Finding a place to make a difference at DIO

Created by VERCIDA for Defence Infrastructure Organisation

After a late diagnosis of autism and ADHD and doing many different jobs, Lauren is enjoying her busy role at DIO, where she actively advocates for diversity and inclusion.

I was finally diagnosed with ADHD early last year at the age of 26, and autism this year at age 27. I’d lived my whole life knowing that I was different, but wasn’t sure why. From the time I was a child, I’d seen countless psychologists and psychiatrists during a time when diagnosing ADHD/autism wasn’t common, especially for girls.

It’s not unusual for people with ADHD to have had a lot of jobs and I’m no exception – I’ve had about 30 jobs, predominantly in retail, before joining the Civil Service. My longest job before DIO was for a cosmetics company where I worked as a training manager and a makeup artist. I really enjoyed being in management and training people. Seeing the potential in people and helping them make the most of it was my favourite part of the job.

But I fell out of love with the beauty industry – it can be very catty and competitive – so I started temping, but I’d never last long due to poor mental health, and I kept having to take time off for anxiety and depression. When I became really poorly and ended up in hospital, I lost my job. After that, I worked for a while at my local college as a receptionist and was promoted to be a personal assistant to the head.

Around this time, I was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis and fibromyalgia, then Covid happened. I was on immunosuppressants, but there was no real flexibility around working from home, so I knew that as a disabled person I needed a career where the employer was flexible, supportive and offered job security. This is when I started with DIO as an administrative officer. Right away, I was impressed by the flexibility, inclusiveness, and interest in supporting with reasonable adjustments.

I was keen to be promoted quickly, because I knew I was capable of more than the role offered and ended up working for a different government department as a contract management assurance officer. But I didn’t enjoy the new workplace. I was newly diagnosed with ADHD and I wasn’t being supported, which was a huge difference compared to my experience at DIO. I decided my health and wellbeing mattered more than any job. When my mental health suffers, my physical disabilities flare up.

This was when I realised that I wanted my next move to be within the diversity and inclusion space. Even though I was unhappy at the new department, I had been a network lead for a disability network, which gave me great experience that I’ve been able to bring to DIO.

I’ve been back with DIO for four months as a Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Advisor and it’s fantastic. My line manager checks in on me often to ensure I’m taking regular breaks and not working myself silly. She has been excellent with my workplace adjustments and has made accommodations, such as allowing me to work from home, not tasking me with taking minutes or notes, giving me clear written instructions for my tasks, and ensuring that my colleagues know to not drop phone calls on me out of the blue, and to message beforehand. All of my adjustments help me avoid sensory overwhelm that leads to burnout.

When I travel for work, I am able to use a hire car instead of public transport – because this is very stressful and overwhelming for me as an autistic person – and it’s always a car that’s accessible and has an automatic gearbox. I also use assistive technology, such as software to help me dictate documents and make voice notes, which has been really helpful.

Workplace adjustments actually benefit the organisation – they help those that need them to be at their most effective, as they have the right support to thrive. Part of my job is helping to consult on a Ministry of Defence-wide initiative to improve the procurement of workplace adjustments, so it’s consistent, rather than a disjointed process that can be very stressful.

A big chunk of my job is managing the diversity and inclusion networks at DIO – we have networks for disability, faith and belief, LGBTQ+, gender, race, and social mobility. We engage with the networks regularly and provide support. This includes ensuring all committee vacancies are advertised and filled so that the networks can thrive, and collaborating on various awareness events and initiatives. Training sessions and webinars are important too, and my team holds these regularly. The most recent sessions were about unacceptable behaviours in the workplace.

With Vercida, we look at the statistics for demographics of people who are applying for our jobs and look at areas to focus on in recruitment where we need to do better. We’re currently focusing on neurodiversity – which is where I come in – with a focus on LGBTQ+ and women in defence coming next.

My aspirations are to remain in the diversity and inclusion space and to keep doing work that will make a difference, especially for people with disabilities. I always thought that my disabilities and neurodiversity would hold me back, but DIO has helped me see that I can be just as successful as someone without disabilities. My line manager and team lead nominated me for a place on a leadership programme. I’m pleased to say I was chosen for it and it is really enjoyable. It would be amazing to become a senior civil servant or even higher, so I can raise awareness at a high-profile level, influence policies and possibly even help change laws.

I’m so passionate about this and there is so much that we can still do to make the workplace even more diverse and inclusive for everyone.