Neurodiversity In The Workplace: People Like Us

Abstract

This research investigates how organisations can include neurodivergent individuals into their workforce, entailing how they should be led and how an organisation makes sure that the individuals are motivated. The research seeks to answer this following research question: “How can organisations successfully include neurodivergent employees in their workforce, and what strategies are important in leading and motivating these employees?”.

This research has been conducted with an inductive approach, utilising qualitative methods as a methodological choice. Primary data have been collected in the form of in-depth informal interviews with employees and leaders of the organisation People Like Us. Secondary data have been collected in the form of literature and pre-exiting knowledge in the fields of diversity, neurodiversity, inclusion, and motivation. The literature was critically reviewed and serves the foundation for the research.

The collected primary data went through a process of thematic coding and was thereafter sorted into 1st and 2nd order themes, displaying the final findings. The findings were then analysed through two highlighted motivational theories, namely Herzberg Two-factor Theory and the ERG theory. The research concludes on multiple strategies that are crucial in motivating neurodivergent employees, where leadership styles serve as most important. The researchers formulated specific leadership attributes and motivational elements that are significant in a successful integration of neurodivergent employees in a workforce.