Why Workplace 'Accommodations' Are Archaic

Plus a 15-page Guide on Alternative, Inclusive Workplace Design Practices

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Let’s be honest: the whole concept of “accommodations” in the workplace? It’s long overdue for a rethink.

The word itself is heavy. Bureaucratic. It comes wrapped in red tape and wrapped in stigma. It implies that the standard way of working is fine—and that anyone who needs something different is asking for a favor. A workaround. An exception. ‘Other.’

But what if the standard is the problem?

What if the default way we’ve built work—back-to-back meetings, rigid 9-to-5s, sensory-overloading office environments, communication that relies more on vibes than clarity—isn’t working for anyone, and neurodivergent folks are just the ones who say it out loud first?

Here’s the truth a lot of organizations are still catching up to:
Neurodivergent employees aren’t fragile. They’re just early indicators of dysfunction.

We’re the canaries in the coal mine. If something’s confusing, overwhelming, or inefficient, we feel it in our bodies before anyone else. We notice the friction. We point it out. And too often, we get labeled as “difficult” or “high maintenance” for doing so.

But what we’re actually doing is highlighting problems that affect everyone—and suggesting solutions that could benefit everyone.

Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

Let’s take a couple examples that are often framed as “accommodations”:

• Remote or flexible work.
  For a neurodivergent person dealing with sensory overwhelm, executive dysfunction, or anxiety, being able to work from home is often a game-changer. But guess what? So many people—parents, caregivers, introverts, even extroverts—found that flexibility helped them focus, decompress, and do better work. It’s not special treatment. It’s just a better system.

• Clear meeting agendas.
  For someone with ADHD or processing differences, walking into an unstructured meeting is disorienting and stressful. But honestly—who likes walking into a meeting not knowing what it's about? Providing an agenda ahead of time helps everyone prepare, stay on track, and actually get things done.

These aren’t just “nice” things to offer. They’re smart.
They’re inclusive.
They’re effective.

But instead of building them into how we work by default, we treat them like favors handed out to people who prove they “really need” them. That whole framework—where people have to request special permission to not burn out or shut down—is broken.

It’s not that neurodivergent folks are asking for too much.
It’s that we’ve normalized too little.

When we shift away from the outdated idea of accommodations and move toward inclusive design, the results speak for themselves. People feel safer. Productivity improves. Retention goes up. The culture softens in all the right ways.

So what does that look like in practice?

That’s exactly what I unpack in my 15-page Guide to Making Your Organization Neuroinclusive, downloadable below.

[This download is MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE than hiring a consultant or defending a lawsuit:)]