The Water Cooler Effect
Neurodivergent Accommodations in the Workplace
I work with a lot of neurodivergent clients. I hear some version of this all the time: “I’m good at my job, I just can’t do it the way everyone else does.”
There’s this long-standing idea in office culture that the best work, those great ideas, emerge in these spontaneous social moments. People bump into each other casually, chat for a few moments, and something revolutionary is born. This is the water cooler effect.
Obviously, this can and does happen.
But so many workplaces are built around the assumption that this is how people function best. Think open offices, hot desking, constant availability, and the expectation that being socially engaged is part of being a “good” employee.
For a lot of neurodivergent and disabled folks, that environment and those expectations come at a pretty steep cost. Whether we’re autistic, ADHDers, dealing with chronic illness or sensory sensitivities, the “water cooler” is exhausting. It can be overstimulating, anxiety-provoking, and sometimes just inaccessible.
The cost is likewise steep for workplaces, because when that kind of interaction is treated as the standard for productivity, incredibly capable people end up being sidelined. I can say with so much confidence that the issues in such contexts do not have to do with capability. I see many clients who are sharp, creative, talented, and very committed to what they do.
When someone says, “I can do the work, just not like that,” can we please take them seriously? When someone spends half their energy masking, managing sensory overload, or navigating unclear expectations, their capacity for the actual task at hand could be halved by the time they arrive at it.
So this is where accommodations come in: flexible schedules, remote work options, written communication, quiet work spaces, clear task expectations… These aren’t special favours, they’re tools to remove barriers that are no longer (and in many cases never were) necessary in the workplace. When those barriers are removed, and we start to broaden what “good work” looks like, things get better: performance and focus improve, and burnout decreases.
The idea isn’t to stop water cooler moments from happening, just to start to open up more ways of thinking about connection, collaboration, and work, and to stop trying to force everyone into the same mold.
The water cooler effect is framed as universal, but it’s not. It works for some people, and it REALLY doesn’t for others.
One thing that the water cooler effect theory is an excellent reminder of, however, is the importance of taking breaks. We know breaks “work.” Short pauses and rests throughout the workday increase performance, productivity, and mental health outcomes. But unique brains and people call for unique circumstances, including work spaces and break spaces. The water cooler effect works for the majority, and that’s great. For neurodivergent employees, the same benefit might come from time alone in a dark, quiet room, or from sitting in their car near the office, decompressing with their hobby. For others, working from a more accommodating space altogether (like at home or in a private office) might be the ultimate solution.
And since I have the chance to throw my two cents out into the world, I want to encourage companies to let this happen, to celebrate it as a way to improve employees’ well-being and productivity.
I compiled an accommodations checklist (found under resources on this website's home page) which lists options for breaks and accommodating workplaces. But, ultimately, the bottom line is to listen when employees tell you what they need, to expand the conversation beyond hushed HR meetings, and to maintain consistent, open dialogue about everyone’s needs.
For those who want to read further (and for the science behind what I’m saying):
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