What if the biggest untapped potential in your organisation isn’t a new technology or markets, but the neurodivergent employees already on your team? Research shows that neurodiverse teams can be 30% more productive than their neurotypical counterparts, with some achieving productivity gains as high as 48%. Beyond raw output, organisations report significant improvements in error reduction and innovative solutions.
The reason? Neurodivergent employees often bring exceptional strengths in concentration, pattern recognition, and creative problem-solving, abilities that translate directly into measurable business gains across diverse roles and industries.
Despite this competitive advantage, 43% of neurodivergent workers are planning to leave within a year due to workplace difficulties. For a business with 50 neurodivergent employees, that’s not just a retention crisis, it’s over £1 million in lost productivity, increased absence, and turnover walking out the door.
So, what’s holding businesses back?
We carried out research in August 2025 with 1,000 UK HR and People leaders to understand what’s preventing workplaces from becoming more neuroinclusive. The findings were encouraging: The barrier isn’t willingness, it’s confidence. 59% of leaders lack confidence and understanding of neurodivergence, and 51% simply don’t know how to provide effective support. In larger organisations (5,000+ employees), these numbers jump to 86% and 67% respectively. Add to this that 45% report insufficient budgets for reasonable adjustments, and it becomes clear why well-intentioned employers struggle to act. People want to help, they just need to know how.
The wellbeing effect: A business case that can’t be ignored
Research by Brain in Hand’s Helen Guyatt and Matthew Scott demonstrates what we call “The Wellbeing Effect”, where productivity, retention, and reduced sickness absence converge to create measurable business value. When neurodivergent employees receive proper support, organisations see a 45% productivity boost (equivalent to 102 days gained annually), 24% better retention, and 11 fewer days of long-term sickness absence per person. That translates to an average gain of £21,404 per neurodivergent employee each year.
From intention to action
Only 22% of neurodivergent employees feel comfortable disclosing their status to HR or management, and 35% feel overlooked for development opportunities. Their top struggles: social anxiety, self-care, and concentration, are all areas where targeted, practical (and often free) adjustments make an enormous difference.
And we know the challenge isn’t willingness, it’s knowing where to start, which is why we’ve partnered with Thrive Law and neurodiversity expert, Devon Lowndes, to create a comprehensive HR Toolkit, designed alongside neurodivergent people to take the guesswork out of these conversations. Whether you’re an HR leader or line manager having conversations with neurodivergent colleagues or anyone experiencing barriers at work, the toolkit gives you confidence to go in prepared. Use it when you’ve spotted someone might be struggling, or build it into your regular neuroinclusion conversations. Simply pick the questions from each section that feel relevant, capture notes, agree which adjustments you’ll trial, and set a time to review.
Ready to turn neuroinclusion into your strategic advantage? Download our HR Toolkit and start the conversation.
References
Axbey, H., Beckmann, N., Fletcher-Watson, S., Tullo, A. and Crompton, C.J. (2023) ‘Innovation through neurodiversity: Diversity is beneficial’, Autism, 27(7), pp. 2193–2198. doi: 10.1177/13623613231158685.
Brain in Hand (2025a) Neurodivergent Employees in the Workplace. Available at:
https://braininhand.co.uk/resources/neurodivergent-employees-in-the-workplace/
Brain in Hand (2025b) ‘Final Research Paper: How Brain in Hand Improves Wellbeing and Productivity for Autistic and ADHD Employees’. Available at:
Brain in Hand (2025c) Impact Report – Q2 – March 2025. Available at:
https://braininhand.co.uk/media/fnsda2kq/q2-2025-impact-report.pdf
Exceptional Individuals (2025) ‘Why Neurodiverse Teams Can be 30% More Productive’, Exceptional Individuals Blog, 28 July. Available at:
https://exceptionalindividuals.com/about-us/blog/why-neurodiverse-teams-can-be-30-more-productive/
Neurobridge (2025) ‘Why Neurodivergent Talent Is Walking Out the Door’, Neurobridge Blog, 22 September. Available at:
https://neurobridge.co.uk/blog/why-neurodivergent-talent-leaves/
Recruitmint (2025) ‘The Neurodiversity Advantage: Tapping into Overlooked Talent Pools’, Recruitmint, 17 August. Available at:
https://www.recruitmint.com/the-neurodiversity-advantage-tapping-into-overlooked-talent-pools
Autistica (2025) Neurodiversity Employers Index NDEI® Market Report. Available at:
https://www.autistica.org.uk/downloads/files/NDEI-Market-Report-FINAL.pdf
People Management (2025) ‘How embracing neurodiversity could help tackle the innovation gap’, People Management, 18 March. Available at:
Harvard Business Review (2017) ‘Neurodiversity Is a Competitive Advantage’, Harvard Business Review, 30 April. Available at:
https://hbr.org/2017/05/neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage
Irish Times (2025) ‘Research and practice back up theory: Neurodiverse teams perform better’, Irish Times, 10 October. Available at:
NHS Employers (2025) ‘Embracing neurodiversity in the workplace’, NHS Employers, 18 May. Available at:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/embracing-neurodiversity-workplace
