19% of neurodivergent employees have reached the point where they’re weighing up whether to stay or leave their job. Most managers won’t know until the resignation letter lands.
That figure comes from CIPD’s Neuroinclusion at Work research and it is the one HR and DEI leaders tend to underestimate the most.
Not because people are dramatic about leaving but because by the time someone has decided to go, the decision rarely feels sudden to them. It follows months, sometimes years, of a mismatch between what they need to do their best work and what the organisation was actually set up to give them.
The same research found that 33% say the experience has had a negative impact on their mental wellbeing, and only 37% say their organisation has provided them with meaningful support.
Replacing an employee costs UK businesses an average of over £30k once recruitment, onboarding and lost productivity are added up. That figure does not include the institutional knowledge that leaves with them or the message it sends to everyone else who is quietly managing something similar without saying so.
Retention here rarely needs a large budget. It needs managers who know how to have the conversation, adjustments that are genuinely accessible rather than technically available and a culture where disclosing does not feel risky.
If your organisation is looking at this properly, I would love to talk it through, to discuss how I can support you and your organisation to retain employees who can do extraordinary things in the right environment.
Send me a message or book a call https://docs.leadwithadhd.com/widget/booking/kFhd2ShMsCDu7sqJYTcA
Fewer than half of UK employers say their managers feel confident supporting neurodivergent staff. That gap is where talent walks out the door.
