Teams that include neurodivergent professionals can be up to 30 per cent more productive, the London School of Economics reports. But in order to attract the best neurodiverse talent - and help them thrive - you need to build a neuroinclusive workplace. 

We invited experts who have developed neuroinclusive workplaces to discuss this topic in a recent webinar, which you can replay here.  

During the session, Christine Mulryne, Head of Retention and Partnerships at Flexa, sat down with Jem Bradbury-Wade, Head of Togetherness and Wellbeing at HEINEKEN UK, Miranda Simms, Senior Wellbeing and Inclusion Lead at TUI, and Ollie Bell, Inclusion, Wellbeing and Community Partner at Flutter, to talk about what it takes to build workplaces where neurodivergent employees can genuinely do their best work.

Why this conversation matters

Neuroinclusivity is a big factor when it comes to attracting neurodiverse talent. For example, neurodivergent candidates prioritise diversity 46% more than the average candidate, according to Flexa's Talent Insights Report 2026. The same insights found that flexibility around core hours is prioritised 44% more by neurodivergent talent.

It’s a topic that each of the panel had a personal connection to.

Miranda Simms shared that she is neurodivergent herself, diagnosed with ADHD later in life, with neurodivergent family members, too. Seeing how differently people experience the world, she said, and how much energy goes into masking and adapting to systems that were not built for you, is exactly why this work matters to her.

It inspired her to launch  a neurodiversity podcast series at TUI early in her role, interviewing both neurodivergent colleagues and those caring for neurodivergent children to understand how supported people really felt. That series became the catalyst for TUI's neurodiversity employee network group. 

Jem Bradbury-Wade shared a similarly personal story, describing years spent masking ADHD traits as a child and the exhausting effort that went into appearing organised and on time. Reframing those same traits as strengths later in life, she said, has been powerful, right down to an example of hyperfocus turning a chance conversation with a lighting engineer into a two-year project projecting photography onto Buckingham Palace for the Queen's Jubilee.

Ollie described coming to this work on neuroinclusivity through curiosity, observing and learning from people who have walked a different path, and wanting to remove the barriers that make workplaces harder for some than others. As he put it, an environment that excludes neurodivergent colleagues simply isn't an inclusive environment at all.

Misconceptions that still get in the way

The panel was candid about where understanding still falls short.

Jem pointed to the “deficit model”, which is the tendency to frame neurodivergence in terms of what someone struggles with rather than the strengths that they can bring to a team. She argued that in a moment when businesses need agility and innovation, different ways of thinking and processing are exactly what should be harnessed, not treated as a problem to accommodate.

"What you're trying to do is take away a barrier to allow everyone to be in the room and the best ideas to flourish." — Jem Bradbury-Wade, HEINEKEN UK

Ollie raised language as a major barrier in itself, noting that terminology in this space evolves quickly and that worrying about getting it wrong, even without any bad intention, can make people fearful of engaging at all. He was clear that the goal isn't perfection, but a genuine willingness to learn, be corrected, and keep going.

"I don't think it's productive to [criticise] people when their intentions are genuinely to create spaces where people feel comfortable and they occasionally get it wrong." — Ollie Bell, Flutter

Miranda added that one of the most persistent misconceptions is assuming that neurodivergence looks the same from person to person.

"Our brains are different in the same way that we all have a different fingerprint. Nobody is ever going to be the same, and we should be treating everybody as individuals, whether you're neurodivergent or not." — Miranda Simms, TUI

She encouraged what she called "careful curiosity": treating people as individuals, rather than part of a category.

The strengths neurodivergent employees bring

Rather than dwelling only on adjustments, the panel spent real time on what neurodivergent colleagues add to a team: creative problem-solving, spotting inefficiencies others miss, and the kind of deep hyperfocus that can push a project further than a standard nine-to-five approach ever would.

Miranda argued that unlocking those strengths comes down to a few consistent conditions: clarity in communication and expectations, flexibility in how work gets done, and psychological safety, so that people feel able to be open about how they work best. Ollie added that most of what helps neurodivergent colleagues thrive, like quiet spaces, clear agendas and camera-off time, ends up benefiting everyone, whether they're a carer, a working parent, or simply someone who needs a moment to recalibrate before a big meeting.

What good support looks like in practice

The panel shared a genuinely wide range of initiatives, and it was clear that support works best when it's built into everyday culture rather than bolted on.

At HEINEKEN UK, Jem described working with disability charity Enable to design accessibility into new office spaces from the outset, with quiet rooms, low-sensory areas and wellbeing spaces built in rather than retrofitted. The same thinking has extended to HEINEKEN's pubs, with clearer signage, menus published online in advance, and designated quiet times, changes that delivered a measurable uplift in customer satisfaction as well as a more inclusive experience. Heineken has also introduced peer-led "safe spaces" check-ins for neurodivergent colleagues, and folded neurodiversity guidance into its wider wellbeing resources for staff.

At TUI, Miranda described a genuinely multi-layered approach anchored by its neurodiversity employee network group. That includes "power hour" learning sessions with over 800 attendees, more than 600 line managers trained specifically on supporting neurodivergent team members, and over 3,000 colleagues who have completed neuroinclusive training delivered with the charity Perfectly Autistic. TUI's mentoring programme now includes neurodivergent mentors, interview questions are shared in advance for colleagues who request it, and a colleague-co-created neurodiversity guide has been accessed by hundreds of staff looking for practical, real-world advice.

At Flutter, Ollie focused on the recruitment journey, coaching hiring managers to understand that reasonable adjustments don't require a formal diagnosis, and building in flexibility around the interview format from the very first point of contact. He was also candid about resourcing: not every organisation has a dedicated wellbeing team or budget, but simply starting the conversation, sharing a resource, naming the topic out loud, can make a real difference to someone who isn't yet ready to speak up.

Closing the gap between intent and action

The panel didn't shy away from the harder truth: good intentions don't always translate into felt experience. Jem referenced research suggesting that while a large majority of UK organisations say they encourage conversations about adjustments, only a much smaller share consistently follow through in practice, and pointed out that leadership visibility remains rare, with very few S&P 500 leaders openly discussing their own neurodivergence.

The panel agreed that closing that gap comes down to role modelling from leadership, upskilling line managers so they feel confident (not necessarily expert), and building the business case on three fronts: the legal obligation, the ethical case, and the commercial impact of teams that can do their best work.

How to start the conversation now

When asked for one thing people could do differently right away, the panel kept it simple and human.

Ollie suggested sharing the link to this webinar itself, or simply telling a colleague one thing learned from it, as a low-cost, high-impact signal that this topic is safe to talk about. Miranda pointed to clarity as the single biggest lever available to any manager: taking a moment before meetings or deadlines to check that expectations are genuinely clear removes ambiguity and anxiety for everyone, not just neurodivergent colleagues.

Jem closed with a reframe worth holding onto: rather than asking a colleague "what do you need?", which can put the burden of explaining back on them, try asking "what's getting in your way?" It's a small shift in language, she said, but it takes some of the emotional labour off the people who are so often asked to explain themselves, and opens up an honest, low-pressure conversation instead.

Key Takeaways

• Neuroinclusion starts with leaders sharing their own experiences. Visible vulnerability from senior leadership normalises the conversation and gives others permission to speak up.
• Misconceptions, especially around language and the assumption that neurodivergence looks the same for everyone, remain some of the biggest barriers. Careful curiosity and a willingness to be corrected matter more than getting it perfect the first time.
• The strongest initiatives combine formal support (trained line managers, employee networks, co-created guides) with everyday inclusive design, clear agendas, flexible meeting formats, quiet spaces, built in from the start rather than retrofitted.
• Reasonable adjustments should never require proof or a diagnosis, and most changes that support neurodivergent colleagues end up benefiting the whole workforce.
• There is a well-documented gap between organisations that say they support these conversations and those that follow through in practice. Closing it takes consistent action, not just a single awareness week.
• Small, low-cost steps count. Sharing a resource, asking "what's getting in your way?" instead of "what do you need?", and building in a moment of clarity before a meeting can meaningfully reduce the emotional labour of navigating an unaccommodating workplace.