Almost three quarters of neurodiverse employees are suffering with mental health issues.
However, only two in five UK companies have made inclusion and diversity part of their employee benefits strategy. according to research from WTW’s Global Benefits Attitudes survey.
According to the research, neurodivergent employees report low physical, emotional and financial wellbeing compared to neurotypical employees, but have higher social wellbeing.
Only a quarter (25%) of neurodiverse employees feel financially secure and emotionally balanced, while only 36 percent eel they have good physical health.
Also, half of neurodiverse employees feel burned out from work, while this figure sits at 38 percent for neurotypical employees.
As a result, they are more likely to suffer from stress, anxiety or depression and are more likely to struggle financially.
Adverse healthcare
Three in five neurodiverse employees have deferred healthcare, compared with only 29 percent of other employees.
As a result, almost three quarters have suffered adverse healthcare from delaying or cancelling treatment.
Deferred care includes those who delayed or cancelled care on their own, or had an appointment cancelled or delayed by a provider.
Yet, to date, only two in five UK companies (38%) have incorporated inclusion and diversity priorities in their employee benefits strategy, according to WTW’s 2022 Wellbeing Diagnostic research with UK employers and according to WTW’s latest Emerging Trends in Healthcare Survey, only one in five employers (20%) have already implemented benefits and policies to help support neurodiversity. Though a further quarter of employers (24%) are planning to do so.
Neurodivergent employees want a greater focus on benefits that manage their emotional health (39%) and more flexibility in the workplace (38%). In addition, neurodivergent employees would prefer more support around day-to-day finances, as 57 percent of colleagues are living payday-to-payday, versus only 34 percent of neurotypical employees.
Employer efforts
Attitudes towards employer’s efforts to create an inclusive workforce are positive, as 67 percent of neurodiverse employees say employers have made progress in showing greater empathy and understanding around issues of inclusion, diversity and discrimination, while 71% say there is greater visibility around inclusion and diversity as an important business issue and 67 percent say employers have become more open with talking about these issues at work
Lucie McGrath, wellbeing expert at WTW says “As more employers look to embed their Inclusion and Diversity strategy within their organisational culture, there is a growing focus on the role of benefits in delivery of inclusive care for employees.
“We’re also seeing some of the larger UK healthcare carriers introduce pathways to support assessment and diagnosis of neurodiverse conditions, which reflects that there’s a growing understanding that more support is needed in this area.
“There are varying levels of support and intervention that a company can engage with, such as reviewing specialist vendors, using insights and benchmarking and engaging in workshops to build an inclusive care strategy – but, doing something is better than nothing.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
