The workforce of the future is neurodiverse. Is your office ready?

Most offices weren’t designed with neurodiversity in mind, and it’s starting to show. While modern office spaces work brilliantly for some people, for others they are noisy, distracting and overwhelming.

Employees increasingly want spaces that are tailored to their needs, so they can do their best work. That expectation is only growing as Gen Z takes its place in the workforce.

More than half of Gen Z self-identifies as neurodivergent. And by 2040, about 40% of the total workforce will be made up of people whose brains function, learn and process information differently. Employers are feeling this shift.

In my work at Mobility Mojo, I spend a lot of time talking to large organisations about accessibility. In the past few years, neurodivergence has come up again and again.

Leaders are thinking more seriously about how to support neurodivergent employees. They want to attract and retain diverse talent. They want their staff to succeed. And they know that inclusive teams have better ideas, stronger performance and more engagement.

Yet there’s still a gap. While awareness of neurodiversity needs has increased, the built environment has mostly lagged behind, even in relatively new buildings.

What we’re hearing from our customers

Our team at Mobility Mojo recently partnered with a company that had just built a new headquarters. It looked the part of a flagship office: modern, open, beautifully designed. But once people started using it every day, some issues became clear.

Hard floors, glass walls and open layouts worked well visually, but every sound echoed, making the building noisy and overstimulating.

The facilities team started to think about how to dull the sound, how to create alternative, quiet areas, and how to use furniture and dividers to provide people with more options.

Similarly, when we partnered with HubSpot, the team shared that around 20% of the company’s workforce identifies as neurodivergent, alongside a significant percentage with physical disabilities. That insight informed a broader Belonging Strategy — ensuring their spaces and culture support people to do their best work. Increasingly, this is how leading companies are thinking.

Practical solutions

Many organisations want to create more neuroinclusive workplaces, but they don’t know where to start. That’s where having some structure can make a real difference.

At Mobility Mojo, we work with organisations to assess accessibility and inclusion in a practical, measurable way — across mobility, vision, hearing, neurodiversity and more — so they can understand how their spaces actually work for people.

In recent years, we have deepened our capabilities around neurodivergence. We have worked closely with our customers and leading neuroinclusion advocates to ensure we’re capturing the factors that really matter day to day.

Our assessments look at practical, real-world considerations such as:

• Access to quieter spaces.
• Areas to step away and reset.
• Reducing unnecessary noise.
• Giving people more control over lighting.
  

Small ways to make everyday experiences less overwhelming, like enabling staff to pre-order food in an office canteen and avoid busy queues.

Individually, these might seem like small details. But together, they shape how a workplace feels and whether people can use it comfortably and confidently.

The most effective workplaces don’t try to create one perfect environment. They give people options — different spaces, different levels of noise, different ways to work — and let people choose what works best for them.

For example, a workspace might include a focus zone where no calls are allowed, a collaboration zone where talking is encouraged, a social zone to connect with others and a retreat area to reset.

Accessibility benefits everyone

We consistently see that when organisations make changes to support one group, everyone actually benefits. Most people, regardless of how their brains work, appreciate having more flexibility and control over their work environment.

The “everyone benefits” phenomenon is true when it comes to physical disabilities too — ask any delivery driver who has appreciated a ramp, any parent with a buggy who has appreciated a dropped kerb, or anyone who likes to watch TV with the subtitles on.

Turning insights into action

Around the world, corporate leaders are realising that neuroinclusion is an important part of their accessibility strategy. The organisations that take action now will create environments that attract better talent, support performance and build a genuine sense of belonging.

Ready to get started? Book a personalised demo with our team today.