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They say today HR priorities have become CEO priorities, and I saw this first hand as my boss at the time, the CEO of a tech company in London in the early 2010s, tasked me with creative ways of addressing the company’s talent challenges and building what he called a...
Everybody is different, and everybody has their own sense of identity. Here, neurodiversity advocate Sarah Duggan shares her own journey - and the importance of respecting individual preferences! “Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.” – Toni Morrison I...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE Until recently, neurodiversity was largely ignored by organizations, or at best seen as a niche area of DEI. In fact, "neuroinclusion" or the appreciation of neurodiversity at work is valuable and needed everywhere Today, smart organizations...
We tend to think in terms of supporting neurodivergent folks at work, and parents of neurodivergent folks too, but not - neurodivergent parents! If you want to be neuroinclusive, this is important. Here, Uptimize SME (and mom to a 2 year old!) Laura Wallis shares some...
I was so thrilled in April to bring my book, A Hidden Force, to the world. The book – 3 years in the making – was the result of substantial research (both by Uptimize and by me personally) and reflects my and Uptimize’s experiences working with organizations to...
To celebrate Autism Awareness Month 2023, we are proud to release a special collaborative video made with our partners at IBM. IBM has an extraordinary history of disability inclusion, and we are proud to partner with the company to continue to build on that legacy....
(this article first appeared in Authority Magazine, and features an interview with Uptimize founder Ed Thompson) As part of our series about ‘5 Steps We Must Take To Truly Create An Inclusive, Representative, and Equitable Society’ I had the pleasure to interview Ed...
Around three years ago, it was the beginning of the COVID epidemic, and – for many – the beginning of the first lockdown. It was on a walk with my wife in Denver during that strange time when I said to her that perhaps, with the world apparently on pause, this might...
What is known as the “diversity business case” was solidified stridently and impactfully in a number of research reports in the 2010s. Consulting giant McKinsey, for example, reported in 2015 that companies with more ethnically diverse leadership were 35% more likely...
Early in our journey at Uptimize, we ran a series of interviews with folks in Corporate America, including managers. We asked these managers if they knew what the word “neurodiversity” meant. Over 60% did not (this was 2018), with one commenting “I had never even...
Until recently, corporate Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) efforts have typically ignored neurodiversity and neuroinclusion. Such efforts have a long history. Many of the earliest initiatives here were sparked by the social justice movements – and civil rights...
“What’s a question I should have asked you, but didn’t?” That’s something a mentor of mine consistently asks folks at the end of every conversation. Here I want to talk about a question nobody typically asks us at Uptimize when it comes to neuroinclusion – but it’s...
For the first time in history we have five generations of workers in the workplace. That’s right, five generations. And each of these generations, from “Traditionalists” to “Gen Z”, have a variety of values and relationships towards organizations, authority, and work...
Everyone has a part to play in fostering diversity and inclusion. Modern businesses can’t function optimally without the unique perspectives and experiences that diversity and inclusion can provide. Diversity and inclusion is a hot topic in today’s world, especially...
There has ALWAYS been a need for increased dialogue and awareness around mental health as well as solutions for better supporting employees in their mental wellness. However, now more than ever, the issue of mental health is the elephant in the room that cannot be...
In 2020, everything the American workforce knew to be “normal” was completely turned on its head. The majority of the U.S. workforce was sent home to work remotely (for positions that were remote-capable), in-person meetings were replaced with Zoom calls, and teams...
Even a decade ago, people knew very little about neurodiversity. Many felt, and still feel, apprehensive to disclose neuroidentities such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. While the neurodistinct community still faces bias and misconception, the rise of “neuroinclusion”...
People experience and perceive the world in a variety of ways. Neurodiversity is the natural variation of human information processing - there is no single correct way of thinking, learning, or acting and these distinctions are not and should not be regarded as...
There’s a lot to admire about ADHD: the creativity, the empathy, the persistence, and the unique abilities it offers many individuals. For those reasons, people with ADHD can be an asset to any company. Creating a functional workspace with diverse talents and needs...
Uptimize is the leading corporate training company uniquely focused on neurodiversity at work. We have always had a unique perspective on this emergent field, through working with organizations around the world on their own neuroinclusion journeys, as well as through...
With the holiday season quickly approaching, employers across the country are beginning to prepare for their annual end-of-year soiree. Traditionally, these events have failed to recognize all beliefs, leaving certain workers feeling excluded and unhappy. HR...
Despite increased awareness surrounding neurodiversity in the workplace, success stories of thriving neurodistinct professionals are rarely highlighted. These individuals are not only valuable assets to their operational teams, but are often driving forces towards the...
When any business is discussed, many of us consider the consumer-facing elements of its brand. Distinct visual design, brand messaging, and the overall customer experience all play a pivotal role in creating trust between a company and its target audience. However,...
The topic of diversity and inclusion has remained a popular topic of discussion over the past few years. In recent months, employees have been empowered to voice their opinions on the lack of diversity at many companies across the country. Firms implementing...
There isn’t anything new about neurodiversity - neurodiversity simply means that it is a scientific fact that there is a natural diversity of the human brain. However, societal familiarity with neurodiversity has historically been low. Over the past few years, the...
Many companies in the STEM sector (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) struggle to find qualified candidates because they are overlooking people who think differently. However, some companies have realized this and are taking steps to solve this problem. When...
Neurodiversity, of course, refers to the human reality of the infinite variation of human brains. There is no one “normal” brain, and as such humans (and consequently, any organization or team) are naturally neurodiverse. Yet the term has also become shorthand, over...
Recently, terms like diversity and gender equality have been buzzwords within corporate America, and many employers have gone through great lengths to ensure that they have more racially, culturally, and gender diverse workforces, as well as policies that are more...
Employee engagement is about your employee's sense of purpose and how effectively they fit-in at work. At first glance, this may sound like a minor detail to focus on, but taking it seriously is good for business. According to Harvard Business Review Analytic...
If there seems to be a lot of hype these days about creating the perfect workplace for Millennials, it’s for good reason. According to Pew Research Center, Millennials (those born between the years of 1981 and 1996) are the largest generation in the U.S. labor force,...
The Importance of Talent Management Talent management is a continuous process that involves the following five steps: Talent Planning Talent Attraction Talent Development Talent Retention Talent Transition Connected talent management is a systematic way of handling...
A couple of years ago, remote workers were few and far between. However, COVID-19 drastically changed that, with nearly half the U.S. labor force working home in the early days of the pandemic, according to government data cited by The New York Times. In fact, even...
Common Misconceptions about Neurodiversity at Work The neurodistinct community is large; estimates vary anywhere from 1 in 20 people to as many as 1 in 5. With those figures in mind, you most likely already work with neurodivergent talent in your company. What we...
There is still a chronic lack of awareness of neurodiversity in society as a whole, and as a result in many workplaces. Forms of neurodistinctiveness remain poorly understood, generalized and stereotyped – for example, that all autistic people are male, or that...
Diversity of talent allows for a broader set of perspectives to come together in any creative work, leading to more effective problem solving and decision-making. Even being exposed to diversity can change the way an individual person thinks. It’s not surprising to see more diverse teams consistently outperform less diverse teams in terms of innovation and financial performance in recent studies such as these by HBR and the Credit Suisse Research Institute.
6 Business Icons Who Credit their Success to Neurodivergence Some of the most famous and successful entrepreneurs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have been individuals who consider themselves within one or more neuroidentity group. It’s striking to see how...