Dear Reader, ​ This week brought the usual headlines about “Blue Monday” – a term invented by a travel company, not by scientists or clinicians, and repeatedly debunked by mental health charities as a PR stunt rather than a real peak in depression. Something I had no idea about! ​ But the attention it gets does highlight something real: winter can be hard, and workplace mental health cannot be reduced to a single day on the calendar. ​ For neurodivergent employees, the challenge goes deeper than post‑holiday mood. It’s about returning to environments where noise, lighting, social demands and constant task‑switching fill the stress bucket faster than it can drain – and where organisations still underestimate how much the design of work itself drives chronic stress and burnout

---

What's the data telling us?

Around 15 to 20% of the population is neurodivergent. Across conditions like autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia, rates of anxiety and depression are substantially higher than in non-neurodivergent groups. Around two-thirds of autistic adults have at least one additional psychiatric diagnosis. Anxiety disorders and depressive disorders each affect roughly a quarter of autistic adults. For people with ADHD, rates of depression are around five times higher than in non-ADHD peers.

The causes are complex and multi-layered. But what organisations may misunderstand: environmental design is a major contributing factor that they have direct control over.

The same workspace that feels mildly stimulating to a neurotypical colleague can be chronically overloading for someone with high sensory responsivity or reduced tolerance for unpredictability. Contemporary workplaces layer continuous noise, visual clutter, social unpredictability and information overload onto employees - and for neurodivergent people, these inputs sit much closer to (or beyond) processing capacity.

Using the stress-bucket metaphor: for many neurodivergent employees, the bucket is smaller (less margin), the inflow pipes are more numerous (more stressors hit harder), and there are fewer built-in drains (less recovery time, less environmental control, less psychological safety).

What fills that bucket? Sensory load from constant noise, flickering lights, overlapping conversations and visual clutter. Executive-function load from ambiguous priorities, rapid task-switching, last-minute changes and heavy working-memory demands. Social and communication load from unclear expectations, implied rules and the exhausting cognitive cost of masking.

And sitting underneath all of that: threat, stigma and uncertainty. Fear of disclosure. Past experiences of not being believed or supported. Job insecurity. Performance systems that do not account for different processing styles. Repeated micro-invalidations around adjustments.

While neurodivergent mental health challenges have multiple causes, workplace design can be a significant contributing factor. And critically, it is one organisation that can actually change. No individual employee can compensate for systemic design problems when the bucket fills faster than it empties.

---

​

---

What does it look like?

Imagine starting every day already at 60% capacity before you have done any actual work.

The commute was sensorily exhausting - too much noise, too many people, fluorescent lighting on the train. You arrive at the office, and the open-plan layout means you spend the first hour trying to filter out background conversations while also appearing engaged and friendly. Your brain is already working harder than your neurotypical colleagues just to exist in the space.

A meeting gets moved last minute. No big deal for others - your brain spends 20 minutes trying to re-plan the day, figure out the new priorities, and regulate the anxiety spike that comes with unexpected change.

Someone gives you feedback that "you need to be more proactive". You do not know what that means in practice. You want to ask for examples, but worry it will sound defensive. You spend the afternoon second-guessing decisions, trying to decode what proactive looks like, and wondering if you are doing it wrong.

By 3pm you are running on fumes. You still have three hours of work ahead. You know if you take a break to regulate, people will notice. So you push through, mask harder, and arrive home so depleted you cannot do anything except sit in silence for two hours before you can face another human interaction.

That is not fragility. That is what happens when an environment consistently demands more than your nervous system can provide. And while environmental factors are not the only contributors to neurodivergent mental health challenges, they are significant ones - and ones organisations have direct power to change.

And this pattern repeats every single day.

---

One change, immediate action

So what can you actually do about this?

The fastest way to reduce mental health strain for neurodivergent employees is to strip out unnecessary cognitive load from everyday work: fewer context‑switches, clearer instructions, and more predictable routines.

One immediate lever is flexible working. For many neurodivergent people, home or hybrid working is not a lifestyle perk but a reasonable adjustment that removes some of the biggest environmental stressors before work has even started: the commute, crowded transport, unpredictable noise, fluorescent lighting, constant social interaction and the pressure to be visibly “on” all day.

If your organisation is increasing office attendance, build in genuine flexibility around how neurodivergent employees manage that transition: phased days in, adjusted hours to avoid peak‑time travel, quieter zones, or agreed “remote days” for deep‑focus work. Not as special treatment, but as a reasonable adjustment that recognises the mental‑health impact of the environment.

One of the biggest changes for me personally, now that I work for myself, is that I no longer go into the office; I work from home permanently. The difference physically is immense. I get less headaches, I feel more relaxed. I get just as much done. I appreciate that this is not possible for everyone, but it really has made me less stressed and happier.

Beyond flexible working, start small and concrete: pick one regular work routine—team meetings, project updates, performance check‑ins—and redesign it to reduce ambiguity, sensory demand and social performance requirements. Share agendas in advance, make cameras optional, offer written follow‑ups and allow brief breaks; small shifts like these lower the stress bucket for neurodivergent colleagues and, in practice, make work more sustainable for everyone.

---

And finally, a question for you?

What is one work process in your team that currently relies on unwritten rules, ambiguous expectations or social performance - and how could you redesign it to reduce cognitive load?

See you next week.

Tania

---

FIVE ways you can work with me: ​ Neuro-inclusive Recruitment Audit: Understand what practical steps you can take to ensure your recruitment process is inclusive for all. Training: From line managers to leaders, global HR teams to recruitment, awareness sessions to champion training. Consultancy: Policy writing, process redesign, reviewing neurodiversity materials, data, ERG launches - anything neurodiversity at work related! Coaching: One-to-one coaching to help support an individual navigate the world of work as someone who is neurodivergent Speaking: From a fireside chat to a keynote, podcast guest to panellist ​ Reply to this email to find out more!