Neurodiversity Research

Haworth’s global neurodiversity research confirms a powerful truth: people experience the workplace in profoundly different ways. By designing environments, policies, and cultures that support this full spectrum of human needs, organisations can reduce stress, strengthen belonging, and unlock better performance for everyone.​

Research Insights​

​Neurodivergent employees face distinct sensory and stress‑related challenges at work, showing why environments, choice, tools, and inclusive policies all matter.​

Our global survey highlights key essentials: ​
- Sensory impacts differ for Neurodivergent and Neurotypical people​
- Individuals need variety and choice​
- Supportive spaces reduce stress​
- Policies, culture, and environment must work together

Read more in our White Paper: "Neurodiversity: Comparing Sensory Needs in the Workplace".

Download the White Paper​

Idea Starters

Inclusion isn’t achieved through a single solution, but through a flexible ecosystem of spaces - focus, low‑stimulation, collaborative, and restorative - that supports diverse needs across all types of environments.​

​Explore how your workplace can adapt to people​.

Idea Starters

Focus

Spaces for focus empower choice with quiet rooms, tactile palettes, adjustable lighting, and seamless booking. Layered colour, privacy, and acoustic design help every employee find clarity, comfort, and calm in their daily work while supporting well-being.

Provide enclosed touchdown spaces or focus rooms and make them effortless to locate and book to reduce stress.​

Idea Starters

Community

Community hubs unite active and quiet zones to support varied workstyles. Warm light, biophilia, clear lines of sight, and soft transitions shape intuitive environments that nurture presence, comfort, and holistic well-being while enhancing inclusive experience.

Idea Starters

Enclosed Collaboration

Enclosed meeting spaces elevate collaboration through tuned acoustics, adaptive seating, and sensory-aware cues. Soft finishes, drapery, and multimodal tools foster teamwork that calms, engages, and adapts to group needs while supporting productive communication.

Idea Starters

Library Lounge

Set apart from the hub, the Library provides visual and acoustic respite. Darker tones, low ceilings, layered lighting, and flexible settings create a cocooned environment that restores the senses and supports deep, focused work while encouraging mindful presence.

Idea Starters

Restorative

Restore spaces offer tranquil retreats for recalibration, shaped by colours, textures, and art. User-controlled lighting, layered privacy, and sensory-supportive furniture help employees reset, reconnect, and regain balance while encouraging calm and grounded awareness.

Idea Starters

Acoustic Booths

Acoustic booths offer quiet refuge from noise and visual distractions. Softened sight lines, plant screens, and built-in controls for lighting and ventilation create personalised, calming environments that support concentrated work and enhance a sense of autonomy.

Idea Starters

Design Guide

Create an environment where all minds thrive. Our guide includes design trends, workplace research, and space solutions that empower neurodiverse people to work their best.

Download Design Guide

Provide enclosed touchdown spaces or focus rooms and make them effortless to locate and book to reduce stress.​

Workshops: From insights to action

Designing Neuro-Inclusive Work Activities

In this hands-on session you'll be working within groups to design a neuro-inclusive workspace and culture, considering certain challenges and strengths of individuals. Discover how diverse thinking can spark creativity, boost inclusion, and drive tangible workplace improvements.

Best suited for: Architects and Designers, Workplace Strategists, Workplace and Facilities teams, People, Place and Culture Specialists.

Designing Neuro-Inclusive Work Activities

Interactive Sensory Experience

Interactive Sensory Experience 

Understand our neurodiversity research through a self‑guided sensory tour. Move through our showroom spaces and encounter specific stimuli across senses. This experience focuses your attention on your own reactions and experiences to reveal the sensory implications of our findings.

Best suited for: Workplace and Facilities teams, Corporate Real Estate Specialists, Architects and Designers.

From the Blog

Explore insights that go deeper. Short, digestible articles to help you understand how neurodiversity shapes the future of work, and how to design inclusively. ​

What we talk about when we talk about neurodiversity

Discover how Haworth’s inclusive design approach leverages flexibility and agency to craft neurodivergent-friendly workspaces that help every employee thrive.

Learn More

Inclusive Workspace Design: Supporting Neurodivergence

Supporting neurodivergent employees enhances innovation. Learn how inclusive environments and sensory considerations improve well-being and productivity in the workplace.

Learn More

Designing Workspaces That Embrace Neurodiversity

Explore how inclusive workspace design supports neurodivergent employees by reducing stress, improving focus, and fostering a culture of equity and belonging.

Learn More

Designing for Diversity

Inclusive design enables spaces, products, and services to cater to the needs of individuals across various dimensions of diversity. In this article, Nishtha Bali of the Haworth Ideation Team shares her insights.

Learn More

5 ways to mitigate stress in the workplace

Discover 5 expert strategies to reduce workplace stress. Emphasising inclusive design, these design strategies include lighting, colour, privacy screens, and flexible furniture. With Haworth, you can craft spaces where everyone thrives.

Learn More

Building a world where everyone belongs

Discover how MustardTek and Minki Chang are pioneering inclusive design to build a world where everyone belongs. Learn about their innovative approaches and the impact of creating spaces that cater to diverse needs, fostering a sense of belonging for all.

Learn More