Workplace Culture

Workplace culture is potentially one of the biggest factors that will influence whether or not a neuro-diverse individual is going to be successful in an organisation or not. Yet it is one of the hardest things to both quantify and change.

Culture is developed as much by the unwritten code of “what works here” as the policies and rules that guide behaviour. So, the first stop is to analyse the current culture*, and subcultures, that you have. This entails observing:

• actual norms of behaviour (which may well differ from the organisation’s desired behaviours)
• the organisation’s staff rules and policies
• organisational structure, where staff are located, the physical environment, how work is delegated and management style
• the heroes, heroines, anti-heroes or heroines and stories that embody what is valued
• the aims and ethos of the organisation

* with thanks to E. Schein for concepts of culture.