an office five days a week.
Simultaneously, the Trump administration has criticised diversity, equity and inclusion programs, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – secretary for health and human services – suggested people with autism won’t hold jobs.
While many neurodivergent people excel in an office, others struggle with sensory issues, inability to focus and exhaustion, workers say. Advocates say it’s particularly difficult for neurodivergent people to get flexible work due to the new movement to cut programs that sometimes helps them.
“The job market right now is really competitive,” said Kristyn Roth, chief marketing officer of the Autism Society of America. “If accommodations [like flexibility] are being cut and DEI services continue to be deprioritised, job opportunities become even more narrow for autistic or neurodiverse workers.”
About a fifth of US adults self-identify as neurodivergent with a majority saying they always or usually feel that their brain works differently, according to a recent survey by research and analytics firm YouGov. They cite issues such as starting tasks before finishing others, being overwhelmed by social situations and struggling to focus.
Companies like Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, AT&T and Goldman Sachs have mandated workers to the office full-time, citing innovation, collaboration and culture, among others, for the change and threatening to fire those who don’t comply.
The Trump administration has called back federal workers full-time and ordered to end DEI programs, with President Donald Trump calling them “illegal and immoral discrimination.”
Some of these companies say they accommodate neurodivergent workers. JPMorgan Chase said it offers fixed seats, modified breaks, changes in schedule, and noise-cancelling headphones as well as remote work for some workers. Neurodivergent employees don’t need to disclose their diagnosis, but the company says it will conduct an assessment to determine needs.
I’m trying to function in a society that wasn’t built for me.
Neurodiverse worker Ashley Palardy
Amazon said it offers in-office accommodations like spaces with less noise or distractions and low-lighting. When it can’t provide necessary office accommodations, it will work “to find alternative arrangements,” said Margaret Callahan, an Amazon spokesperson.
But she added that the company continues to “believe that the advantages of being together … are significant.”
Even before pandemic, companies were required under the ADA to offer accommodations, which might include adjustable work schedules to people who disclosed their neurodivergence. AT&T and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
Some neurodivergent workers discovered success working remotely during the pandemic and don’t feel comfortable disclosing their diagnoses due to fear of, and prior instances of, discrimination. Sometimes being one of the few remote workers makes it easier to be forgotten.
A 32-year-old project manager for a medical device company, who has ADHD, anxiety and depression and spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of discrimination and loss of job prospects, said she prefers companies that already offer conducive working environments rather than disclosing her conditions.
She doesn’t want to be more closely supervised by a manager. In her current role, she negotiated two days a week in the office v four, and arrives an hour and half early for focus time. The last time she told her boss about her neurodivergence, she was unexpectedly fired a few days later. “They don’t have empathy.”
For Matt Ketring, who’s been job hunting since 2023, disclosing his obsessive compulsive disorder, ADHD, depression, anxiety and narcolepsy to his boss destroyed his sense of safety. Ketring said he witnessed his former manager downplay the struggles of autism to a colleague before telling Ketring he needed to get his OCD under control.
“If it was a physical disability, you would never go up to someone and say, ‘Let’s get your one arm thing figured out,’ ” the 37-year-old St. Louis resident said. “It was world-shattering.”
Companies like Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, AT&T and Goldman Sachs have mandated workers to the office full-time.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
He left his job and worries a future employer could force him into an office, where changes in setup and distractions drain him. He fears facing insensitivity from colleagues and managers.
Even when A’Biel Hammonds, a St Louis resident who works for an airport personnel company, got remote accommodation from a former employer, her teammates often left her out of important conversations, she said. Hammonds, who has PTSD and fibromyalgia that exacerbates anxiety and depression, is waiting for the “RTO storm to pass,” hoping more employers will favour flexibility.
“In a remote-friendly company, people lean in more in engaging with people online,” she said.
Neurodivergent workers who spoke about their office struggles say even part-time remote work can be a game changer. They also wish leaders would seek input from them and trust them to get their work done.
James Birch, who oversees seven people at a health-care company in Louisville, has ADHD and is undergoing an autism diagnosis, says he understands the need for accommodations like flexibility. So he works to provide them, including giving people a day a week to work from home.
“It’s so important if you’re forcing a mandate to listen,” he said. “Your environment is crucial to how you work.”
Being able to adjust to different people is key to an inclusive office, said Joseph Riddle, director of nonprofit consultancy Neurodiversity in the Workplace. Companies changing office policies should review practices and implement pandemic findings.
They could establish no-meeting times, use empty offices as quiet spaces, open conference rooms for socialising or offer varied lighting and temperatures, he said. Employers can also offer partitions to buffer work and common spaces or noise-cancelling headphones, Roth of the Autism Society said.
“It’s not saying, ‘We’re doing things my way or the highway. It’s ‘What works best for you?’” Riddle said.
Workers can also ask for hours that are better for them or 10-hour workdays for an extra day off, said Domenique Camacho Moran, partner in the labour and employment practice of New York-based law firm Farrell Fritz PC. But the ADA states accommodations must be “reasonable,” and it can be difficult to prove permanent remote work is needed, she added.
“Identifying ways employers can accommodate you as opposed to the accommodation you want the most is a good way to get what you need,” she said.
But strict office mandates have the potential to deter neurodivergent people who may approach problems differently.
They “bring something to the table. Not giving them the resources they need potentially pushes them away,” said Holli Gilvaie-Overholser, who has ADHD and works remotely from Austin at Sony Biotechnology Inc.
As for Palardy, she hopes more companies consider people like her when making return-to-office policies. “I’m trying to function in a society that wasn’t built for me,” Palardy said.
– Washington Post
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