In recent years, we have seen a growing civil rights movement focused on change in the workplace and in terms of office design, revolving around differences in brain function. Advocates for neurodiversity say that it’s just as critical to business success as gender or racial diversity in the labour force.

The workplace has become significantly more accessible and diverse in recent years, recognising that one size does not fit all. There have been many discussions about accommodating both introverts and extroverts, supporting the needs of different generations and encouraging people to thrive in different situations.

It is important to think about how the workplace can be better supportive of the widest group of contributors

The word ´neurodiversity´ is often used to describe variations in the human brain regarding sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions – a workplace in which all participants can contribute to the best of their ability will inevitably be the most productive. Given that we are starting to place value on diverse approaches in the workplace it is also important to think about how the workplace can be better supportive of the widest group of contributors.

To get an insight into how office design may better support our differing behaviours, let’s look at an everyday event to understand how people may react in dissimilar ways, which can be translated into a workplace environment.

Imagine a street performer, perhaps a juggler, street magician or comedian – inevitably, these performers will set up their pitch in a place that is visible to passers-by. Their aim is to disrupt pedestrian flow, create impact, draw a crowd and hopefully earn some money.

Now imagine the passers-by. We know from experience that passers-by react in a variety of different ways to an event such as this. If you observe the public in the vicinity of a street performer you will rather quickly gain an insight into a large range of human behaviour.

The Engagers

Inevitably the gathering crowd will initially be composed of people who want to hear and see what’s happening. These people will be unafraid of standing in the front row, of reacting to the jokes and sharing in the fun. They´ll be there for the experience and interested in how the experience may play out. Some may be exhibitionists desperate to get involved when a volunteer is asked for.