Work & Employment • Workplace Rights & Employment Guidance

Workplace Adjustments

Small changes can remove big barriers. Workplace adjustments can support access, participation, communication, wellbeing, energy and different ways of working.

What Are Workplace Adjustments?

Workplace adjustments are changes to the way work is organised, communicated, accessed or carried out so that a person can participate more fully and reduce avoidable barriers.

In New Zealand guidance, reasonable accommodation can include adjusting the workplace or providing support so an employee can fully participate at work.

There is no single adjustment that suits everybody. What helps one person may not help another, even when they share the same diagnosis, disability or health condition.
Official Ollie Octopus V2 artwork

Ollie Octopus — Finding Practical Ways to Make Things Work

Ollie's organisation and sensory-support role fits this topic well: workplace barriers often become easier to manage when we separate the problem into smaller parts and try practical supports that match the person.

Adjustments Can Look Different for Everyone

Communication & Information

Written instructions, clearer expectations, agendas, follow-up notes, alternative communication methods or extra processing time.

Sensory Environment

Changes to lighting, noise, seating, workspace location, equipment or access to quieter spaces where practical.

Physical Accessibility

Accessible entrances, workstation changes, suitable furniture, equipment, mobility access or other physical supports.

Time, Hours & Scheduling

Predictable schedules, flexible start or finish times, breaks, appointment flexibility or changes to working patterns where appropriate.

Executive Function & Organisation

Written priorities, task breakdowns, checklists, reminders, clearer deadlines, reduced task-switching or structured workflows.

Mental Health & Wellbeing

Predictability, communication changes, agreed check-ins, breaks, reduced unnecessary stressors or support during difficult periods.

Energy & Fluctuating Conditions

Pacing, rest opportunities, workload discussions, gradual changes or flexibility around fluctuating capacity where possible.

Remote & Hybrid Working

Where the job and circumstances allow it, working location can sometimes form part of an accessibility or flexible-working conversation.

How Do I Know What Might Help Me?

You do not always need to begin with the name of an adjustment. It can be easier to begin with the barrier.

What Is Difficult?

What part of the task, environment, schedule, communication or process creates the biggest barrier?

When Does It Happen?

Is the difficulty constant, or does it happen at particular times, during certain tasks or under particular conditions?

What Already Helps?

Think about strategies, environments, tools or ways of communicating that have worked elsewhere.

What Change Could Reduce the Barrier?

Try to connect the adjustment directly to the work barrier rather than feeling you need to justify your whole life experience.

Talking to My Employer About an Adjustment

Preparing what you want to say can make the conversation easier. You may want to explain the barrier, what change you are asking for and how it could help you do your work.

Before the Conversation

  • Write down the main barrier.
  • Think of one or two practical changes that may help.
  • Collect useful information if needed.
  • Decide whether you want a support person involved.
  • Ask for the meeting format that works best for you where possible.

During the Conversation

  • Explain the work barrier clearly.
  • Describe the adjustment you are asking about.
  • Ask what options the employer can consider.
  • Take notes or ask for written follow-up.
  • Agree on when the arrangement will be reviewed.

Do I Have to Disclose a Diagnosis?

Disclosure can be a personal and sometimes legally important decision. The amount of information needed can depend on the work, the adjustment being requested, health and safety considerations, and the laws that apply where you live.

This page does not try to replace the dedicated Disclosure at Work topic. That page will explore disclosure, privacy, communication and decision-making in more depth once it is built.

When an Adjustment Is Not Working

An adjustment does not need to be perfect on the first attempt. Work changes, health changes and sometimes a support that sounded useful on paper does not solve the real barrier.

Review the Barrier

Has the original problem changed, or was a different barrier underneath it?

Review the Adjustment

Is it being used consistently and in the way that was agreed?

Try Another Option

There may be more than one practical way to meet the same access need.

Set a Review Point

Agreeing to revisit an adjustment can reduce the pressure to find one permanent answer immediately.

If My Adjustment Request Is Declined

A declined request does not automatically mean that no support is possible. Ask for the reason, whether another option could address the same barrier, and what process is available to discuss the decision.

Questions I Can Ask

  • Why was this particular option declined?
  • What alternatives could be considered?
  • Is more information needed?
  • Can the decision be reviewed?
  • Who can I speak with if I need more guidance?

Keep Useful Records

Keep copies of requests, responses, meeting notes and relevant documents, especially if the issue is important or ongoing.

New Zealand Guidance

New Zealand guidance recognises reasonable accommodation as adjustments or support that help disabled people participate. Employment New Zealand also recognises a right for employees to ask for flexible working arrangements, with employers required to consider the request.

Disability Rights & Reasonable Accommodation

Te Kāhui Tika Tangata / Human Rights Commission information about disabled people's rights and reasonable accommodation.

Read disability-rights guidance

Worker Health & Safety Participation

WorkSafe guidance about workers raising health and safety issues and participating in workplace health and safety.

Visit WorkSafe guidance

Workplace Adjustments Around the World

Different countries use different terms such as workplace adjustments, reasonable adjustments, accommodations or reasonable accommodation. The legal tests, eligibility and employer duties are not identical.

International expansion banked: during the later Work & Employment international audit, this page can be expanded with clearly labelled country or region pathways using official local sources. Until then, visitors outside New Zealand should check their official labour, employment, disability-rights or equality authority.

Practical Tools & Resources

As matching resources are completed, this page can connect into the central Aspie Answers Resources & Downloads Library.

Workplace Adjustments Planner

Identify barriers, possible supports, questions and review points.

My Sensory Needs at Work

Explore noise, lighting, movement, space and other sensory factors that affect work.

My Communication Preferences

Record useful communication methods, processing needs and ways information is easiest to understand.

Workplace Barriers & Solutions

A practical worksheet for matching a specific barrier with possible changes or supports.

Different Ways of Working Can Still Be Good Ways of Working

An adjustment is not about lowering a person's value or potential. It is about reducing unnecessary barriers so people have a fairer opportunity to participate, contribute and do their work.