To find it ridiculous that my work is encouraging those with neurodivergence to add details of their neurodivergence to their email signatures “so colleagues can accommodate your needs?”

[SnugShaker]

I get the intention behind it but it just feels like an uncomfortable and unnecessary step. Why should employees be expected to disclose their neurodivergence in a public way, especially when it could lead to unwanted assumptions or even stigma? There’s a line between creating an inclusive environment and putting the burden of disclosure on individuals, and it seems like this might be crossing that line. Shouldn’t accommodations be handled in a more private, respectful way without having to broadcast personal information?

So why shouldn't people who don't suffer ADHD have the privilege of not receiving emails out of hours ?

What's to stop me self diagnosing with ADHD and then taking my employer to a tribunal for ignoring it ?

It also assumes there’s a simple checklist of accommodations. Or is it ‘I have adhd and I need x y and z from you’?! That seems bonkers. I mean, it’s all bonkers isn’t it

To me this is the real underlying problem. It's great when employees can work together to get the job done and do so in a way that respects everyone's abilities. All workplaces have people who have differernt abilities in all kind of ways. Their brains, the experience they have, their home life, their physical capacities can all be factors.

However, it's not at all the same thing to have any one person demand that they should be able to work only in a way that suits them and everyone else needs to accommodate that. And I think that's the work culture that will be produced.

Actually, I wonder if this idea isn't coming from people's experience with school, where they are learning that they will always be accommodated in any way they want. And it causes a lot of problems there where some students seem to be able to ask for whatever they want while others have to bear all the consequences.

Actually, I wonder if this idea isn't coming from people's experience with school, where they are learning that they will always be accommodated in any way they want. And it causes a lot of problems there where some students seem to be able to ask for whatever they want while others have to bear all the consequences.

It does feel a little like it is growing in that way and that yesterdays kids are todays managers. Which is why I am probably a dinosaur with my 1980s attitude that your colour, sex, nationality and sexuality, religion and hairstyle have no bearing whatsoever on my opinion of you. These days it seems it's all you are.

One thing I’ve experienced a few times from grads- and this isn’t a piss take, I have sympathy- Is not being able to make phone calls or use the phone due to anxiety about the phone.

this is reallly common amongst people my age but I notice mainly for those who don’t work or have chosen jobs that require no phone contact

i do wonder how many of my generation have brought their children up to believe that anxiety is a reason not to do something expected of you. And not provided the nuance of genuine anxiety that requires medical support vs not wanting to do something because you’re scared. And somehow those people also haven’t picked up on just doing what you’re told at work, and if the work doesn’t suit you finding an alternative job that does

despite that I have nothing but sympathy for young people navigating the workplace and it’s no surprise they somehow get it wrong.

One thing I’ve experienced a few times from grads- and this isn’t a piss take, I have sympathy- Is not being able to make phone calls or use the phone due to anxiety about the phone.

And yet phone use has been replacing email (and other passive communication methods) for a while now.

Imagine a technology invented in the 1800s supplanting one invented in the 1900s.

(We all know the reasons though) ...

I struggle with phonecalls because I struggle with unscripted conversations. It takes me a long time to formulate some verbal responses, and this is met with the other person getting frustrated, or trying to siphon in more questions when I'm thinking of responses to the first thing they've asked.

I've also been called a robot more times than I can count. I've been asked if I'm a real person or one of those IVR AI systems.

I have actually worked in call centres, and for the most part, been able to script my responses ahead of time because there are only so many things people call in for, so it's easy for me to revert back to some sort of script, even if it's one I've made myself for that situation.

However, if my phone rings and I don't know who is calling, why they're calling, it can send me into a meltdown, a real neurological distress response to an overwhelming situation. This is what my manager could not understand about how I could work happily, productively, and perform better than anyone else in my team, but could not answer random teams phone calls that weren't in my calendar for the day, with no prior warning or notice.

I am diagnosed autistic, and late diagnosed too, so all my life I have been struggling with these phone calls and people telling me I'm simply using anxiety as an excuse.

Frankly I think we live in a world now where there should be more options for communication, rather than just phone calls. It would be more accessible, and make for better workplace, healthcare and administrative purposes.

Using the phone is one of the many things I can’t do. My UC work coach tells me never to admit this but always make it clear exactly what I can’t do. I dont want someone to employ me based on a false impression and then have to deal with my issues .

I sympathise with the phone thing. Have any of you worked with a manager that only understands things verbally? So you write a properly good email and then they call you up (the terrible bastards) and the ensuing conversation is basically you reading your email to them.

How come their need to use me as a text-to-speech robot outweighs my need to just communicate clearly in my preferred medium and then be left the fuck alone to hyperfocus and work at prodigious speed.

Email is so much better. You can make sure you’ve not missed anything vital and everyone can then look back over them if needed. Less confusion all round.

Sorry to be fair when I said phones - I mean phone, teams, any sort of remote voice to voice comms.

The flip side of this is I've found that a lot of older colleagues "much prefer a chat" - which is an hour long, and unscheduled.

If you email them with a non-urgent, but still important request, they forget about it or call to ask.

If you send a message asking for a simple file location or fact, they want to talk you through it.

But if you want them to simply read your email and give a written reply, they seem to really struggle.

Email has several advantages over phonecalls, especially in my area of compliance where I need to be sure I have a copy of the instructions I gave and can follow up the previous conversation precisely. So I have to meticulously follow up overlong phonecalls with written summaries.

I often think that this can be a mask for poor literacy skills.

My point wasn’t really specific to what they struggle with, but more that they think it’s ok to state or communicate they won’t do something that’s expected in the job because they’re anxious and scared to do so, rather than finding a solution.

great idea! Im adding :

bit lazy/CBA to proof read

for as my signature

Not being rude, it’s usually quite obvious if the sender of an email dyslexia.

I think the issue is that there is a lack of realisation that it is putting an additional burden on someone else. And that person will have their own needs that are just as legitimate as anyone elses.

For example, the earlier poster who listed all the things that made emails easier for him to read. Great, most of them are things that are fairly standard for clear writing in that kind of situation. "Walls of text" are not good practice for anyone.

If someone is writing poorly however, the reason is almost certainly that they struggle with writing.Many people do.

Another possibility is they are very pressed for time and just dashing it off. Well, that's another kind of problem and stress.

Sometimes it's appropriate to ask people something. Other times, you (the ND person in this scenario) will be the one who has to suck up a situation that isn't perfect for you.

People start to feel a low level resentment when they feel they are always having to cater to another's needs when they themselves are trying to overcome their own problems too.

Piles can absolutely be fucking debilitating. You clearly have no idea. People with chronic piles or worse, fissures, are massively impacted.

A lot of employers are scared of being hit with a discrimination claim. I saw this in my workplace, a person with two protected characteristics absolutely taking the piss with not accomplishing anything, and threatening very openly to make a big deal about it. This is a smallish business with about 60 employees, publicly funded and run on a shoestring. Not only could it bankrupt the organisation just with the lawyers fees, the director could end up unemployable on a personal level.

My cousin's workplace which is massive and has a lot more money gives people like this severance packages, often even when there is a very clear misbehaviour like open bullying.

ND is recognised as a disability under the Equality Act 2010. Piles are not.

Is all ND? Or just some? I have OCD. Is it classed as a disability? I wouldn’t identify as disabled - my OCD is pretty well controlled at the moment. but I’m guessing if it was severe you would be pretty disabled by it.

fuck that

im glad i work for someone who doesnt force this shit on people same with pronouns

This is really what I don’t understand and I think it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the law on the part of the employer. To be successful at tribunal for say, disability, as the protected characteristic, the employee needs evidence showing they have a disability and were subjected to unfavourable treatment directly arising from it, which the employer cannot justify. If the misbehaviour, or inability to do the job is not linked to the protected characteristic they have no case.

OCD is considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010 if it has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities, lasting at least 12 months or likely to recur. To qualify, the condition must make everyday daily tasks like washing, concentrating, or using public transport more difficult. The severity of the OCD symptoms determines whether it qualifies as a disability, but if it has significant interference in daily functioning, that’s key.

It doesn’t. And the employer should be providing appropriate software to do that as reasonable adjustment if the problem is down to disability.

If someone is writing poorly however, the reason is almost certainly that they struggle with writing.Many people do.

So why the fuck did they get the job ?