Digital pathways to inclusion: How social media affordances enable neurodivergent employee participation in workplace decision-making

Organizations that aim for meaningful inclusion should provide neurodivergent employees (NDEs) with not only equitable access to work, but also the opportunity to influence workplace decisions that affect them. Yet, sensory, communication, and social barriers often limit NDEs’ ability to participate in decision-making. Digital technologies may provide new pathways to overcome these barriers. Drawing on Parker and colleagues’ (2010) proactive motivation model, this study examines how social media affordances, specifically anonymity and association, enable NDEs’ participation in decision-making through psychological empowerment and high-activated positive affect. A total of 185 full-time NDEs participated in a 10-day experience sampling study. Multilevel path analysis revealed that association significantly enhanced both psychological empowerment and high-activated positive affect, while anonymity influenced affective states, which in turn positively influenced their participation in decision-making. Additionally, we found that social media affordances were more impactful when coworker holding behaviors were low, which challenges assumptions about the complementary role of interpersonal support and highlights technology’s potential as an alternative mechanism for inclusion. Our study contributes to neurodiversity inclusion, communication technology, and proactive motivation literature by identifying actionable pathways to include NDEs.