Are we getting inclusion all wrong?

Rethinking Inclusion and Neurodiversity in the Workplace

We Don’t Need More Categories. We Need More Curiosity.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we approach inclusion at work, and how, despite good intentions, we sometimes get it wrong.

In conversations and workshops, a common theme keeps emerging: our systems for inclusion often rely on categorising people.

• Autistic? Here’s your list of workplace adjustments.

• Menopausal? Sit near a window, drink water, and we’ve done a webinar.

• Struggling with mental health? Check the employee handbook.

  
  

It’s well-meaning. But it risks turning inclusion into a box-ticking exercise. Instead of creating truly inclusive workplaces, we end up reinforcing the idea that difference needs to be standardised, managed, or accommodated in narrow, impersonal ways.

Inclusion Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

Take neurodiversity. I have ADHD. So does Liz, a colleague I was recently editing a podcast episode with. But what supports Liz, like body doubling (working in the presence of someone else), would never work for me. I’d find that distracting and, as an introvert, pretty unpleasant.

Same diagnosis. Completely different needs.

The same goes for introversion, trauma, communication styles, how we process information, regulate stress, or connect with others. We are not categories. We’re a unique mix of experiences, privileges, identities, challenges, and strengths.

There’s no handbook that can capture all that nuance. So why do we keep trying?

From Labels to Listening

The more I work with teams and leaders, the more convinced I become: true inclusion isn’t about having pre-set solutions for every label. It’s about building a flexible, human culture, one that asks better questions.

• Who’s thriving here — and who’s just surviving?

• Who gets heard in meetings — and who never speaks?

• Are our systems built for just one kind of thinker or communicator?

• How safe do people really feel saying, “This isn’t working for me”?

  
  

Default ways of working often benefit the most visible, most verbal, and most comfortable people in the room. And then we wonder why the same voices dominate, the same types rise through the ranks, and the same ideas keep circulating.

The risk isn’t just a lack of diversity, it’s stagnation.

The Real Cost of Performative Inclusion

We lose valuable insight, creativity, and challenge because we haven’t built systems that are truly inclusive. When inclusion becomes a checklist, not a cultural foundation, we end up with silos, resentment, and employees who constantly feel like the workplace wasn’t made for them.

So What’s the Alternative?

It starts with listening differently.

It means designing meetings, communication, and decision-making processes with different neurotypes and communication styles in mind, not just the loudest voice in the room. It means questioning the way things have always been done and being willing to change, even when it’s inconvenient.

Inclusion isn’t a side project (or something a politician can defund). It’s a way of working. A mindset.

It’s not about fixing people, it’s about fixing environments so more people can thrive without having to fight for the right to belong.

And when people thrive, organisations thrive too.

#Inclusion #Wellbeing #Culture #MentalHealth