International Stress Awareness Week takes place from the 30th October – 3rd November, with Stress Awareness Day falling on the 1st November. We thought we’d take this opportunity to explore why neurodivergent individuals can be more likely to experience stress, whilst considering how organisations can help to prevent stress and equip employees with tools and strategies to manage stress more effectively.

What do we mean by neurodivergent?

Approximately 15-20% of the population is neurodivergent. Neurodivergent is a term used to describe individuals whose way of processing information differs from the majority. This includes neurodifferences such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Conditions, as well as some less common forms of neurodifferences.

Many neurodivergent individuals possess a unique combination of cognitive strengths and talents, these vary from person to person but can often include creative thinking, great problem-solving skills, empathy, entrepreneurialism and hyperfocus.

What do we mean by stress?

Stress is a physical and emotional response to a perceived threat or challenge. Stress can have positive or negative effects on a person’s well-being, depending on the type, intensity, duration, and coping strategies of the individual.

Why might neurodivergent individuals be more likely to experience stress than neurotypical individuals?

They may face stigma, discrimination, bullying, or exclusion from society or the workplace because of their differences. This can lead to decreased self-worth, social isolation, and increased risk of mental health challenges.
Some neurodivergent individuals experience sensory sensitivities, these make them more sensitive or less responsive to certain stimuli, such as sounds, lights, smells, textures, or temperatures. This can cause sensory overload or underload, which can be physically and emotionally distressing.
They may experience challenges with communication, social interaction, executive functioning, or emotional regulation. This can make it harder for them to express their needs, understand others’ perspectives, plan and organise their tasks, or cope with their emotions.
Some neurodivergent individuals may feel the need to mask or hide their true selves to fit in with the expectations of others, particularly in workplaces where they may be concerned about discrimination as a result of their neurodifference, which can be exhausting and stressful.

These challenges can be exacerbated in a world where advances in technology mean that people are expected to be switched on at all times, where our working lives are increasingly busy and demanding, and where careers more often take us in new and unfamiliar directions. While for some, situations like this can be interesting and exciting, it can also make life more stressful if we don’t have the right tools and support to navigate our working world positively and safely.

How to spot signs of stress at work

A change in the way someone acts can be a sign of stress, for example they may take more time off than usual, make a habit of arriving late to work, make more mistakes than usual or generally appear nervous.

A change in the way someone thinks or feels can also be a sign of stress, for example, mood swings, being withdrawn, loss of motivation, commitment and confidence, and increased emotional reactions.

How to prevent and manage stress at work

Research has found that both career satisfaction and psychological safety can have a significant impact on wellbeing at work for not only neurodivergent individuals, but all individuals. This can help prevent or manage their stress at work. Whilst everyone is different, here are some of the ways in which you might be able to reduce the risk of stress at work for your team members, and address it when it does arise:

Creating psychological safety

Change the narrative in your team to talk about neurodiversity as a valued difference rather than a deficit, promoting the benefits of neuro-inclusion and creating the opportunity for people to share stories of their lived experiences.
Call out bias if you see it.
Encourage others to be themselves.
Promote the positives of working and thinking in different ways.
Offer flexible working arrangements.
Ensure that activities and events you do as a team are neuro-inclusive.

Building career satisfaction

Ask individuals in your team how you can support them to work at their best and provide tailored support and adjustments which enable them to do so.
Work with neurodivergent individuals to understand their strengths, and if possible adjust their role so that it plays to their strengths. This can improve both performance and engagement.
Provide positive feedback on performance, and opportunities for career development, ensuring that learning and development opportunities are in-line with their learning preferences.
Provide advance notice of changes and involve neurodivergent individuals in decisions about how those changes happen where possible.

Supporting and promoting positive wellbeing

Make sure you build time into catch-ups to talk about how the individual is feeling, instead of just focusing on work tasks.
Keep checking in with the individual to make sure that their workload is manageable and that they are taking regular breaks and working sensible hours.
Encourage the individual to take care of themselves, in whatever way works best for them. For some, this might be practising mindfulness, for others it might be engaging in exercise or getting more sleep.
Consider whether there are changes to the working environment that could reduce the risk of sensory overload or distractions, e.g., quiet spaces to work or working at home more often.
Identify a workplace buddy or mentor who can provide additional support.

Signposting to specialist support

If an individual feels they would benefit from more specialist support, you can help them to identify the options that might be available to them.

Explore whether your organisation has an Occupational Health Provider (OHP) or Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that can provide counselling services and other forms of support.
Neurodiversity specialists like Lexxic, can provide mental health screening assessments and workplace needs assessments for neurodivergent individuals, as well as follow-up support which can help individuals to understand the challenges they are experiencing and develop practical strategies to manage them.

If you’d like to find out more about how you can support your neurodivergent employees, click the button below to get in touch with us today.

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Neurodiversity and Managing Stress