Research carried out for chef and restaurateur Heston Blumenthal OBE covering 100 FTSE 350 companies has revealed 82% of respondents would like to see more senior high profile business leaders who are neurodiverse talk openly and positively about how it has helped them.
64% of FTSE 350 Board Directors and HR Professionals say that fear of stigma is preventing neurodiverse business leaders from talking openly about their diagnoses.
The entrepreneur whose restaurants include the world-famous Three Michelin Star Fat Duck recently announced his own diagnoses of bi-polar and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and wants to raise awareness of the importance in including those with mental illness and neurodiverse individuals in the workplace.
Eighty-four percent of respondents say that it is either extremely or quite important that the company they work for is more neuroinclusive both for the workforce in general and for senior management specifically.
When asked what percentage of their own senior management team are neurodiverse 21% of respondents think less than 5%; 31% say between 5% and 10%; over a quarter (26%) say between 10% and 15%; 7% say between 20% and 25%; while 4% think between 25% and 30% of senior management are neurodiverse.
Heston Blumenthal OBE said: “Being open about neurodiversity is crucial in ending stigma. I have found that being open about my bi-polar and ADHD not only helps me but has been useful in supporting my colleagues and staff with their own diagnoses. Senior management have an opportunity to demonstrate that being neurodiverse is not by any means a hinderance and in fact can open doors to successful, long-term careers.”
