How to ask for reasonable adjustments at work
You've been coping by quietly white-knuckling it — the open-plan noise, the meetings with no agenda, the instructions that only ever come verbally. Asking for a change feels like admitting you can't hack it, so you keep absorbing the cost instead. The cost just keeps growing.
An adjustment is a tweak, not a confession
A reasonable adjustment is just a change to how the work happens so you can do it well — noise-cancelling headphones, written follow-ups after verbal briefings, a quieter desk, flexible start times, agendas in advance. None of that is a special favour or a sign you're struggling; it's removing a barrier that has nothing to do with your actual ability to do the job.
The framing that helps most is performance, not deficit. “I produce my best work when instructions are written down” is a statement about output, and managers respond to output. You're not asking them to lower a bar; you're telling them how to get more of what they already want from you.
Try it: the open-plan office is wrecking your focus
Practise this moment
The constant noise of the open-plan floor is destroying your concentration. You decide to raise it with your manager. What's your opening?
In Spring Social you can rehearse asking for an adjustment, try different framings, and see how each lands — one of 1,000 private scenarios.
Know what you'd actually ask for
Vague requests are hard to grant, so it pays to translate a struggle into a specific, concrete ask before you raise it. “Meetings are hard” gives a manager nowhere to go; “could agendas go out the day before, and could decisions be confirmed in writing afterwards” gives them two clear, cheap actions. Make a short list of the two or three changes that would move the needle most, and lead with those rather than everything at once.
Pitch the cost honestly — most useful adjustments are low- or no-cost, and saying so removes the imagined barrier. “This wouldn't cost anything and would save me a couple of hours a week” is an easy yes.
You don't always have to disclose to ask
You can request many adjustments as simple working preferences without naming a diagnosis at all — plenty of people just say they focus better with headphones or work better from written notes. Disclosure can unlock formal legal protection and a wider range of adjustments, but it's your call, and it's a separate decision from the practical ask. If you do disclose, you control how much detail you give: “I'm neurodivergent and a few small changes help me work at my best” is a complete sentence.
If you're unsure, HR or an occupational-health referral can broker adjustments without your manager needing every detail — a useful buffer if the relationship is new.
Put it in writing and treat it as normal
A short email after the conversation — “thanks for chatting, just confirming the two changes we agreed” — quietly creates a record and stops a verbal agreement from evaporating. Frame the whole thing as routine, because it is: adjustments are a standard part of how modern workplaces run, not an extraordinary intervention. Treating your own request as ordinary is a surprisingly large part of having it received that way.
Common questions
Do I have to disclose a diagnosis to get adjustments?
Often no — many adjustments can be framed as working preferences. Disclosure can unlock formal protection and more options, but it's a separate choice you control.
What if my manager says no?
Ask why, offer a cheaper alternative, and consider routing it through HR or occupational health, who can broker adjustments more formally.
Will asking make me look less capable?
Framed around output — “this helps me do better work” — it signals self-awareness, which capable people have. Silently struggling is what actually dents performance.
Spring Social has 1,000 practice scenarios with clear options and supportive feedback — private, on your own device.