Neurodivergent workers feel discriminated against in the recruitment process

A new survey has found that nearly half of neurodivergent candidates feel they can’t or shouldn’t disclose their neurodivergency to a potential employer.

This is despite figures showing that around one in seven adults in the UK are neurodivergent.

A recent poll by Zurich found that three in ten of the 1,000 neurodivergent job applicants questioned said their application wasn’t taken any further once they had disclosed their neurodiversity.

Some of the main findings show that:

• Over a third of neurodivergent workers admit to panicking in an interview due to the question structure being overly complicated.
• A quarter say they’ve struggled with long and elaborate applications.
• A quarter have found vague job descriptions and timed tasks difficult.

Steve Collinson, chief HR officer at Zurich, said, “With over half of neurodivergent adults experiencing discrimination and two thirds saying employers see their neurodiversity as a ‘red flag’, it’s clear there is still a way to go when it comes to creating neuro-inclusive workplaces.

“Our research shows that traditional recruitment processes are creating unnecessary barriers for these candidates and could be excluding as much as 15 per cent of the job market, which is why it’s so important that employers adopt inclusive practices at hiring level – not just to already onboarded employees.”

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