A guideline review on physical workplace accommodations for neurodivergent office workers

Objectives: A range of guidelines on the physical work environment have been developed to prevent work-related performance and health problems in neurodiverse workers, but little is known about the quality of such guidelines. We systematically reviewed the content and quality of workplace adjustment guidelines aiming to prevent, detect, and/or manage workrelated performance and health problems. Methods: We conducted systematic online searches (e.g., charities, occupational safety and health advisory groups, building industry, design advisory groups) to identify guidelines. Eligibility criteria included guidelines recommending preventive interventions to be implemented at the workplace by employers, employees or organizational staff. Five independent reviewers assessed the quality of guidelines using the Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II). Guidelines rated ≥65% were considered to be of good developmental quality. Results: Twenty-six guidelines are currently quality assessed. Preliminary findings suggest that guidelines mainly target employers oppose to employees and organizational staff. Few guidelines had developed recommendations of good quality; most guidelines are not based on empirical evidence. Studies documenting the effect of implementation were not yet available. Conclusions: Few guidelines have been developed with sufficient rigor to help employers prevent or manage work-related performance and health problems and evidence of their effectiveness remains scarce.