In recent years, there have been significant developments in making workplaces more inclusive and accessible for a diverse range of individuals. However, there is one area which is emerging as the next critical evolution in workplace strategy: neuroinclusive workplace design. Neurodivergent employees often bring unique strengths in areas like innovative problem-solving, meticulous attention to detail, and exceptional pattern recognition, but many workplaces are still failing to adequately accommodate these individuals.
Recent findings suggest that around 1 in 5 people in the UK are neurodivergent. This is a substantial talent pool who frequently face significant challenges in environments not designed to accommodate their sensory needs or cognitive processing styles. For example, many neurodivergent individuals experience heightened sensitivity to sound, making open-plan offices, fluctuating noise levels, and lack of sound privacy intensely distracting or even distressing. This directly impacts their ability to focus, leading to reduced productivity and motivation at work. Similarly, individual preferences for thermal comfort and airflow can vary widely, contributing to discomfort and inefficiency. Our research shows that CRE decision makers across EMEA feel less effective at addressing these specific neurodivergent needs compared to general accessibility requirements.
Designing more adaptable and flexible spaces can benefit not just these individuals, but all employees. JLL data reveals that these very sensory-related factors – particularly acoustics, sound privacy, and thermal comfort – represent the largest satisfaction gaps for employees, directly aligning with the environmental challenges often faced by neurodivergent individuals. Addressing sound privacy and acoustic comfort, therefore, offers tangible, high-impact, and cost-effective benefits for everyone, forming a crucial starting point for broader design considerations that impact well-being and concentration.
This also extends to thermal comfort, where individual preferences for temperature and airflow can vary widely, which necessitates the need for adaptable climate control solutions or micro-environments. Our research has also shown that employees tend to be more productive and satisfied when they have a variety of workspace types to choose from, depending on the type of task they are currently engaged in. This flexibility, achieved through thoughtful space design, holds the power to remove barriers, improve culture, and foster positive attitudes within an organisation, ultimately contributing to a more engaged, diverse, and innovative workforce.
Putting this into practice requires designing truly neuro-inclusive spaces through a multi-faceted approach, integrating aesthetic principles with a deep understanding of sensory and cognitive needs. To design a truly neuroinclusive space, multiple principles and elements must be considered. These include fundamental factors influencing our experience: Light, Form, Line, Colour, Texture, Mass, Space, and Patterns. Thoughtful application of each is key to creating environments that are both functional and nurturing for a diverse workforce, embedding psychological comfort and cognitive support into the building’s fabric.
Devil is in the detail
Delving into specific design elements, emphasis through features aids wayfinding, creating clear visual cues that reduce cognitive load and anxiety. ‘Rhythm’, with common elements like recurring motifs or consistent pathways, provides order and orientation, offering predictability. ‘Proportion’ ensures spaces feel balanced and human-scaled, preventing feelings of unease. Furthermore, ‘Balance’ creates visual equilibrium for stability, whether through symmetrical clarity or harmonious asymmetrical designs. Similarly, ‘Light’ is crucial; adjustable settings controlling brightness and colour temperature (e.g., cooler blue-white for concentration, warmer amber for relaxation) promote autonomy and reduce stress by mimicking natural rhythms. ‘Colour’ influences mood and performance; specific hues like calming blue (aiding analytical thinking) or stimulating yellow (encouraging positive thought) must be used strategically, avoiding overly saturated schemes.
Green’s natural calming effect, orange’s mental stimulation, pink/lavender’s tranquilising properties, violet’s peacefulness, and brown’s grounding feel can all be leveraged. Beyond visual aspects, ‘Texture’ provides essential grounding or stimulating sensory input, while ‘Mass’ defines zones without clutter. ‘Space’ needs deliberate delineation, creating clear boundaries for activities to reduce ambiguity. Lastly, ‘Pattern’, whether organic or geometric, offers predictability and order, aiding cognitive processing and navigation. Together, these elements form a robust physical environment supporting neurodiverse needs. However, these are only truly effective when complemented by an informed organisational culture.
Culture eats design for breakfast
Beyond the physical space, organisations should also proactively educate all their employees on neurodiversity, communicating and reinforcing appropriate messages to foster an inclusive culture. To address the potential shortfall in current design practices and support this cultural shift, there are structured frameworks to guide the creation of neuro-inclusive environments.
We have developed a comprehensive framework comprising of over 50 key performance indicators for retrofitting and designing neuro-inclusive spaces at scale across three main areas: spatial perception and navigation, sensory stimuli strategy, and specific features and spaces that help address the needs of neurodivergent employees. These proven retrofit solutions, such as reconfigurable spaces, varied lighting levels, clear signage indicating stimuli levels, and designated quiet areas, are implemented through a structured transformation process.
There are four key stages: first, ‘People Engagement’, involving inclusive focus groups, UX surveys, stakeholder insights, and user-input-driven strategies. Second, ‘Analysis’, conducting holistic reviews of workplace distribution and operational dynamics. Third, an ‘Action Plan’ is developed, offering tailored execution, site consolidation, and customisable solutions for individual preferences. Finally, ‘Implementation’ sees success achieved through active collaboration, focusing on inclusive workspaces that promote choice and flexibility, creating customisable settings for individual users. The core philosophy throughout this process aims to create a workplace ecosystem that provides safe environments while celebrating difference, harnessing collective skills and intelligence.
For the industry, embracing neuro-inclusive design offers a significant competitive advantage. Inclusive workplaces become a driving factor for talent attraction and retention, especially in a competitive market where skilled individuals seek environments that genuinely support their well-being and productivity. This not only creates direct business value for occupiers through enhanced employee performance and reduced turnover but, by extension, also enhances asset values for property owners by creating highly desirable and future-proofed spaces.
December 11, 2025
Neuroinclusive workspace design – addressing the current industry shortfalls
by Guzman de Yarza and Ana Gorriti • Comment, Workplace design
Recent findings suggest that around 1 in 5 people in the UK are neurodivergent. This is a substantial talent pool who frequently face significant challenges in environments not designed to accommodate their sensory needs or cognitive processing styles. For example, many neurodivergent individuals experience heightened sensitivity to sound, making open-plan offices, fluctuating noise levels, and lack of sound privacy intensely distracting or even distressing. This directly impacts their ability to focus, leading to reduced productivity and motivation at work. Similarly, individual preferences for thermal comfort and airflow can vary widely, contributing to discomfort and inefficiency. Our research shows that CRE decision makers across EMEA feel less effective at addressing these specific neurodivergent needs compared to general accessibility requirements.
Designing more adaptable and flexible spaces can benefit not just these individuals, but all employees. JLL data reveals that these very sensory-related factors – particularly acoustics, sound privacy, and thermal comfort – represent the largest satisfaction gaps for employees, directly aligning with the environmental challenges often faced by neurodivergent individuals. Addressing sound privacy and acoustic comfort, therefore, offers tangible, high-impact, and cost-effective benefits for everyone, forming a crucial starting point for broader design considerations that impact well-being and concentration.
This also extends to thermal comfort, where individual preferences for temperature and airflow can vary widely, which necessitates the need for adaptable climate control solutions or micro-environments. Our research has also shown that employees tend to be more productive and satisfied when they have a variety of workspace types to choose from, depending on the type of task they are currently engaged in. This flexibility, achieved through thoughtful space design, holds the power to remove barriers, improve culture, and foster positive attitudes within an organisation, ultimately contributing to a more engaged, diverse, and innovative workforce.
Putting this into practice requires designing truly neuro-inclusive spaces through a multi-faceted approach, integrating aesthetic principles with a deep understanding of sensory and cognitive needs. To design a truly neuroinclusive space, multiple principles and elements must be considered. These include fundamental factors influencing our experience: Light, Form, Line, Colour, Texture, Mass, Space, and Patterns. Thoughtful application of each is key to creating environments that are both functional and nurturing for a diverse workforce, embedding psychological comfort and cognitive support into the building’s fabric.
Devil is in the detail
Delving into specific design elements, emphasis through features aids wayfinding, creating clear visual cues that reduce cognitive load and anxiety. ‘Rhythm’, with common elements like recurring motifs or consistent pathways, provides order and orientation, offering predictability. ‘Proportion’ ensures spaces feel balanced and human-scaled, preventing feelings of unease. Furthermore, ‘Balance’ creates visual equilibrium for stability, whether through symmetrical clarity or harmonious asymmetrical designs. Similarly, ‘Light’ is crucial; adjustable settings controlling brightness and colour temperature (e.g., cooler blue-white for concentration, warmer amber for relaxation) promote autonomy and reduce stress by mimicking natural rhythms. ‘Colour’ influences mood and performance; specific hues like calming blue (aiding analytical thinking) or stimulating yellow (encouraging positive thought) must be used strategically, avoiding overly saturated schemes.
Green’s natural calming effect, orange’s mental stimulation, pink/lavender’s tranquilising properties, violet’s peacefulness, and brown’s grounding feel can all be leveraged. Beyond visual aspects, ‘Texture’ provides essential grounding or stimulating sensory input, while ‘Mass’ defines zones without clutter. ‘Space’ needs deliberate delineation, creating clear boundaries for activities to reduce ambiguity. Lastly, ‘Pattern’, whether organic or geometric, offers predictability and order, aiding cognitive processing and navigation. Together, these elements form a robust physical environment supporting neurodiverse needs. However, these are only truly effective when complemented by an informed organisational culture.
Culture eats design for breakfast
Beyond the physical space, organisations should also proactively educate all their employees on neurodiversity, communicating and reinforcing appropriate messages to foster an inclusive culture. To address the potential shortfall in current design practices and support this cultural shift, there are structured frameworks to guide the creation of neuro-inclusive environments.
We have developed a comprehensive framework comprising of over 50 key performance indicators for retrofitting and designing neuro-inclusive spaces at scale across three main areas: spatial perception and navigation, sensory stimuli strategy, and specific features and spaces that help address the needs of neurodivergent employees. These proven retrofit solutions, such as reconfigurable spaces, varied lighting levels, clear signage indicating stimuli levels, and designated quiet areas, are implemented through a structured transformation process.
There are four key stages: first, ‘People Engagement’, involving inclusive focus groups, UX surveys, stakeholder insights, and user-input-driven strategies. Second, ‘Analysis’, conducting holistic reviews of workplace distribution and operational dynamics. Third, an ‘Action Plan’ is developed, offering tailored execution, site consolidation, and customisable solutions for individual preferences. Finally, ‘Implementation’ sees success achieved through active collaboration, focusing on inclusive workspaces that promote choice and flexibility, creating customisable settings for individual users. The core philosophy throughout this process aims to create a workplace ecosystem that provides safe environments while celebrating difference, harnessing collective skills and intelligence.
For the industry, embracing neuro-inclusive design offers a significant competitive advantage. Inclusive workplaces become a driving factor for talent attraction and retention, especially in a competitive market where skilled individuals seek environments that genuinely support their well-being and productivity. This not only creates direct business value for occupiers through enhanced employee performance and reduced turnover but, by extension, also enhances asset values for property owners by creating highly desirable and future-proofed spaces.