When our "too ....(a long list)" may actually be helpful

This morning, I read an article which highlighted when our potentially long list of being "too ..." (you can insert whichever items are particular to yourself) can actually come into their own - by acting as an early-warning system which could benefit companies and organisations ...if they were to check-in with the neurodivergent people in their teams!

We can notice things sooner than some non-neurodivergent people, we can be more likely to "tell it like it is" without quite the same concern about hierarchy.  However, people will probably need to actually ask us (as potentially tough past experiences in group settings may mean we are less enthusiastic to volunteer the information out of context).

The paragraph which particularly caught my attention was:

"The goal of healthy organisational culture is not harmony at all costs, it is the ability to surface reality early enough to self-correct."

https://ioneurodiversity.org/neurominority-minds-the-early-warning-detection-organisations-often-ignore/?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--PTTQeCbJmtGRcZgHCJikJydlUN0-46n1dx5LvNSFaUm01R52kP9HvpdpYcwsq4M4h8iv4vVhQMtPzObfRDxV4q48iFg&_hsmi=136094925&utm_content=136094925&utm_source=hs_email

I suspect; that where Autistic and other neurodivergent people have become uncomfortable about something in a workplace / organisation - there is a high chance that many other groups of people will soon become so too.

Have you seen this phenomenon in action?

  • Once I was told one reason why autistic people "survived" in evolution could be the high alertness and perception.

    When I started my prior work I couldn't believe that the training I was given (norms, rules and law in the work place) was violated constantly. However, when I reported these things, they were ignored or diluted.

    For example:

    1. Dont use or bring a toaster to the office (but people did),

    2. Respect data privacy (but the databases all had a 6 letter password),

    3. No alarm tests were performed ever, even though there were notices of time and day in the walls.

    I am not sure if this is what you refer to, but in my experience people strongly dislike pointing out inconsistencies, although I do think it could be a superpower in other cases.