Exploring Neurodiversity’s Influence on Chronic Misfit

Elizabeth H. Follmer ()
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Elizabeth H. Follmer: University of Washington

A chapter in Employee Misfit, 2025, pp 143-170 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter examines the relationship between neurodiversity and chronic experiences of misfit at work, offering an original explanation of why some individuals remain misaligned with their environments over time. The author argues that neurodivergence often produces distinctive forms of both social and job misfit, arising from differences in communication, cognition, sensory processing, and workplace expectations shaped by neurotypical norms. These misfits can lead to recurring patterns of exclusion, underemployment, and burnout. The chapter explores how neurodivergent individuals cope with misfit through strategies such as masking, satisficing, and job crafting, while highlighting the psychological costs of concealment and the constraints of limited organisational support. It also identifies conditions under which disclosure, flexible work arrangements, and universal design principles can enhance fit. The author advances a framework of “neurodivergent misfit” that distinguishes temporary from chronic forms and links them to systemic biases in organisational design and selection practices. By reframing neurodiversity as a source of talent rather than deficit, the chapter provides a foundation for more inclusive approaches to person–environment fit. It concludes that understanding and addressing neurodivergent misfit is central to reducing inequality, improving organisational performance, and creating workplaces that accommodate diverse ways of thinking and being.

Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-96-8208-9_8

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DOI: 10.1007/978-981-96-8208-9_8

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