Skipping out on neurodivergent talent is a huge mistake because they’re often the only ones who can see the 'groupthink' that ruins big companies.
March 20, 2026
Original Paper
<p>The Cognitive Tax: How Systematic Exclusion of Neurodivergent Talent Drives Organisational Dysfunction and Macroeconomic Underperformance</p>
SSRN · 6315738
The Takeaway
Companies often prioritize 'culture fit' in hiring, but this research suggests that 'fitting in' is actually a proxy for the cognitive biases that lead to bad decision-making. Neurodivergent thinkers act as a natural defense against these systemic errors, and their exclusion creates a measurable 'Cognitive Tax' on national GDP.
From the abstract
This paper argues that the systematic exclusion of neurodivergent individuals from organisations-through hiring systems, cultural fit assessments, and promotion structures optimised for neurotypical conformity-constitutes a measurable macroeconomic cost. Drawing on organisational theory, behavioural economics, and cognitive diversity research, we demonstrate that the System 1 cognitive biases which drive most documented organisational dysfunction are precisely the biases that neurodivergent cogn