Future Office Designs That Promote Inclusivity

What if every workplace adapted to you? Not the other way around. In this imagined future, you walk into your office. You tap your name. And your space transforms—automatically—into what you need to thrive. Ergonomic chair. Assistive tech. Noise-canceling headphones. The right lighting. Your comfort, your productivity, your dignity—centered. That’s what accessibility can look like. Not an afterthought. Not a fight. But baked in. Seamless. Expected. Accessibility is innovation. Inclusion is infrastructure. And imagining this future is how we build it. Let’s design workplaces where everyone—disabled, neurodivergent, chronically ill, aging, or not yet diagnosed—can belong, succeed, and lead. Because access isn’t charity. It’s power. #Accessibility #DisabilityInclusion #Neurodiversity #WorkplaceDesign #InclusionMatters #FutureOfWork #DisabilityRights #AssistiveTech #UniversalDesign #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs Image description: A three-panel comic strip titled “The Accessible Workspace” showcases a transformative, inclusive office environment for a Black woman named Jazzie Collins. • Panel 1: Jazzie, a Black woman in business attire, stands outside a plain beige cubicle. She touches a touchscreen panel labeled “Jazzie Collins.” The cubicle inside is empty, with only a basic desk. Her face shows hope and curiosity. • Panel 2: The cubicle begins to transform. A glowing cloud of energy fills the space as Jazzie watches with wide eyes. The top of the panel reads, “Cubicle transforms based on user.” • Panel 3: The transformation is complete. Jazzie is now seated comfortably at her personalized workstation. She wears large over-ear headphones and smiles with satisfaction. The desk features a monitor, keyboard, and laptop, along with a potted plant and a framed photo, indicating a warm and accessible work environment.

One of our core goals at Neurodiversity in the Workplace is to reimagine how we support neurodivergent professionals—not just with accommodations, but with proactive, inclusive design. Too often, workplace accommodations are reactive. An employee has to: - Realize they need support - Navigate the internal request process - Wait for review, approval, and implementation This process can be time-consuming, stressful, and inefficient—not just for the employee, but for the organization. And here's the irony: most accommodations that are being processed cost little or nothing. According to the Job Accommodation Network, 56% of accommodations cost $0 to implement. Yet the delay and administrative overhead involved in getting to that solution often costs more than the support itself. So instead of waiting for someone to request what we already know many employees will need—we should flip the script to build those supports into the system from the start. Imagine if we took the most frequently requested accommodations and made them default features of the workplace through tools like: Universal supports, Manager toolkits, Built-in flexibility, Employee benefits additions, Open-access resources, etc... The tools already exist. The need is already clear. I'm focused on helping employers shift from reactive adjustments to proactive inclusion strategies—not just because it’s equitable, but because it’s also smart, scalable, and cost-effective. I’m excited to keep partnering, building, and sharing these solutions—and I invite others here to advocate for common-sense solutions, and share any ideas or examples where you have done this in the comments! #Neuroinclusion #Accessibility #UniversalDesign #Neurodiversity #FutureOfWork #DisabilityInclusion #HR #DEI #Leadership #WorkplaceInnovation

Comment below ➡️ ➡️ ➡️ What office environment totally shifted your perspective on what a workplace could be? I’ll go first. ✨It was 2016 and after years in plain, cubicle riddled offices, the Steelcase WorkLife Center in Boston completely opened the aperture for me. It was like going from black + white to technicolor. Why was it so special? Two words: choice + control. Unassigned seating and a variety of settings where you could do your best work depending on the task at hand. Plus, it was alive with colors, textures, and patterns. The amazing presentation from Kay Sargent in that same space this morning confirmed that Steelcase was ahead of it’s time. There’s no silver bullet for designing inclusive spaces. Providing employees with enough variety of conditions and place to do their best work and empowering them to tailor their everyday experience is how you unlock that next level. Here are the other “ah hahs” I had during Kay’s presentation: ✔️ When you design for the extreme, you benefit the mean. Reminds me of the OXO origin story. ✔️ Younger generations are more aware of their neurodiversities and they expect you to have an answer when they ask “Is your workplace inclusive? In what ways?” ✔️ Alternating between the office and home each week stunts our ability to acclimate in either place. Of course the office feels jarring (and probably too quiet) if you spend 3-4 days at home. ✔️ We tend to co-mingle work modes within office neighborhoods, sprinkling open collaboration settings amongst a pod of workstations where people plan to “focus”. A better way of designing? Designate zones for specific work modes. As Kay put it – “Don’t throw all these work modes in a blender.”  ✔️ There’s tremendous overlap between WELL Certification and neurodiverse design principles. Pursue both! I try to encourage our clients at JLL to be inclusive in their approach to real estate and workplace strategy. This morning’s presentation was the perfect boost of inspiration to continue elevating our expectations for what workplaces can be. Thank you Steelcase and HOK!