Companies have become far more comfortable talking about neurodiversity . The harder test is what happens after the conversation.

For a neurodivergent employee, inclusion can be shaped by moments that may seem routine to everyone else: how an interview is conducted, whether instructions are given verbally or in writing, what an office sounds like, how managers judge communication styles, whether socializing after work feels quietly mandatory, and whether asking for an accommodation could affect how someone is viewed.

Those moments add up. And they can expose a gap between an employer saying neurodiversity matters and creating a workplace where neurodivergent people can build lasting careers .

Recent research reinforces that distinction. A 2025 systematic review of 56 studies examining neurodivergent employment identified barriers, including limited supervisor education, exclusionary workplace practices, and inadequate accommodations. Supportive managers, flexible work arrangements and assistive technology emerged as factors that could improve employees' experiences.

The issue also extends beyond job duties. Financial security, access to benefits and an employee's confidence that asking for help will not carry professional consequences can all influence whether someone truly feels supported.

Neurodiversity Can Expose Barriers Before Someone Is Even Hired

Dan Jolivet, National Practice Leader, Workplace Possibilities at The Standard, sees potential barriers throughout the employment life cycle.

Recruitment is one place they can begin. Traditional hiring often relies heavily on networking and referrals, which Jolivet says can disadvantage some neurodivergent applicants. Interviews can create another hurdle, particularly when employers automatically favor live or group interviews.

Companies could offer candidates several ways to participate, including written screening questions, receiving questions in advance, or phone interviews without appearing on camera. The goal is not to lower expectations. It is to examine whether the hiring process is actually measuring someone's ability to perform the job.

Bias can enter the equation in subtler ways, too. An interviewer may instinctively respond well to an outgoing candidate who maintains eye contact, even when neither trait has much to do with the position.

Jolivet points to job descriptions that require "excellent communication skills" even for roles involving little interaction with others. Employers may benefit from asking which qualifications are genuinely essential and which have become standard language.

That same thinking is reflected in The Standard's Workplace Possibilities program , which focuses on helping employees remain in or return to work after a disability or medical leave.

Neurodiversity Inclusion Cannot End With Recruitment

Hiring gets attention because it produces an easy metric. Retention and career growth tell a much deeper story.

Jolivet cautions that companies specifically recruiting neurodivergent applicants remain the exception. At the same time, he argues that virtually every employer already has neurodivergent people in its workforce, whether leaders realize it or not.

Some employees conceal traits or behaviors to fit workplace expectations, a practice often called masking. Jolivet uses the term "neurochameleons" to describe people who work hard to hide their differences so they can get and keep jobs.

Once an employee is hired, managers have to think beyond accommodations as a one-time administrative task. Career paths matter, as do training, flexibility, and opportunities for advancement.

One option Jolivet recommends is widening salary ranges so strong performers can earn more without being pushed into management. Employers can also create paths that allow employees to advance while remaining individual contributors. For neurodivergent workers who do want to manage people, supervisors should examine assumptions that may cause them to overlook qualified candidates.

Many changes can help a much broader group of employees. Receiving interview questions ahead of time, having written notes after meetings, accessing quieter workspaces, and having flexibility around schedules can be useful regardless of whether someone identifies as neurodivergent.

Neurodiversity May Require Rethinking What Work Culture Looks Like

Some workplace barriers are embedded in activities that companies may consider part of being a good colleague.

Think about the noisy office conversation everyone is expected to join or the team bonding night at a crowded bar. A neurodivergent employee who repeatedly declines may be labeled antisocial when the setting itself is the problem.

Jolivet suggests managers pay attention to which activities employees consistently avoid and consider alternatives. A team accustomed to spontaneous group conversations might use workplace chat more often. A loud after-work gathering could become dinner somewhere quieter.

Workspaces can change, too. Quiet areas, scent-free spaces, and lighting choices may reduce sensory strain, while written summaries after meetings can provide employees with clearer information about assignments and expectations.

The larger lesson is deceptively simple: participation does not always look the same from one employee to another. A person can care deeply about colleagues and still dislike happy hour. Someone can be excellent at a job without enjoying group brainstorming. Inclusion becomes more meaningful when employees are given more than one acceptable way to engage.

Neurodiversity Also Has A Financial Side

Workplace inclusion is often discussed through hiring, accommodations and culture, but financial wellbeing deserves a place in that conversation.

A study of financial hardship among people with disabilities found that during the Delta and first Omicron waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, 52% of people with disabilities had difficulty paying usual household expenses. Even after researchers adjusted for demographic factors, people with disabilities were 2.78 times more likely to experience financial hardship than nondisabled people.

New research from Voya Financial offers another view of the divide between what employers believe they provide and what workers experience.

According to Voya's 2026 research on disability inclusion and financial services , 90% of employers believe employees with disabilities feel supported at work. Among employees with disabilities, 76% say they feel supported.

Kerry Sette, Head of Customer Insights & Research at Voya and Head of Voya Cares, sees encouraging progress behind those numbers. Since 2018, supervisor awareness of employees' disabilities has risen from 81% to 91%, while colleague awareness has increased from 72% to 87%. Employees with disabilities also reported gains in their ability to balance work responsibilities and in employer flexibility.

Still, Sette says the remaining gap matters because offering support does not guarantee employees will feel comfortable using it.

Benefits can exist on paper while employees remain unsure where to find them, whether they apply to their circumstances, or whether accessing them could carry stigma. Caregivers can face similar concerns. Sette points to fears that disclosing personal needs could make someone appear less committed or affect advancement and job security.

That makes communication part of inclusion, particularly when benefits involve complicated financial decisions.

Neurodiversity Support Has To Be Clear Enough To Use

ABLE accounts offer a striking example.

These tax-advantaged savings accounts allow eligible people with disabilities to save for qualified expenses while preserving access to certain means-tested government benefits. Yet Voya's research found a major knowledge gap: 51% of employees with disabilities had heard of ABLE accounts, but only 2% correctly identified key features.

"Awareness alone doesn't necessarily translate into understanding or action," Sette says.

That finding gives employers something important to consider. Adding a resource to a benefits package is one step. Employees also need accessible information, relevant education, and opportunities to learn about resources when they may need them.

The same principle applies well beyond financial benefits. An accommodation policy employees are afraid to use has limited value. A flexible-work program people do not realize applies to them cannot help them. An inclusion initiative that employees hear about once during onboarding may disappear into the background when a real need arises months or years later.

Sette also stresses the importance of listening rather than assuming that employees with disabilities or caregivers share a single set of needs. Different people may need support involving ABLE accounts, special needs trusts, beneficiary planning, estate planning, government benefits, caregiving or other financial concerns.

Neurodiversity At Work Is Ultimately About Everyday Experience

There is no single policy that makes a workplace inclusive.

Instead, the clearest signs often appear in ordinary interactions: an interviewer willing to provide questions ahead of time, a manager who follows a meeting with written instructions, a team that chooses a quieter setting for its next gathering or a benefits department that explains resources in language employees can actually use.

Those choices can also create better workplaces for people who never disclose a disability or identify as neurodivergent.

That may be one of the most useful lessons for employers. Inclusion does not require predicting what every employee might need. It asks companies to create enough flexibility, trust and communication that people have room to work differently without being treated as less capable because of it.

For employers eager to show that they value neurodiversity, the next phase may be less about saying more and more about examining the routines employees encounter every day.

The real measure of an inclusive workplace is not whether neurodiversity appears in a company statement. It is whether neurodivergent employees can get through the door, do their jobs, ask for what they need, grow in their careers, and see a future there.