A new term for many means a graduating class for 2024 and that graduating class may be finding themselves at a little bit of a loss right now, but they don't have to be. Employers are waking up and seeing how those living with Neurological Conditions can add so many benefits tot he workplace. "different perspectives" "fresh eyes" "creative thinking".
But there is one slight hurdle that many neurodiverse individuals looking for work fall at: Interviews. Many interviews are not neurodivergent friendly. The standard interview style is quite frankly outdated, requiring eye contact or focusing on body language and rigid expectations for things like organisation or time management mean we are missing the talents that many neurodivergent individuals bring to the table, visual reasoning, detail processing, pattern recognition, I could sit here all day and write a list of potential pros for hiring a neurodivergent people.
The statistics for unemployment in the UK are staggering, the UK currently has around 69million people in its population, 13 million of which are neurodiverse, 30-40% of those over 16, Neurodiverse are unemployed, due to implicit stereotyping in the UK, "Unconscious stereotyping, also known as implicit bias, is a social stereotype that someone holds about a group of people without being aware of it. It's a mental attitude that can be positive or negative".
We all know the one "Autistic people always struggle socially", Stereotypes like these can be deeply unhelpful. The real facts about Autism in social situations is that autistic people can be direct and will say what they mean without worrying about whether or not what they say will offend the other party, they speak what's true to them.
Neurodiversity UK is dedicated to changing the stats on employment for neurodiverse people with the programmes and support they hold to help those living with neurological conditions thrive. If you are an employer who needs help with an individual in your workforce or would like to break into hiring more neurodiverse people, don't hesitate to get in touch with us.
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