HR-Led Co-Design for Neuroinclusion: A Critical Pragmatist and Sociotechnical Systems Approach to Transforming Neuronormative Organisations

Abstract

Despite growing interest in neurodiversity in the workplace, most organisational responses remain fragmented, compliance-driven, and disconnected from the lived realities of neurodivergent individuals. This paper addresses the limitations of current approaches by proposing a process model of HR-led co-design for neuroinclusion, grounded in a dual-theoretical framework that combines critical pragmatism and sociotechnical systems (STS) theory. Drawing on an abductive synthesis of literature and practice-based insights, we develop a process model that identifies four interrelated organisational challenges: ignorance and lack of buy-in, legal ambiguity, disclosure dilemmas, and resistance to systemic change. The model offers a set of HR-led co-design interventions and outcomes that centre neurodivergent perspectives in redesigning policies, practices, and organisational systems. Critical pragmatism provides the ethical and epistemological foundation for participatory inquiry and institutional transformation, while STS supports the structural integration of inclusive practices. This paper contributes to HRM theory by repositioning HR as a catalyst for collaborative, recursive, and justice-oriented organisational change. Implications for future research and practice include the need for participatory, cross-contextual, and intersectional studies of neuroinclusion, as well as attention to the design and evaluation of HR systems that enable meaningful co-production.