Workplace Adjustments ↓

Workplace Adjustments ↓

Make work more workable.

A reasonable adjustment should reduce an unnecessary barrier.

It should not be a generic item selected from a diagnosis checklist and treated as finished.

The strongest adjustments begin with understanding what is actually happening for the individual.

Start with the barrier

Start with the barrier. Not the adjustment list.

Before asking

“What adjustment should we provide?”

ask

“What is making this difficult?”

That shift changes the quality of the conversation.

If somebody is finding meetings particularly demanding, there may be several different reasons.

Sensory environment
Processing time
Working memory
Unclear purpose
Length
Social demand
Too many people
Lack of written information

Different barriers can require very different solutions.

Reasonable adjustments

What is a reasonable adjustment?

A reasonable adjustment is a change intended to reduce or remove a disadvantage experienced by a disabled person in relation to work.

In practice, adjustments can involve:

Communication
Working arrangements
Equipment
Processes
Environment
Management
Time
Information
Ways of participating

The useful question is not simply whether the adjustment sounds inclusive.

It is whether it addresses the barrier.

A simple process ↓

Understand. Explore. Agree. Trial. Review.

01

Understand

What is the person experiencing?

Understand where the barrier appears, what makes it better or worse and what is already working.

02

Explore

What might reduce the barrier?

Generate options rather than reaching immediately for the most familiar adjustment.

03

Agree

What is workable?

Consider the individual, role, team, operational requirements and relevant organisational responsibilities.

04

Trial

How does it work in practice?

An adjustment may need testing before anybody knows whether it is the right solution.

05

Review

What is helping?

Support should not become permanent simply because it was written down once.

Review what is working and what needs refining.

Scroll to explore
Possibilities ↓

Ten workplace adjustments worth exploring.

These are possibilities. Not prescriptions.

Useful where competing tasks, working memory or prioritisation create unnecessary demand.

Important actions and decisions can be easier to revisit when they are not held only in a conversation.

Remote work, hybrid arrangements or access to alternative workspaces can sometimes reduce sensory or interruption related barriers.

Access to lower stimulus environments can help where noise, movement or interruption affect concentration or regulation.

Noise reduction, lighting changes, different seating, movement or other sensory supports may help depending on the individual.

Agendas, clear purpose, advance information and written actions can reduce cognitive demand.

Large pieces of work can be easier to navigate when outcomes and stages are clearer.

Useful where somebody benefits from more time to formulate a response or interpret complex information.

Advance notice and context can reduce uncertainty and make transition easier.

Written input, preparation, asynchronous contribution or alternative demonstration of capability can sometimes reduce irrelevant barriers.

Fair access

Adjustments are not special treatment.

An adjustment does not necessarily make work easier. It makes access fairer.

If somebody needs a quieter environment to concentrate on the same complex task, the task has not become easier.

If a candidate receives interview questions in advance so processing style does not obscure their knowledge, the capability being assessed can remain exactly the same.

The standard and the barrier are not the same thing.
Individual experience ↓

Diagnosis does not determine adjustment.

Same diagnosis. Different experience.

Two people with ADHD may need different things. Two autistic colleagues may experience the same office in opposite ways.

Context matters.

A dyslexic colleague may need support with one type of information and none with another.

The diagnosis can suggest questions.

It should not dictate the answer.

Not knowing is a valid starting point.

Some people have spent years adapting without being asked what would actually help.

What feels difficult?

When is it easier?

What changes the experience?

What already helps?

What costs the most energy?

Managers and review ↓

The adjustment is not only the document. It is the experience around it.

Managers matter.

A formal adjustment can still fail if:

  • priorities remain unclear
  • communication is inconsistent
  • meetings ignore agreed needs
  • the arrangement is treated as an inconvenience
  • the person repeatedly has to re explain themselves

Adjustments should be reviewed.

Roles change. Workloads change. Teams change. People change.

An adjustment that was useful last year may need refining now.

Review does not imply the adjustment was wrong. It recognises that support can evolve.

What might help next? ↓

Workplace Assessment or Adjustment Coaching?

Workplace Assessment

Understand what may help.

Useful where the person's strengths, barriers and possible adjustments need deeper exploration.

Adjustment Coaching

Make support work in everyday life.

Useful where recommendations already exist but the person wants help developing strategies, applying them and reviewing what works.

Where to start ↓

Start with what is getting in the way.

You do not need to know the adjustment before the conversation begins.

Understanding the barrier is enough to start.

Explore Workplace Assessments ↗︎ Explore Adjustment Coaching ↗︎ Start a conversation ↗︎