Finding the Right Work Fit When You're Neurodivergent
I hate fluorescent lights. This is not a design choice; when I’m in a room with buzzing, bright fluorescent lights I get a headache. Add noise to the mix and I’m going to need to go hide in a dark corner. This means most of the world feels like an assault on my senses.
This week’s podcast guest, noted author & expert Amanda Morin, helped me understand why: “Sometimes my unique way of thinking and experiencing the world gets in the way of me moving forward, or doing something that is probably a little easier for somebody else who experiences the world more typically. So for example, in a room where there are lots of lights and lots of noise, I am not a productive person because I'm very distracted and my whole body goes into shut down. For a long time I tried to hide that and couldn't anymore. Just couldn't anymore.”
This simple a-ha moment unlocked for both of us the realization that we needed to work in a different way than many people. We are both neurodivergent. The aha moment is a common thread for people who are diagnosed as adults.
The neurodiversity movement has changed the way many of us think about who we are and how we work. The term got its start in the autism community, coined by Judy Singer in 1998. The movement is a rejection of the prevalent narrative that conditions like autism are to be pathologized and corrected. Instead, variations of the brain, while also bringing challenges, bring strengths: creativity, innovation, novel thinking and special skills.
A good example is the high number of successful entrepreneurs who have ADHD: “It was about looking at the differences in the way people interact with and experience the world from what was considered the “norm,” and how to include the different ways people's brains process information,” says Amanda Morin. The neurodiverse community is now expanding to include dyslexia, ADHD, Tourette’s, and even OCD and other mental illnesses like Bipolar disorder.
Amanda is the Senior Director for Learning & Knowledge at The Jed Foundation, and she’s a well known neurodiversity consultant. She defines neurodivergence in a lovely way, and it’s more fluid than some other definitions. I think it will give you food for thought:
“I think of neurodiversity somewhat like biodiversity. If you think about tulips, you have pink tulips and yellow tulips and purple tulips and none of them are wrong. They're just tulips, and our brains are the same way. But in some environments, one color of tulip is going to thrive and grow more. And I think some brains thrive and grow more in different environments in different ways too.”
It’s hard to be different, and being neurodivergent can make it hard to succeed in many workplaces. Some who are neurodivergent struggle to get hired, and some struggle to stay or advance in an organization. It takes work to find the right place and to build the right infrastructure to support yourself as you progress in your career. But remember this: “Like a person’s fingerprints, no two brains — not even those of identical twins — are exactly the same. Because of that, there’s no definition of “normal” capabilities for the human brain.”
The neurodiversity movement shares a foundational belief with the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging field: A diversity of voices, knowledge, and lived experience makes for stronger work and stronger organizations. I love what therapist Emily Kirchner Morris says: neurodivergent people “look at problems in a new and different way, and they’re going to bring different solutions to the table.”
First, though, you have to get a seat at the table. If fluorescent lights are your Kryptonite, let’s figure out how you can minimize your exposure! There is no law that says to be successful you must work under fluorescent lights. If workplace socializing feels like a landmine, my interview with Amanda has advice on how to manage through and build relationships. If getting organized is hard, executive function skills can be your best friend. And if you suspect you’re neurodivergent, getting a formal diagnosis can be the first step towards getting what you need.
Everything about how we work is changing. When you understand how you function best, you can ask for what you need.
Think about a typical work day: meetings, video conferences, heads down work time, socializing and networking, and even your commute or your experience working in a home office. And then, think about what your ideal workday, work week and month would look like. You can start by asking these questions:
What feels hard for you, that might be less hard for others?
Conversely, what comes easily to you that might feel hard to others?
What distracts you?
Do you get more work done around people? Alone?
Do you like to spend time with colleagues as a group, or are you better with one on one?
If you could design your ideal job, what tasks would your week entail?
If you could design your ideal job, what would you never do again?
My whole purpose with The Anxious Achiever is for you to understand how your mental health or learning difference brings you gifts and challenges, discover what you react to and how it’s holding you back, and then try to craft a work life that brings you joy, satisfaction, and success. If you listen to the show’s archive you’ll hear interviews with really successful people who all have a diagnosable, if outwardly invisible, condition – like Angie’s Boom Chicka Pop co-founder Dan Bastian, who felt “stupid” until he got his ADHD diagnosis, Paul English, Kayak.com co-founder who manages Bipolar 1, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and Emily Kircher Morris, who talks with me about autism, ADHD, and being twice-exceptional.
If you are having your own aha moment reading this, please reach out to me and I’ll try to point you in the right direction! I’m new to the neurodiversity movement and am learning with you.
I’m grateful for this community!
Morra
Here are some good resources to understand more about neurodiversity:
Great explainer on Neurodiversity 101
I love this podcast, from Emily Kircher Morris
Laura Key hosts the ADHD Aha! podcast - it's great
Amanda recommends Judy Singer’s book, “NeuroDiversity: The Birth of an Idea to understand the genesis of the initial movement and how it has changed over time. Judy Singer has some strong opinions about how the term she coined is being used and redefined.”
Disability:In’s Neurodiversity @ Work Employer Roundtable and Career Connector portal
Prof. Amanda Kirby’s LinkedIn newsletter “Neurodiversity 101”
“A guide for those who think they may be neurodivergent.” This is a really excellent article with tons of links and advice.