Making Workplaces Work for Neurodivergent Employees

Neurodivergent people, such as people with autism, may face challenges in finding and keeping sustainable employment due to specific ways work is organized as well as stigma and prejudice. In our research project, we focus on how concrete work environments impact the lived embodied experience of neurodivergent, and in particular autistic, employees. People with autism may see, feel, and do things differently than the average person the workplace is designed for. This means that the physical workplace can impact autistic employees differently and be less accessible and conducive to their workflow. Gaining insight into how employees with autism experience their workflow being supported or interrupted by their work environment is a first step towards building and designing more accessible workplaces.

In dit project onderzoeken Hanne Jacobs (Filosofie, TSHD), Jo Bervoets (Filosofie, TSHD) en Jenny Slatman (Culture Studies, TSHD), in samenwerking met IBN en Back to Code, hoe fysieke werkomgevingen de dagelijkse werkervaring van neurodivergente medewerkers beïnvloeden, met speciale aandacht voor mensen met autisme. Mensen met autisme kunnen werkomgevingen anders beleven dan neurotypische medewerkers. Door inzicht te krijgen in hoe de fysieke werkomgeving wordt ervaren, wat werknemers helpt of juist belemmert en hoe het verbeterd kan worden, wil het project bijdragen aan beter toegankelijke, passende werkplekken.