By Menachem Rephun, Communications Manager at Creative Spirit
Whether at school, at work, or in other parts of daily life, most of us will likely experience burnout at some point.
In a 2024 survey, SHRM found that 44% of 1,405 employees felt “emotionally drained” from their work. Another 51% reported feeling “used up” by the end of the day.
For neurodivergent professionals, burnout often manifests differently than for those who are neurotypical. For starters, neurodivergent burnout (both emotional and physical) can stem not just from a too-heavy workload but from lack of awareness around neurodiversity, discrimination and stigma from coworkers/employers, and perhaps most commonly, the pressure to hide or “mask” having a disability and to conform to neurotypical expectations.
Abi Moorcock, a researcher and writer with ADHD and autism, offers a powerful description of what neurodiverse burnout feels like:
“You wake up one day, and suddenly you’re drowning. All those drips you thought rolled off your back are still there, yet you can’t swim anymore. That’s what burnout can feel like.”
Employers can make a difference by improving their awareness of what neurodiverse burnout means from the perspective of neurodiverse employees, and why it happens in the first place. They can also create change by enhancing inclusion and accessibility in the workplace, and by considering the needs of neurodiverse employees. At the same time, if you’re a neurodivergent employee, there are a wide range of strategies, tips, and resources that can help you prevent and overcome burnout too.
Strategies for Managing and Preventing Neurodiverse Burnout
In “What To Know About Neurodivergent Burnout,” MedicalNewsToday.com offers helpful advice for neurodivergent professionals on preventing, managing, and recovering from burnout. These include recognizing and addressing burnout early on, seeking help from healthcare professionals, and using medical treatment to manage symptoms. Other preventive measures include taking time off, reducing social activity that might be stressful, self-advocacy, and setting healthy boundaries and expectations from others.
Dr. Katie Rose Guest Pryal, a mental health expert with autism spectrum disorder and bipolar disorder, understands the burnout struggle firsthand.
“If you think you might be burning out, take stock,” she writes in an essay for Psychology Today. “Notice whether you feel overwhelmed, because feeling overwhelmed is a precursor to burnout. It can be harder for neurodivergent people to spot burnout because we are accustomed to feeling overwhelmed and exhausted just from our day-to-day living.”
Pryal describes neurodiverse burnout as an institutional, rather than an individual, problem. She believes burnout stems mainly from environments not designed with neurodiverse employees in mind. As a systemic problem, burnout requires systemic solutions, and employers benefit from addressing and resolving it.
“If you are an employer, neurodiversity among your employees is a good thing,” Pryal writes, “bringing a diversity of skills and perspectives and thereby enriching your workplace.”
Other neurodivergent professionals have also shared their experiences dealing with and overcoming burnout.
“The big thing is what really broke me, as an Autistic Person, was camouflaging and trying to blend myself into the NeuroTypical standard,” Lyric Rivera, an autistic self-advocate who runs the blog Neurodivergent Rebel, shared in a video post. “I wasn’t really designed to blend in, that’s completely unnatural to me, trying to blend in, and it was really counterproductive to my mental health, my physical health, and even my relationships with other people.”
Rivera added that, ironically, losing the ability to “camouflage” due to burnout helped end it by leading to more freedom, authenticity, and less energy being consumed.
“Once I lost that ability to camouflage the way I had been doing for so many years, it was kind of like, why, why do I have to keep doing this anyway?” Rivera said. “It was me letting that go, putting the mask down, changing our lifestyle completely, moving to a smaller space, downsizing, moving to a more minimalist lifestyle, and hitting the road, and not doing things the way everyone else does it, and being willing to do things in a way that really, truly, suits me, and my life, and what my brain needs for it to be healthy.”
Professor Amanda Kirby, a CEO who is also neurodivergent, speculates that burnout might be more common among neurodivergent individuals who are highly empathetic.
“I wonder if some people who care very much about others (high affective empathy) get into a cycle of ‘tend and befriend’ reaching out and trying to sort out everyone else’s problems,” Kirby writes, “worrying about everyone else, and then going into emotional overdrive as a consequence. This then leads for some to the job (and home) ‘burnout’.”
She brands this tendency as ‘human giver syndrome”, describing it as “going into overdrive and you can’t stop until you are completely exhausted. I describe it as a car without gears and a non-existent braking system.”
In her article, Dr. Katie Rose Guest Pryal urges neurodiverse individuals not to feel guilty or ashamed for experiencing burnout.
“If you are already in burnout, remember it is not your fault,” she writes, “and there are some things that you can do.”
Pryal cites a book on burnout by Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark, who writes that burnout can be overcome by knowing your purpose, acting with self-compassion, connecting with others and what you value, and finding a level of balance that works for you.
“To avoid and prevent burnout,” Pryal concludes, “we, as a society, must fight against cultural expectations that cause burnout in the first place.”
What Employers Should Know About Neurodiverse Burnout
As mentioned above, neurodiverse burnout is a systemic problem more than an individual one. There are also ample reasons for employers and HR professionals to care about helping neurodiverse employees prevent burnout, and to be aware of the ways that burnout can affect people who are neurodivergent. One of the main reasons is that, quite simply, preventing burnout creates a better workplace for everyone.
As GreatPlacetoWork.com writes, “Solving workplace issues for neurodivergent employees has the potential to improve well-being outcomes for all employees.” Helping all employees, including those who are neurodivergent, and addressing their needs provides a huge boost to growth, productivity, and success. Neurodiverse burnout can reduce employee performance and engagement, along with increasing absenteeism and turnover. “When neurodivergent employees experience burnout, it can manifest as a decrease in attention to detail, heightened anxiety, and difficulty managing workload,” Neurobridge writes. “This can negatively affect team dynamics, customer interactions, and overall productivity.”
In “Preventing Neurodivergent Employees from Burnout”, the mental health support organization Wellness Cloud writes that HR professionals can prevent burnout by fostering a positive work environment with open communication, recognizing achievements, and providing constructive feedback that will help employees feel valued and motivated. Other steps included implementing realistic workloads, setting clear expectations, promoting flexible schedules, and offering programs to support neurodivergent employees’ physical and mental wellbeing.
Managers and HR professionals should also recognize the signs of burnout, which can manifest as chronic exhaustion, disengagement, and a sense of depletion. David Grossman, CEO of the Grossman Group, says that many organizations “have lost awareness of this issue [employee burnout] at the manager level. Senior leadership is so focused on other priorities that this has fallen off the radar.” In short, businesses can tackle the issue of burnout by becoming more supportive of neurodivergent employees and taking the time to learn more about their needs.
Neurodiverse burnout is also tied to the decision to disclose, which many neurodivergent people encounter. While choosing whether to disclose is entirely up to the individual and should always be respected, creating a work environment where neurodivergent employees feel safe and comfortable enough to reveal if they want to can go a long way in preventing burnout.
GreatPlacetoWork.com encourages companies to publicize their commitment to neurodiversity and physical disabilities. Doing so signals to prospective employees that the company is a welcoming environment that appreciates the talent of employees of all backgrounds. The Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property suggests that employers include their neurodiversity goals and programs, especially in regards to accommodations, in all their job descriptions, along with changing their hiring evaluation criteria to screen out biases toward neurodivergent talent.
“In the onboarding process, employers can make it clear to all candidates that accommodation exists for a range of conditions and disabilities,” the organization writes. “Employers can also implement certain privacy policies to protect information about neurodivergent workers’ diagnoses, which may make more employees comfortable disclosing their conditions.”
By preventing neurodiverse burnout, employers can improve morale and productivity, and help neurodivergent employees deliver their best work.
Preventing neurodiverse burnout is strongly connected to changing society’s perspective on disability. As Abi Moorcock writes,
“Neurodivergent burnout grows with years of pretending to be something you are not; to fit in in a world that wasn’t designed for people like you. It is the result of the work we have to do to close the gap between what neurotypical society expects us to be and who we are.”
Moorcock also offers meaningful advice for others who are neurodivergent. For starters, she acknowledges how lonely the burnout experience can feel, and emphasizes that those going through it aren’t alone.
“It can feel like a really lonely place, but you are in company,” she affirms. “This experience is common to so many neurodivergent people; I just don’t think we talk about it enough. So to the other people who this resonates with; I see you and I know how you feel.”
Fostering understanding, acceptance, and validation from employers and coworkers, including those who are neurodivergent, can significantly impact burnout. By making that understanding, support, and acceptance a reality, we can create workplaces where all professionals can deliver their best work, while ensuring that burnout is a thing of the past.
Sources:
- https://www.medecoded.com/neurodivergent-burnout-the-cost-of-closing-the-gap/
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/neurodivergent-burnout
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-neurodivergence/202405/burnout-and-neurodiversity
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/preventing-neurodivergent-employees-from-burnout-wellness-cloud/
- 5. https://neurodivergentrebel.com/2022/12/14/autism-and-burnout-my-experience-with-autistic-burnout/
- 6. https://studentorgs.kentlaw.iit.edu/ckjip/the-challenges-of-neurodiversity-in-the-workplace-the-powerful-but-overlooked/