Managing workplace neurodiversity for positive outcomes: a mapping review and research agenda

Purpose Neurodiversity is gaining exponential attention from scholars, leading to fragmented insights and evidence. This mapping review aims to ascertain the amount and focus of peer-reviewed research on workplace neurodiversity to identify knowledge gaps that demand further research. Design/methodology/approach For their relevance to business and organizational studies, Business Source Elite and ABI/INFORM databases were searched in December 2024. Based on the inclusion criteria of neurodiversity or any form of neurodiversity and work context, 834 results were screened in the following order: titles and abstracts, and full text. These resulted in 105 publications (45 non-empirical and 60 empirical) from 1996 to 2024, with most published from 2019 onwards. The sample publications were mapped against the elements of a workplace neurodiversity management framework, adapted from Khan et al. (2023), comprising creating, converting and capitalizing stages. Findings The findings indicate the following: the focus has been on converting and capitalizing stages except the inclusion element of converting; commonly studied forms are general neurodiversity, autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; mixed-method studies are rare; frequently used methods are survey and interviews and data on various important elements of the framework were not collected from neurominority employees. Future research areas are highlighted. Originality/value This unprecedented mapping of workplace neurodiversity literature collates and catalogs the available evidence pertaining to managing neurodiversity for positive outcomes. The identified knowledge gaps and provided research direction may help foster scholarship.