While the Covid-19 pandemic has forced many individuals to work remotely, now, more than ever, the needs of neurodivergent professionals should be taken into account as we learn how individuals best thrive in a remote work setting.

Where many neurodivergent people may have struggled previously to work in a traditional office setting, remote work allows for flexibility and freedom in where, how, and when one works. Remote work also allows neurodivergent individuals to control aspects of their environment such as noise levels, ambient room temperature, sensory issues, and more. However, this doesn’t mean that working remotely is a perfect solution for neurodivergent DevOps professionals.

In particular, working remotely during hurricane season can be a challenge for neurodivergent remote DevOps professionals in the Texas and Louisiana areas, as we have to additionally manage the stress of working remotely alongside things such as power outages, internet connectivity during storms, storm damage, flooding, and potential evacuation.

In this presentation, we will learn how to best empower not only ourselves but the communities around us to band together and support each other through mutual aid, understanding, and awareness.

Learning Outcomes: In this presentation, we will explore some tips, tricks, and best practices for successful remote work for neurodivergent professionals, and those who manage neurodivergent employees. Session attendees will learn not only how to better organize their time and workspace, as well as how to better manage their mental health and workload, but also how to advocate for themselves and their long-term goals and needs when working remotely.

Why Attend?: Have you ever battled autistic burnout? Do you find yourself struggling, even if you’re already taking medication for your ADD or ADHD? Reading the same paragraph seven times due to being unable to process the information while also on a Zoom call? You’re not alone. This talk will teach you how to better manage your mental health, connect with your community, advocate for your needs as a neurodivergent professional working remotely, and more.

For managers, this talk offers not only insight into what you can do to be a better manager to neurodivergent employees working remotely, and provides actionable tips to bring back to your organization that will help your company better support your neurodivergent team members moving forward.

Rin is a Technical Community Builder at Camunda. They enjoy discussing all things open source, with a particular focus on diversity in tech, improving hiring pipelines in OSS for those that are