workplace – Transforming workplace teams

“Belonging is a business strategy.”

25 Feb 20263 Feb 2026Jane JamesLeave a comment

When employees feel they truly belong, three things happen:

✨ Performance improves
✨ Wellbeing improves
✨ Loyalty improves

Neurodivergent employees bring huge strengths — creativity, innovation, problem solving, resilience, and the ability to see connections others miss.

But those strengths only show up consistently in environments where people feel safe enough to be themselves.

Ally awareness training helps create that environment by teaching staff:

That differences in communication, focus, or emotional response are neurological — not attitude
Those small acts of inclusion (clear instructions, patience, reduced sensory stress, encouragement to use adjustments) make a big difference
That kindness and curiosity build connection
That everyone benefits from more flexible, human-centred ways of working

This isn’t a “diversity initiative.”

It’s a workforce sustainability strategy.

Because when people feel they belong, they stay.
When they stay, knowledge stays.
When knowledge stays, organisations grow stronger.

Belonging reduces absence.
Belonging reduces burnout.
Belonging reduces legal risk.
Belonging protects talent.

And it starts with teaching people how to be an ally.

Call to Action

Belonging doesn’t happen by accident — it’s built through awareness and everyday behaviour.

Make ally awareness training part of your people strategy and turn inclusion into a measurable business advantage.

#Neurodiversity #Leadership #HR #WorkplaceWellbeing #Inclusion #People

Meet Jeff!

23 Jul 2025Jane JamesLeave a comment

Meet Jeff – my niece’s cat.

She homed him from Battersea Cats & Dogs Home. He’d had a naff start to life.

Like most pets, Jeff is my niece and her husband’s ‘baby’. Both utterly smitten with him and have been for over 4 years.

Earlier this year devastation hit – Jeff started changing before their eyes.

Covid was diagnosed by the vet. However, clearly learned behaviour and not genetics, Jeff doesn’t follow the crowd (nor does my niece!). He developed a particularly nasty strain which impacted his organs.

Lots of medications, night watches – taken in turns by my niece and her husband – and constant worry followed.

There was a moment when it was thought kinder to put Jeff down. Not by my niece!

She still saw ‘her’ Jeff inside the poor creature now before her.

“There has got to be another option.” Now my niece has the biggest ‘puppy dog eyes’ – no vet would say no.

A final treatment was tried. Now, months later you can see Jeff is almost back to health, and the bags under my niece and her husband’s eyes are fading too!

How often in business and life do we give up because it’s just easier to do something else?

The right decisions are not always the easiest.

Before you make a snap decisions – have you thought of all the possibilities – especially the unique ones?

I see many times in my work with different organisations, people making assumptions leading to poor judgements leading to a heap of potential pain for everyone.

Example: a team member believes they could be neurodivergent. Their manager agrees some easy adjustments but the individual doesn’t use them. The manager assumes they are happy, but the issues and pressures for the individual keep mounting.

It’s uncomfortable to check in with the individual to find out why they aren’t using the agreed tools and steps.

Do they feel they stand out if they use them?

Do they feel their colleagues will judge them?

You’ll never know if you don’t step into that conversation.

Ignoring it, can lead to that person going on sick leave or burning out – either way it’s costing you money and loss of talent.

It could lead to an Employment Tribunal – costing you even more – compensation, legal fees, pressure of the process, reputation

Think differently. Ask curious questions. Don’t assume.

What situation have you been in which required you to think differently to get a great result?

Precedents…………. Do they dent confidence in the workplace?

18 Oct 2024Jane JamesLeave a comment

@BenMachell’s piece on office etiquette caught my eye yesterday.

Humorous, but with a potential sting in the tail for all workplaces!

We’ve all worked in environments where Ben’s examples have been present.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve gone into a corporate toilet only to hear a phone call taking place in a cubicle interspersed with the noises of bodily functions – you get the picture.

Or the times my personal space has been invaded with over the shoulder peeks at my screen – not a good idea considering my specialist areas of mental health and wellbeing!

Ben’s opening piece on the recent precedent set at an Employment Tribunal illustrates how workplaces can be landmines of offence without critical thinking.

Nadine, a recruitment manager won a case of unfair dismissal after greeting her boss three times only to be deliberately ignored each time. The ET Judge ruled this was unreasonable and likely to undermine trust and confidence. Of course we don’t know the whole context of this case.

One glaring thought hit me, what if one of the parties was neurodivergent?

The Hyperactivity part of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is misleading. There are multiple different types of ADHD and the impact will be unique to each individual. Consider someone who experiences ‘Hyperactivity’. This isn’t visible on the outside, it’s often the chaos of multiple racing thoughts on the inside.

While speaking with someone who is ADHD and experiences hyperactivity, they can look as if ‘they have zoned out’ when in reality, their impulsive brain is chasing down a thought they’ve just had. Would they be at risk of a challenge at ET if they didn’t respond to greetings?

Do we automatically jump to ‘someone has offended us’?

Or do we challenge that thought and check with them first to make sure our thought is fact and not just our thought?

What do you think?