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Invisible barriers: neurodiversity and hidden disabilities in the workplace

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Invisible barriers often go unnoticed, yet they fundamentally affect whether someone can work safely and effectively.

Imagine you are sitting in a meeting. Colleagues are talking loudly, constantly interrupting each other, someone is clicking their pen, the neon light is flickering, and your phone is buzzing on the table. You might find it annoying, but you can still manage.

For a colleague living with ADHD or autism, however, this can be far too much sensory input – and this heightened perception of stimuli is their everyday reality. It is an invisible barrier that others often don’t even notice – yet for them, it’s not just a small annoyance, but an ongoing, constant struggle.

When we talk about barriers at work, most people think of visible difficulties: for example, a staircase that creates a challenge for a wheelchair-using colleague, or IT tools designed for people with visual impairment. These are important and necessary adjustments, but there is another dimension of workplace inclusion that we talk about less: invisible barriers.

These are conditions that are not visible at first glance, but that fundamentally shape everyday life and work. And precisely because they are “invisible”, it is much harder for them to show up in workplace conversations.

What counts as a hidden disability?

Invisible conditions include, among others, neurodivergent conditions – such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia and other learning differences. According to the US interpretation, chronic illnesses (e.g. diabetes, Crohn’s disease), mental health difficulties (anxiety, depression), and long-term conditions involving chronic pain or low energy are also included in this category. In Hungarian professional language, these are often grouped under the term “reduced work capacity”.

According to OSHwiki (2025), up to 20% of employees are affected by some form of hidden disability. Globally, around 15–20% of the population is neurodivergent, but  thanks to better education and improved diagnostic tools, current research suggests this number may be much higher. This also shows that by working on inclusion we are not only supporting others, but often ourselves as well. (Vargas-Salas et al., 2025)

It’s important to note: neurological diversity is not an illness, but a difference in cognitive functioning, which, alongside challenges, also brings strengths.

Workplace challenges – the environment matters more than we think

The difficulties faced at work by people with hidden disabilities are often not caused directly by the condition itself, but by how the environment responds. Some typical examples:

  • Prejudice and misunderstanding: difficulty concentrating is labelled as “laziness”; withdrawal due to anxiety is seen as “lack of interest”.
  • Hidden needs for accommodation: often small changes would help a lot (for example, a quieter work environment, more structured task allocation, flexible working hours), but these needs remain unspoken.
  • Concealing a diagnosis: more than 60% of neurodivergent employees do not dare to share their condition at work because they fear stigma. (Rollnik-Sadowska & Grabińska, 2024)

Why is recognising invisible barriers so important?

Ignoring hidden disabilities and conditions doesn’t just cause personal difficulties – it also affects the whole organisation. If an employee constantly feels misunderstood, unsupported, or forced to hide who they are, the consequences can be serious. Research shows that neurodivergent workers who experience discrimination or inadequate support at work leave their jobs at twice the rate of others (Vargas-Salas et al., 2025):

  • Higher turnover – people move on more quickly if they do not feel safe.
  • Decreased engagement – performance and motivation drop when someone is constantly running into obstacles.
  • Mental overload – hiding one’s condition and living under continuous pressure to conform increases stress and can lead to burnout.

By contrast, when an organisation recognises and addresses invisible barriers:

  • trust is built,
  • retention improves,
  • and organisational culture is strengthened – diversity becomes a natural value, not a “special project”.

What can we do? Small steps towards inclusion

Change doesn’t have to start with big programmes. The everyday, small decisions often determine how inclusive a workplace will be for people with hidden disabilities:

  • Openness: dare to ask, instead of assuming.
  • Acceptance: don’t judge someone for a behaviour that differs from the “norm”.
  • Flexible solutions: offer options for individual working patterns or specific tools – but let people themselves say what they need.
  • Trust and dialogue: build a workplace culture where people feel safe to share their needs.

Good news: empathy can be learned – forum theatre as a tool for attitude change

To understand invisible barriers, knowledge alone is often not enough – we also need lived experience. The method of forum theatre makes it possible for participants to experience real workplace situations and try out how they would respond from another person’s point of view. This interactive format helps develop empathy and supports joint problem-solving.

At the November Skilly Lab event, we are also working with this method: we bring real workplace situations to the surface that relate to visible and invisible barriers, and together we look for new, workable solutions.

Date: 4 November 2025 | 9:00–12:00 | Mozaik HUB, Budapest

You can read more about the event on LinkedIn.

Recognising and addressing invisible barriers not only makes life easier for employees – it makes the whole organisation stronger, more empathetic and, in the long run, more successful.

As research shows, inclusion is not just a one-off campaign, but a daily practice. And these practices work best when they are built on openness, trust, and learning together.

Invisible barriers only become visible when there is space and courage to look at situations from another perspective. So here is the opportunity to take the first steps.

References

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