How to Use this Guide
Use this guide along with the HR Workplace Adjustment Notice template.
❖ Who?
This template is for HR use in order to provide clear communication and instruction to managers
❖ What?
When an employee is attempting to request an informal workplace adjustment, this message can be used to validate and clarify the request.
Copy and fill in THIS TEMPLATE to prepare an effective notice to managers about the workplace adjustment.
❖ Why?
Employees may seek support or workplace adjustments in order to fit their communication style, learning style, sensory preferences, or other cognitive nuances that affect their wellness and productivity.
Sometimes managers are unsure of the importance or validity of these requests or are unsure how to make these adjustments. In this case, an employee might contact HR for additional support to validate or clarify the request.
Case Study
An employee, Riley, had recently been having difficulty focusing on his work, resulting in him falling behind on several deadlines. After exploring his processing style and environmental preferences through a workstyle profile assessment, Riley recognized that auditory distraction in the office environment may be the cause for his difficulty with completing work.
Along with this self-discovery, Riley saw that noise-cancelling headphones may be an effective solution to his exactly problem. However, when Riley explained his problem and potential solution to his manager, the manager said that this would constitute a workplace accommodation and would therefore need to be approved by an HRBP.
Under that guidance, Riley reached out to his HRBP asking how to get approval to use noise-cancelling headphones during work. The HRBP recognized that this simple solution would not constitute a formal accommodation but instead a workplace adjustment, which did not require any approval or official documentation.
The HRBP then used the Workplace Adjustment Notice for Managers template in order to explain the solution to the manager and allow for the solution to be easily implemented.
Insights
We offer these tips and more in our e-learning course,
Neurodiversity At Work: From Bias to Belonging