How to Create a Neurodiversity-Friendly Workplace

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Kristen A. Pressner, Global Head of People & Culture at Roche, to unpack why neurodiversity may be the single biggest untapped advantage in the post-AI workplace.

Kristen explains why most organisations are sitting on “free upside”, talented people already inside the business who are not thriving because work was designed for one type of brain. She shares why only ~25% of employees feel psychologically safe, and why the line manager is the biggest determinant of whether neurodivergent employees thrive or merely survive.

Most importantly, she reframes neurodiversity away from labels and diagnoses, and toward practical, human questions, how do you work best, what gives you energy, and what conditions help you shine, and why asking those questions changes performance, engagement, and learning at scale.

🎓 In this episode, Kristen discusses:

1. Why creating brain-friendly environments is “free upside” in a post-AI world
2. Why interest, urgency, and novelty, not importance, drive action for many people
3. The role of line managers as the single biggest differentiator in employee thriving
4. Why neurodiversity is not about diagnosis, but about how brains process motivation, focus, and energy
5. How workplaces accidentally label potential as laziness when they misunderstand neurodivergent behavior

🙏‍ Thank you to our series partner - atlas copilot

Meet the AI-native adaptive learning platform that builds the course, teaches the skill, and proves the impact, while work is happening, not weeks later → https://www.atlascopilot.com/

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