How to approach common dyslexic challenges at work
The Hive just recently hosted our first masterclass of 2022! We kicked this year off with guest speaker Neil Gardner! Neil is the Dyslexia lead on SAP’s Diversity and Inclusion UK panel, and he was generous enough to talk to us about how to approach dyslexic work challenges.
Challenge: Your boss does not want to accommodate you.
Advice: insist and go further in the hierarchy, be sure to explain what dyslexia is.
Challenge: Your boss keeps nagging on you to improve and do better.
Advice: Remember you are not the only one your boss is pushing. You might just be a bit more sensitive because of years of dyslexic trama.
Challenge: Feeling inefficient and like a failure.
Advice: Ask yourself if you are in the right position/role and doing the right tasks. Do not spend time on tasks that you can not add value to. Take tasks that play to your strengths. Be communicative about your strengths.
Challenge: The company feels so disorganized and chaotic.
Advice: SPEAK UP! Being dyslexic helps you see dysfunction and often if you see it so does everyone else. By speaking up you help push for change, a dyslexia-friendly environment is a benefit to everyone.
Challenge: routinely messing up emails.
Advice: Don’t power through them too quickly. We often want to respond ASAP but this can lead to mistakes. Take your time and think about what you want to say.
Pro-Tip: Did you know you can set a send delay on your emails?! We can not thank Neil enough for this little nugget of advice. Set a 2-minute delay on your emails that way once you hit send you have two minutes to go back and fix any mistakes!