An exploratory study of benefits and challenges of neurodivergent employees: roles of knowing neurodivergents and neurodiversity practices

• Date: 28 September 2023
• Pages: 243-267
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-03-2023-0092
• Published date: 28 September 2023
• Author: Muhammad Ali,Mirit K. Grabarski,Marzena Baker

An exploratory study of benefits

and challenges of neurodivergent

employees: roles of knowing

neurodivergents and

neurodiversity practices

Muhammad Ali

QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

Mirit K. Grabarski

Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada, and

Marzena Baker

Peter Faber Business School, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia

Abstract

Purpose –Neurodiversityrefersto a spectrum of neurologicaldifferences. Littleis known about the benefitsand

challenges of employing neurodivergent individuals in the retail industry and how knowing neurodivergent

individuals/neurodiversitypractices are linked to benefits/challenges. Thisstudy provides these insights using

the lenses of thevalue-in-diversity perspective,stigma theory and intergroupcontact theory.

Design/methodology/approach –Data were collected from an online survey of retail supervisors and co-

workers from Australia, resulting in 502 responses from various retail organizations.

Findings –The findings indicate that supervisors have higher awareness of neurodiversity and perceived

benefits of neurodivergent employees. Knowing neurodivergents was positively associated with perceived

benefits and disclosure challenges and negatively associated with equity and inclusion chal lenges.

Neurodiversity practices were positively associated with benefits of neurodivergent employees, negatively

associated with disclosure challenges and equity and inclusion challenges in small stores, and positively

associated with equity and inclusion challenges in large stores.

Originality/value –Current empirical research on workplace neurodiversity is scarce. This study provides

pioneering evidence for awareness of workplace neurodiversity in the retail industry and the impact of

knowing neurodivergent employees/neurodiversity practices on benefits and challenges. It differentiates

between supervisors’and co-workers’perceptions, highlighting the importance of exposure to information in

reducing stigma.

Keywords Neurodiversity awareness, Benefits, Challenges, Knowing neurodivergents,

Neurodiversity practices, Store size, Retail

Paper type Research paper

Neurodiversity is a naturally occurring variation of cognitive functioning in people (LeFevre-

Levy et al., 2023;Doyle and McDowall, 2021). The most common conditions include autism,

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and developmental coordination

disorder (DCD) also known as dyspraxia (Bewley and George, 2016;Chapman and Veit, 2020;

Grant, 2009;Kapp et al., 2013;LeFevre-Levy et al., 2023). Although terminology and

definitions continue to evolve, the term “neurodivergent”describes an individual with a non-

“typical”cognitive functioning (Doyle and McDowall, 2021). On the other hand, those who fall

in a statistical norm are known as “neurotypical”(Doyle and McDowall, 2021). The term

Neurodivergent

employees

243

The authors thank Australian Retailers Association for funding this research and Professor Gary

Mortimer from the Queensland University of Technology for leading the research team.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 29 March 2023

Revised 27 July 2023

Accepted 8 September 2023

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 43 No. 2, 2024

pp. 243-267

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-03-2023-0092

“neurodiverse”is usually used to describe a group of people comprising neurodivergent and

neurotypical individuals (Fletcher-Watson, 2020). Neurodivergents often experience social

and workplace discrimination and injustice due to perceptions of limitations in their abilities,

stereotype bias and misperceptions (Dalton, 2013;Wille and Sajous-Brady, 2018). Globally,

15–20% of the world’s population is neurodivergent, yet their employment participation rate

remains very low (Doyle, 2020).

The key contributing factors to the low employment among neurodivergents are (1)

unconscious biases held by hiring managers (Annabi and Locke, 2019;Praslova, 2021); (2)

systemic biases in recruitment and selection practices (Loiacono and Ren, 2018); and (3)

exacerbated perceptions of high accommodation costs (Annabi and Locke, 2019;Buckley et al.,

2020). Low employment of neurodivergent people is particularly concerning for the Australian

retail industry. It is Australia’s second largest employer, providing 15–17% of Australian jobs,

but suffering from high employee turnover rates and worker shortages, particularlypost-COVID-

19 (PWC, 2020). Thus, retail industry has compelling reasons for employing neurodivergent

workers (Dalton, 2013). Employing neurodivergent individuals would provide the retail industry

with an opportunity to strategically future-proof against current and future labor shortages.

Understanding neurodiversity within the contextof employment is a relatively newarea of

research (Krzeminska et al.,2019;LeFevre-Levyet al., 2023), with little understanding developed

to date about how to manage organizational neurodiversity for sustainable employment of

neurodivergents. Current work is published mostly in disability and rehabilitation journals, or in

practitioner-oriented literature mostly in healthcare or education (Doyle and McDowall, 2021;

Khan et al.,2022). Past research has mainly focused on: (1) the barriers to employment faced by

individuals with specific conditions such as autism (e.g. Annabi andLocke, 2019), (2) attitudinal

perceptions of organizations towards hiring (e.g. Remington and Pellicano, 2019), (3) recruitment

experiences of neurodivergent individuals (e.g. Krzeminska and Hawse, 2020), and (4)

advantages and disadvantages of employing neurodivergent individuals (e.g. Krzeminska

et al., 2019). Little is known about supervisors’and co-workers’awareness of workplace

neurodiversity, the benefits and challenges of employing neurodivergent individuals from the

perspectives of supervisors and coworkers, and how knowing neurodivergents and

neurodiversity practices impact perceptions of benefits and challenges (Bewley and George,

2016;Krzeminska et al., 2019;Richards, 2012). This studyaims to bridge these knowledge gaps

and enhance our understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with neurodivergents.

The awareness and understanding of neurodiversity in retail organizations can allow for more

inclusiverecruitment and a strategic approach toskill shortages in the industry.

This study advances knowledge by improving understanding of: (1) the awareness of

neurodiversityby supervisors andco-workers, (2)the challengesand benefits of neurodivergent

employees as perceived by supervisors and co-workers, (3) the relationship between knowing

neurodivergents and the perceived ben efits/challenges of employing neurodi vergent

individuals, and (4) the relationship between neurodiversity practices and the perceived

benefits/challenges of employing neurodivergent individuals in the context of store size. As the

barriers to employment of neurodivergent employees are deeply linked to organizational

context, studying supervisors’and co-workers’awareness and attitudes towards neurodiversity

is of key importance (Meacham et al., 2017;Patton, 2019). This study contributes to theory by

strengthening and extending the value-in-diversity perspective, stigma theory and intergroup

contact theory by confirming their explanatory power in this new context. Data were collected

through a surveyof retail supervisors and co-workers workingin Australia.

Theories and hypotheses development

Relevant theories

The value-in-diversity perspective, that underlies the business case for diversity, argues that

diversity can lead to improved organizational performance through providing insights to

EDI

43,2

244