Neurodivergent at Work: How Hiring Is Changing, and What It Means for You

“This is not a diversity initiative.”

That line comes from a job posting for Palantir’s Neurodivergent Fellowship, launched in December 2025. The posting goes further: it says neurodivergent people have a competitive edge, names traits like pattern recognition and hyperfocus, and states plainly that no formal diagnosis or disclosure is required to apply.

Ten years ago, most neurodivergent people were advised to hide their differences at work. Now some employers are recruiting for them on purpose. That’s a real shift. But the numbers show it hasn’t reached most workplaces yet.

Here’s where things actually stand, who is hiring, and how to handle the practical questions: whether to tell your employer, what adjustments you can ask for, and how to spot a workplace that will work with your brain instead of against it.

If you’re still working out how your own brain works, our free neurodivergence quiz is a quick, private place to start.

The short version

• More employers are actively recruiting neurodivergent people, especially in tech, finance, consulting and security.
• Most neurodivergent workers still don’t feel safe being open. Surveys suggest roughly half to two-thirds haven’t told their employer.
• The employment gap is still large. In the UK, only about 3 in 10 working-age autistic disabled people have a job.
• You have legal rights to adjustments in the US and UK, and most adjustments cost employers little or nothing.

Neurodivergence at work: the numbers

Statistic	Figure	Source
Working-age autistic disabled people in employment (UK)	About 3 in 10, vs about 5 in 10 for all disabled people and 8 in 10 for non-disabled people	Buckland Review of Autism Employment, 2024
Neurodivergent employees who have faced harassment or discrimination at work because of it	1 in 5	CIPD, 2024
Neurodivergent employees who say their organisation is open and supportive about neurodiversity	52%	CIPD, 2024
Neurodivergent workers who haven’t told their employer	48% (Ireland) to 67% (UK legal services firms)	Bank of Ireland / Red C, 2024; ICAEW, 2025
Effect of childhood ADHD on adult employment and earnings (US)	10 to 14 percentage points lower employment, about 33% lower earnings	Fletcher, Health Economics, 2014
Workplace adjustments that cost the employer nothing	49.4% (median one-time cost for the rest: $300)	Job Accommodation Network, 2019 to 2022 data

Two things stand out. First, the gap between “neurodivergent people can thrive at work” and “neurodivergent people are given the chance to” is still wide. Second, the fixes are usually cheap. Half of adjustments cost nothing at all.

A statistic to be careful with

You’ll often see the claim that “85% of autistic college graduates are unemployed.” It’s repeated everywhere, but nobody has traced it to an actual study, and researchers who’ve tried found it leads back to sources with very different numbers. The real picture is bad enough without it. The UK’s official figure of about 30% employment is the most solid number available. For more on neurodivergence data, see our neurodiversity statistics report.

Companies hiring neurodivergent people

Neurodiversity hiring programs have been around for over a decade. Most started with autistic candidates in tech roles, and many have since widened to ADHD, dyslexia and other profiles.

SAP (2013)

SAP launched its Autism at Work program in 2013 with the Danish nonprofit Specialisterne, aiming for autistic people to make up 1% of its workforce. It’s widely seen as the program that started the movement.

Microsoft (2015)

Microsoft’s Neurodiversity Hiring Program began as a pilot in 2015. Instead of a standard interview, candidates join a multi-day, cohort-based hiring event that focuses on showing what they can do rather than how they come across in small talk.

JPMorgan Chase (2015)

JPMorgan’s Autism at Work program started in 2015 with a small cohort of autistic employees in tech roles, and has since expanded into other teams and countries. It’s one of the founding members of the employer group mentioned below.

EY (2016)

EY opened its first Neurodiverse Center of Excellence in Philadelphia in 2016 with 15 roles. By 2021 it had about 150 employees across eight centres, working on areas like data analytics, automation and cybersecurity.

GCHQ (UK)

Britain’s intelligence and security agency has been open about valuing neurodivergent thinking. It has said its apprenticeship programs have around four times the national average of dyslexic people.

Palantir (2025)

Palantir announced its Neurodivergent Fellowship in December 2025, after a viral interview in which its CEO, Alex Karp, could barely sit still. The full-time roles are based in New York or Washington, D.C., pay $110,000 to $200,000, and don’t require a diagnosis. The company says fellows are held to the same standards as any other engineer.

The wider movement

In 2017, six of these employers (DXC Technology, EY, Ford, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft and SAP) founded the Neurodiversity @ Work Employer Roundtable. More than 40 other employers have since joined, including Google, Dell, IBM, Deloitte and Salesforce. In 2022 the group launched the Neurodiversity Career Connector, a job board specifically for neurodivergent candidates.

There are also companies built around neurodivergent staff from the ground up, such as Auticon, which employs autistic adults as technology consultants.

What neuroinclusive hiring actually changes

The best programs don’t just “welcome” neurodivergent people. They change the parts of the process that screen them out. Common changes include:

• Work trials instead of interviews. Showing you can do the job, rather than performing well in a 45-minute conversation.
• Questions shared in advance. So processing speed and anxiety don’t decide the outcome.
• Clear, literal job descriptions. No vague “must be a rockstar” lists that make people rule themselves out.
• No diagnosis required. This matters more than it sounds. Adult assessment waiting lists can run for years, and many people are self-identified or still waiting.
• Support after hiring. Trained managers, mentors or job coaches, and adjustments in place from day one.

The “superpower” framing: true, but not the whole story

Many neurodivergent people do bring real strengths to work: deep focus, pattern spotting, creative problem-solving, honesty, energy in a crisis. The Harvard Business Review has reported productivity and quality gains at companies that recruit neurodivergent talent.

But be wary of framing that only celebrates the useful bits. The same brain that hyperfocuses can also struggle with open-plan noise, vague instructions or back-to-back meetings. A good employer supports both sides. A “superpower” pitch with no adjustments is just a higher bar with better branding.

It’s also worth keeping scale in mind. These programs have hired hundreds, sometimes low thousands, of people. That’s meaningful, but small next to the millions of neurodivergent adults in work or looking for it.

Should you tell your employer?

There’s no right answer, and you don’t have to decide once and forever. Many people disclose gradually, or only to one trusted manager.

Reasons people disclose:

• to get formal adjustments and the legal protection that comes with them
• to stop masking all day, which is a common route to autistic and ADHD burnout
• because the workplace seems genuinely supportive

Reasons people hold back:

• fear of being seen as less capable, or passed over for promotion
• past bad experiences
• not having a formal diagnosis yet

A middle path: you can often ask for what you need without naming a diagnosis. “I do my best work with written instructions” or “I focus better with headphones in” is a reasonable request on its own. If you later need formal adjustments, you can share more then.

Your rights and the adjustments you can ask for

In the US, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers with 15 or more staff to provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities, which can include ADHD, autism and learning disabilities when they substantially limit daily activities. The Job Accommodation Network has free, condition-specific ideas.

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 requires employers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers, which often includes neurodivergent people. The government’s Access to Work scheme can also pay for support such as coaching or equipment.

Adjustments that commonly help:

• For focus and attention: noise-cancelling headphones, a quieter desk, fewer interruptions, written task lists, regular check-ins
• For sensory needs: control over lighting, permission to wear comfortable clothing, remote or hybrid days
• For communication: agendas before meetings, written follow-ups, direct and literal feedback
• For time and organisation: flexible hours, extended deadlines where possible, help breaking big projects into steps
• For reading and writing: text-to-speech, speech-to-text, extra time for written tasks

How to spot a neuroinclusive employer

Look for signs that go beyond a statement on the careers page:

• They offer adjustments for the interview itself, without making you justify it.
• Interview questions or tasks are shared in advance.
• Job ads separate essential skills from nice-to-haves.
• They have an employee network for neurodivergent or disabled staff.
• Current employees talk about flexible working as normal, not as a favour.

It’s fair to ask about any of this in an interview. How they respond tells you a lot.

Don’t have a diagnosis? You can still start here

Many of these programs explicitly welcome people without a formal diagnosis, and you don’t need one to ask for practical changes at work. What helps most is understanding your own patterns: where you struggle, where you shine, and what conditions bring out your best work.

Our free neurodivergence quiz screens for traits across ADHD, autism, dyslexia and 13 other conditions. It isn’t a diagnosis, but it can give you clearer language for what you need. Our guide on what to do after a neurodivergence quiz covers the next steps, including getting assessed.

If work stress or masking is wearing you down, talking to a therapist who understands neurodivergence can help you plan what to share and what to ask for. BetterHelp matches you with a licensed therapist online. (That’s an affiliate link, so we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.)

FAQ

Which companies hire neurodivergent people?

Companies with dedicated programs include SAP, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, EY, Dell, Google, IBM and Palantir, among more than 40 members of the Neurodiversity @ Work Employer Roundtable. In the UK, GCHQ actively recruits neurodivergent people.

Do I need a diagnosis to apply for a neurodiversity hiring program?

Not always. Some programs, including Palantir’s fellowship, say no diagnosis or disclosure is required. Others ask for one, so check each listing.

Do I have to tell my employer I’m neurodivergent?

No. Disclosure is your choice. But to get formal adjustments and their legal protection, your employer usually needs to know you have a condition that affects your work.

Is ADHD or autism a disability at work?

It can be. In the US and UK, ADHD, autism and similar conditions often count as disabilities when they have a substantial, long-term effect on daily life, which gives you a right to reasonable adjustments.

What are good jobs for neurodivergent people?

There’s no single list. The best fit depends on your strengths, interests and sensory needs. The environment often matters as much as the job itself: clear expectations, flexibility and a supportive manager can make almost any role more workable.

Bottom line

Neurodivergent people are being recruited on purpose by some of the world’s biggest employers, and that’s a genuine change. But most workplaces haven’t caught up. Most neurodivergent workers still keep quiet, and employment gaps remain large.

You don’t have to wait for your employer to catch up. Knowing how your brain works, what you need, and what you’re entitled to puts you in a much stronger position. Start with our free neurodivergence quiz, then use what you learn to shape a working life that fits.