Myers-Briggs: 20% of people are neurodivergent, but only a quarter feel accepted at work

Around one in five people globally are neurodivergent.

And according to new data from global personality assessment giant The Myers-Briggs Company, neurodivergent people felt less accepted and supported at work, compared to the so-called neurotypical majority.

Myers-Briggs surveyed 1,300 people across the world and found those who were diagnosed as neurodivergent felt less included, more misunderstood, more stressed, and had lower job satisfaction than those not diagnosed with any neurodivergent conditions.

These findings are particularly stark for people with autism and OCD.

Credit: The Myers-Brigg Company’s Research into MBTI type, neurodivergence, and neurodiversity.

The data also showed that people believed their neurodivergence could help them at work, but almost half also noted that it had caused them issues at work.

67% said they had changed their behavior to fit at work, and 45% didn’t feel they could talk about their conditions at work.

Speaking exclusively to UNLEASH about the report, John Hackston, Head of Thought Leadership at Myers-Briggs, states: “The effort and emotional labor of hiding who you really are can be extreme, and contributes to some neurodivergent people not being able to give their full attention to their work.”

A big issue also identified by Myers-Briggs’ data is that neurodivergent felt less supported by their organization; just one in four agreed that their manager, co-workers and organizations were supportive of their neurodiversity.

Only 57% of those diagnosed with a neurodivergent condition agreed that they felt accepted by their co-workers, compared with 78% of those not diagnosed.

Hackston shares: “This clearly isn’t good news for neurodivergent individuals, but it isn’t good news for organizations either.

“Demotivated, less engaged people will not perform well, and neurodivergent people have much to offer.”

Ultimately, it is well known that diversity of perspectives is good for businesses, but if people aren’t actually leveraging their unique approaches to work, then you aren’t reaping the rewards.

The question that remains is what actions should HR leaders take to fix this?

How to better support neurodivergent individuals at work

First of all, Myers-Briggs findings make a “case for education and training of the wider workforce, and in particular managers, to allow neurodivergent people to feel better supported”.

In fact, the survey found that two in three felt their organization could do more to educate employees about neurodiversity.

Of course, HR leaders have a huge role to play in facilitating this new learning approach, but they can go even further than this to make a real difference and create a happier, more engaged and more productive workforce.

One approach would be to be more open to different ways of working (including learning).

“Traditionally, development programs have looked to identify development needs and apply training or other interventions to bring individuals up to an acceptable level across the board. This approach may work less well for neurodivergent people,” states Hackston.

He concludes: “Here, an approach that allows individuals to make the most of their strengths may pay dividends.

“Respondents who had been able to adapt to ‘craft’ their job to make the best use of their neurodiversity had higher job satisfaction, felt more included, were less stressed, and saw their behavior as less likely to be misunderstood or to cause them problems”.

HR, are you ready to make a change?