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Neurodiversity in the workplace isn’t an accommodation issue.

It’s a design issue.

Paula Brockwell returns to The Elephant in the Org — following her Season 1 appearance, which remains one of our most downloaded episodes — to go deeper into the structural realities of neurodiversity at work.

In this conversation, we move beyond awareness and compliance to examine workplace architecture itself.

If your neurodivergent employees are masking, burning out, or underperforming, the issue is rarely capability.

It’s rigid processes.
It’s behavioural conformity.
It’s systems optimised for predictability instead of outcomes.

We explore:

• Why “reasonable adjustments” are tolerance — not enablement
• How workplace systems unintentionally create disability
• The cost of masking for neurodivergent employees
• Why outcome-based management improves psychological safety
• How inclusive workplace design drives retention and performance

This episode is a practical, systems-level conversation about neurodiversity in the workplace, inclusive leadership, psychological safety, and employee experience.

If you lead teams or design organisational systems, this conversation will stretch you.

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About Paula Brockwell

Paula Brockwell is an organisational psychologist and founder of The Employee Experience Project, where she helps organisations redesign work to support neurodiversity, psychological safety, and high performance.

Connect with Paula:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulabrockwell/

The Employee Experience Project: https://theexproject.com

If you missed her original appearance in Season 1 (one of our most downloaded episodes), it’s worth revisiting after this conversation.

📩 Got a hot take or a workplace horror story? Email us at [email protected]

🚀 Your Hosts on LinkedIn

• 🐘 Marion Anderson — https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionandersonpx
  
  
• 🐘 Danny Gluch — https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgluch
  
  
• 🐘 Cacha Dora — https://www.linkedin.com/in/cachadora
  
  

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🎙️ About the Show
The Elephant in the Org drops new episodes every two weeks starting April 2024 — fearless conversations about leadership, psychological safety, and the future of work.

🎵 Music & Production Credits
🎶 Opening and closing theme music by The Toros
🎙️ Produced by The Fearless PX
✂️ Edited by Marion Anderson

⚠️ Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests, and do not necessarily reflect any affiliated organizations' official policy or position.

Topics: employee surveys, listening culture, trust, people analytics, psychological safety, em...