6 years after the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the U.S. and the world, most companies have mandated returning to the office, in contrast to the remote/hybrid work schedules that became the norm during the pandemic. For many neurodivergent employees, such as those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, dyslexia, or other cognitive differences, remote work offered a much-needed respite from the overcrowding, noise, and chaos that still plague so many workplaces.
Now that working on-site is once again required, employees are being forced to confront the fact that most workplaces still aren’t designed to meet their basic needs. This correlates with one of the most frustrating and commonly experienced workplace challenges for many neurodivergent employees, which is sensory overload. Open floor plans with bright lights, visual clutter, and loud noise all create stress and anxiety that make getting work done virtually impossible.
Seven Principles
Employers can and should aspire to do much better when it comes to the productivity of their businesses and ensuring the well-being of their employees, including those who are neurodivergent. In our previous article, “Universal Design: Could it Transform Neurodiverse Employment?”, we explored the 7 principles of universal design, a groundbreaking approach that seeks to make technology, workplaces, educational systems, and public spaces fully accessible for everyone to the greatest possible extent.
This includes designing workplaces in a way that prevents, or at least reduces, sensory overload, which is crucial for protecting mental health and enabling all employees, both neurodivergent and neurotypical, to deliver their best work.
The Negative Impact
The negative impact of sensory overload is backed by substantial data and research. One of the most comprehensive studies, “Working Sustainably With ADHD or Autism”, comes from researchers at Sweden’s Linköping University, who found that many participants with autism and ADHD described sensory overload as one of the most significant problems they deal with on a daily basis. Several of the participants reported that “sensory impressions, such as background conversations or ventilation systems, were difficult to block.” The researchers also found that sensory overload “made it difficult for participants to focus, increasing stress and fatigue.” One participant reported managing his sensory stress by attending only the most important meetings and spending the rest of the week either working alone or at home (an option many employees don’t have). Another participant went so far as to to say their current work experience feels “like it’s designed to keep me stressed and tired, and then it continues when I pick up the kids, and when I get home, and then I go to bed and feel that I am still stressed, and then I know that there’s a new day and it just keeps going like that.” The researchers recommend that companies “pay special attention to the long-term sustainability of any support measure, and be receptive and flexible in interactions with individuals to accommodate the full spectrum of variability, both between individuals with the same diagnosis, and within individuals over time.”
Reducing Sensory Overload
Other research efforts have also confirmed the importance and benefits of reducing sensory overload. For their white paper “Neurodiversity: Comparing Sensory Needs in the Workplace”, the furniture manufacturing company Haworth conducted interviews with 27 neurodivergent participants in 5 countries, focusing on the participants’ perceptions of their physical work environment, work experiences, job demands and resources, feelings of stress or discomfort, and policies, culture, and demographics. The researchers found that noise, lighting, and temperature were the distractions neurodivergent employees reported experiencing most frequently in the office. While the employees felt their companies were making strides in inclusion, they still believed more could be done to make workplaces less overwhelming. Most of the respondents felt that raising awareness through training, providing more opportunities to reduce environmental distractions, and consistently applying existing policies were some of the most viable methods for improving their in-office experience. When asked which environmental factors impacted them the most, one participant responded that “light is a big one,” adding that fluorescent lights in the office “can be distracting and give me headaches. I prefer warmer, natural light and desk lamps. Noise is an issue also. I need background noise but not too loud. Too quiet or too loud makes it hard to concentrate.” The study also found that neurodivergent employees experienced stress symptoms like hands trembling, heart beating faster, drowsiness, trouble sleeping, etc. more often than their neurotypical peers. According to the report, neurodivergent employees “experienced significantly higher stress when confronting workplace demands such as tight deadlines, multitasking requirements, complex social dynamics, and high-pressure environments compared to their NT colleagues.”
Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the variability in the neurodivergent experience and the perceived positive or negative impact rule out a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem of sensory overload and other accessibility barriers. They recommend that workplaces support the needs of neurodivergent employees, such as going for walks, breathing and meditation activities, and connecting with friends and coworkers, by “providing the right spaces, flexibility, and autonomy to self-select where employees need to go.” They conclude that “Designing for inclusivity means creating spaces that support the range of neurodiversity, supporting ways different people think, work, and interact. Sensory needs, flexibility, and choice all play a role in fostering environments where everyone can thrive.”
Strategies for Preventing Sensory Overload
On that note, the researchers describe a variety of practical ways to reduce sensory overload, including allowing access to natural light whenever possible, and providing areas of respite away from bright lights; adding workspace task lamps with dimming and color temperature control; avoiding high-contrast patterns; and screening elements with user control to block views in an open environment. With regard to noise, they suggest providing spaces that neurodivergent employees can retreat to when the sounds of people talking and moving become too overwhelming. They also recommend using sound-reducing materials like acoustic panels, lighting, soft materials, carpets, or rugs. Sound masking, such as white noise, can help with neutralizing background noise, while olfactory (smell) sensitivities can be accommodated by isolating areas that contain smells, i.e. food service stations, copy rooms, or cleaning service stations. Finally, touch sensitivities can be addressed by considering the material used in surface finishes, and by avoiding rough, scratchy materials on high-contact surfaces. Giving employees control over ventilation to increase or decrease the airflow in their workspace, and maintaining high air flow circulation and low humidity, can also make a difference. “Understanding the unique relationship between job demands, job resources, stress, and well-being for ND workers is crucial for creating more supportive workplaces,” the researchers conclude. They encourage employers to “focus on enhancing support systems, ensuring equitable enforcement of company policies, providing access to necessary tools, and promoting growth and relationship building opportunities. By doing so, organizations can improve well-being for their employees.”
In a blog post for Employment Autism.org, Lauren Nichols, a tech manager with autism spectrum disorder, also shared her experience with managing sensory overload in the workplace. “Our sensory worlds are complex, and everyone responds to different things differently,” Nichols writes. “My general approach to improve things for myself is:
1. Map out which things help and which things hinder against each individual sense
2. Maximize the good, and minimize the bad.”
Nichols identifies some of her greatest sensory challenges as busy or disorganized environments; badly formatted documents and busy backgrounds on other people’s screens during video calls; drilling or other external noise; and strong smells, such as tea or strong-smelling food. She also shares some of her most helpful coping mechanisms, such as closing her eyes, keeping her desk clear, noise-cancelling headphones, and using a standing desk that allows her to “fidget” more. Similarly, Hush Office.com recommends that workplaces install acoustic pods, which are quiet, private, self-contained environments that let employees recharge by tuning out the world and gaining a reprieve from all of the chaos and commotion.
Few things are more calming and more effective at countering overstimulation than the tranquility of nature. In their article for Work Design.com, Rachel Nasland and Sonaly Dudheker advocate for making naturalness, or elements of nature, a built-in part of the environment. This can include everything from indoor plants and greenery and earth-tone color palettes, to water elements, views of nature, and outdoor access. They reiterate Nichols’ perspective that “designs that support and promote fidgeting and movement provide an outlet for neurodivergent individuals who may be understimulated or require a distraction in an overly stimulating environment.”
Consistently Evaluating and Adjusting Workplaces
One of the most important takeaways from all of the above-mentioned articles and studies, and from the lived experience of neurodivergent individuals like Nichols, is that work environments, as well as public spaces, should always be adjusted to meet the needs of their users, rather than vice versa. In the poignant words of Dutch motivational speaker, Alexander den Heijer (quoted by the researchers in their study), “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” Universal design, with its emphasis on accessibility and accommodation, offers a viable framework for achieving a person-first approach. When companies adopt this supportive and understanding philosophy, they can start to create workplaces that avoid sensory overload, support cognitive diversity, and greatly reduce stress, anxiety, and burnout, allowing employees to deliver their best work.
Sources:
“Managing Workplace Sensory Issues.” Employment Autism.
“Neurodiversity: Comparing Sensory Needs in the Workplace.” Haworth.
“Working Sustainably With ADHD or Autism: Exploring How Adults With Neurodevelopmental Conditions Perceive and Manage Their Working Life.” SpringerLink. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, vol. 30, no. 6, 2023, pp. 463–476.
“What Is Sensory Overload and How to Prevent It in Open Plan Offices?” HushOffice.
“Designing for Neurodiversity in the Workplace.” Work Design Magazine, July 2023.
