This is Me Yorkshire was delighted to support the central This is Me campaign and the latest in its series of Workplace Wellbeing webinars on 21 March.
Chair Jodie Hill hosted the 45-minute webinar, entitled Workplace Wellbeing Webinar: Embracing Neurodiversity. She was joined by:
- Tom McGovern, a newly qualified solicitor in the field of criminal defence at McGovern Reid;
- Pete Hughes from Leeds Autism Services;
- Khushboo Patel, an ED&I consultant who in her previous role spearheaded Metro Bank’s diversity and inclusion programmes; and
- Donna Smith, the HR Projects ED&I & Wellbeing Lead at Lambert Smith Hampton.
The webinar began with the statistic that 64% of employers still admit to having ‘little’ or ‘no’ understanding of neurodivergent conditions (Office for National Statistics).
Each panellist then shared their story, with a focus on:
- Tom’s dyslexia diagnosis and the difficulties he faced on his rise to the position of newly qualified solicitor (and co-founding the charity, Disabling Barriers Scotland).
- Donna’s lightbulb moment when she realised that a lot of her anxieties were in fact a biproduct of ADHD traits (she’s now on a (long) waiting list for formal diagnosis).
- Peter’s overview of Leeds Autism Services and how it supports people with autism to reach their full potential, while providing consultancy and training to a range of organisations in order to give leaders, managers, and teams the skills and knowledge to effectively cater for autistic and neurodivergent people.
- Khushboo’s insights into workplace culture and wellbeing, where she specialises as a business consultant after spearheading Metro Bank’s diversity and inclusion programmes.
The panellists then engaged in a wide-ranging discussion about neurodiversity in the workplace. Key takeaways included:
- Employers must not ignore neurodiversity in the workplace—to do so is to be deliberately excluding.
- Using the correct language is important both in our policies and everyday interactions.
- Neurodivergent employees may fear that their employers won’t support them if they come forward, so they hide.
- Employers need to create psychologically safe workplaces in order to work toward becoming neuroinclusive.
- Storytelling can play a key role in creating psychologically safe workplaces, while raising awareness.
- Storytelling also shows neurodivergent employees that they are not alone while bringing the subject to life for employers.
There was so much great content from these inspiring panellists and plenty of other takeaways from the webinar. To watch the recording, simply sign up to This is Me and access it for free via the Resources Hub.
If you’re in Yorkshire, why not attend our next free event Leeds? It’s taking place on 11 June and will recognise Men’s Health Week. Find out more and sign up here.
This Is Me Yorkshire Region (thisismeyorkshire.co.uk) is the regional arm of the national This is Me campaign, led by The Lord Mayor’s Appeal.
Our goal is to destigmatise mental health, neurodiversity, and disability in business by encouraging people to share their personal stories.
We are leaders, advocates, and real people, with lived experience.
Stretching from east to west, north to south, our committee works throughout the Yorkshire region to ensure business leaders know the support This is Me can bring to their colleagues, employees, and the workplace.
We live our mission through events, shared resources, campaigns, and storytelling.
As part of our mental health campaign, you and your business will gain the tools and confidence to share your experiences.