Amanda Riley’s Post

In the October 2024 edition of gemm insights, we published an article called Coaching for a Neurodiverse Workplace. It received lots of positive feedback and we are pleased it has been helpful. To supplement this article, we have produced an additional piece examining how the workplace environment can be more supportive for parents of neurodiverse children who are juggling caring duties with maintaining their career. We have also focused on how to create a more inclusive working culture for managers and leaders who are themselves neurodiverse. Please feel free to share this with colleagues who may find some of the content useful. #neurodiversity #workplaceinclusivity #coaching #gemmcoaching https://lnkd.in/evqBG9Xd

In the October 2024 edition of gemm insights, we published an article called Coaching for a Neurodiverse Workplace. It received lots of positive feedback and we are pleased it has been helpful. To supplement this article, we have produced an additional piece examining how the workplace environment can be more supportive for parents of neurodiverse children who are juggling caring duties with maintaining their career. We have also focused on how to create a more inclusive working culture for managers and leaders who are themselves neurodiverse. Please feel free to share this with colleagues who may find some of the content useful. #neurodiversity #workplaceinclusivity #coaching #gemmcoaching https://lnkd.in/eK-c6a7F

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: A Practical Tool for Workplace Emotional Resilience Did you know that employees struggling with emotional regulation are three times more likely to experience burnout? Yet many UK organisations overlook one of the most effective, evidence-based interventions available. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) isn't just for clinical settings. It's a practical framework that equips your workforce with four core skills: mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. These aren't abstract concepts—they're tangible tools that help employees navigate workplace stress, manage conflicts constructively, and maintain performance during challenging periods. Why DBT works in organisational settings: Reduces impulsivity in decision-making and communication Improves interpersonal relationships across teams and departments Builds genuine resilience that lasts beyond a single training session When teams develop stronger emotional regulation, you'll notice fewer conflicts, reduced absenteeism, and improved collaboration. DBT-informed skills groups create a safe space where employees learn together, combining professional guidance with peer support. The investment in workplace mental health training consistently shows measurable ROI through enhanced productivity and reduced staff turnover. Supporting your team's emotional wellbeing isn't just compassionate—it's strategic. How does your organisation currently support employees who struggle with workplace stress or interpersonal challenges? https://lnkd.in/eTtH5sC #WorkplaceWellbeing #MentalHealthAtWork

Sharing with my network I’ve seen first-hand the impact of Jenni’s work, and this course genuinely sets the standard for what good mental health leadership training should look like. Jenni creates a space that is evidence-based, practical, and deeply human - giving managers the confidence, language, and tools to support their teams without fear of “getting it wrong.” This isn’t about box-ticking wellbeing initiatives; it’s about building trust, capability, and healthier performance across the organisation. If you’re a manager who wants to lead with clarity, compassion, and confidence - and create a culture where wellbeing and productivity reinforce each other - I couldn’t recommend training with Jenni Cole more highly. A genuinely valuable investment in people, leadership, and long-term organisational health.

Emotional wellbeing is no longer a personal issue. It’s a performance priority. Across schools, corporates, and professional institutes, I see the same pattern repeat. People are capable. People are talented. Yet many are emotionally exhausted. Educators juggle classrooms, expectations, and unseen pressure. Professionals operate in constant delivery mode. Future leaders carry uncertainty, competition, and fear of failure. When emotional stress goes unaddressed, it shows up as: • Reduced focus and clarity • Lower confidence in communication • Drop in productivity and engagement • Strained relationships at work and home This is why emotional wellbeing can no longer be treated as an afterthought. It must be part of how institutions develop people. As an Emotional Wellness & Mindset Trainer, I work with educators, professionals, and future leaders to build: • Emotional resilience • Mental clarity • Inner confidence So performance doesn’t come at the cost of burnout. Institutions that invest in emotional wellbeing don’t just support people. They strengthen culture, consistency, and long-term growth.

TWitched: everything is work 🧠🏢🕺 Everything is work. Entertainment is work. Public joy is work. Even when the tasks look like fun, they carry responsibility, pressure, and emotional labour. Stephen “tWitch” Boss performed in roles where the demands of work extended beyond formal working hours. His persona, energy, and presence were part of his brand — and those expectations followed him outside the studio and stage. From an Industrial and Organisational Psychology perspective, this matters because work is not only about completing tasks. Work includes: • cognitive effort • emotional regulation • social interaction • role identity High-performing individuals are often at risk because: • they hide distress well • they are relied upon by others • they fear showing vulnerability Twitch was more than a DJ or entertainer — he carried the energy of a show, a team, and a public audience. That is emotional labour, and it requires structured support. --- 🧠 Work should have avenues for when someone is not coping A healthy workplace does not wait for collapse. It creates **clear avenues** to signal, detect, and respond to distress. These include: 1️⃣ Psychological safety channels 🗣️ Employees must be able to say: “I’m overwhelmed” “I need support” without fear of punishment or stigma. This requires: • trained leaders who listen • confidentiality guarantees • normalising check-ins • a culture where vulnerability is not penalised --- 2️⃣ Structured mental health support 🧠 Workplaces should provide: • access to professional counselling • regular mental health screenings • trauma-informed support • transition support for role changes or show endings For Twitch, the end of The Ellen Show was a major shift in role and identity — a known psychological risk point. --- 3️⃣ Workload and emotional labour audits ⚖️ Not all work is visible. Organisations must assess: • emotional demands of a role • recovery time built into schedules • expectations to be “always on” People who regulate mood, morale, or culture need: • scheduled decompression • rotation of responsibilities • permission to step back emotionally --- 4️⃣ Leadership training 🎓 Managers are gatekeepers. They must be trained to: • notice behavioural changes • recognise burnout • escalate concerns to professional support • avoid mislabeling distress as “attitude” or “lack of commitment” --- 5️⃣ Crisis escalation protocols 🚨 There should be: • clear response procedures • professional intervention steps • no assumption that family alone can manage crises --- 6️⃣ Culture that values rest 🌱 Resilience without rest is exploitation. Healthy work cultures: • reward recovery • encourage time off without guilt • treat rest as performance maintenance A smiling employee is not always a stable one.

Fitting in at work often involves more than learning the role. For many people, it includes noticing small signals about what is welcomed and what feels less safe to bring with you. These signals are rarely explicit. They show up in everyday interactions, in assumptions we don’t always notice, and small patterns that gradually influence how people are understood. Microaggressions can be part of this landscape. Not always clear enough to address in the moment, but present enough to influence how you move through the day. Over time, they can affect how comfortable it feels to speak, to contribute, or to show up fully as yourself. In hiring and progression, these experiences can feel particularly present. You may notice that some styles of working tend to be recognised more easily than others. This can create a quiet pressure to adapt. To soften parts of yourself. To translate who you are in ways that feel more acceptable. That effort takes energy. Not all at once, but gradually. It can leave you feeling more tired, more cautious, or less settled, even when you are capable and committed to your work. Belonging should not require ongoing self-editing. When it does, the impact is often carried quietly and alone. ______________________________________________________________________________ I am Devon Lowndes, founder of Self Agency, a neurodiversity consultancy and community interest company in Bristol. If this resonates, and it would feel helpful to reflect on how work is experienced beneath the surface, I’d love to connect. Mental health can be experienced more intensely by neurodivergent people, particularly when work involves ongoing self-monitoring or pressure to adapt. When It’s Not Working is a one-off coaching session created to offer space and support when work starts to feel heavier or more difficult to navigate, even if nothing looks obviously wrong. Email me at devon@self-agency.org to connect. — Image descriptions: Slide 1: A slide titled “The Work of Fitting In” under the Mental Health at Work header. Slide 2: A slide stating that 41% of Black and minority ethnic (BME) workers in the UK have experienced racism at work in the last five years. Slide 3: A slide noting that 27% of BME workers experienced racist jokes or “banter” at work. Slide 4: A slide stating that 26% were made uncomfortable by stereotypes or comments about their appearance. Slide 5: A slide stating that 31% said racism at work negatively affected their mental health. Slide 6: A slide noting that 4 in 5 workers who experienced racism did not report it because they feared not being taken seriously or damaging relationships.

Why Your Best Staff Say Yes Until They Burn Out! The Hidden Cost of Rejection Sensitivity This is really interesting from Nathan Whitbread ACC, The Neurodivergent Coach: Looking at everything from Google's Project Oxygen, EY Belonging research, to day-to-day diary management and meeting overload (we've all been there)... check out this article While often associated with #ADHD, rejection sensitivity shows up across many neurodivergent and non-neurodivergent experiences. It shapes how people make decisions, how they manage up and down, and how they assess risk, capacity, and safety in the workplace. In FE, where professional identity, care, and resilience are tightly woven together, it has particular consequences. Check it out: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ghU5Z4vw #RejectionSensitivity #Neuroinclusion #inclusion #Leadership #Resilience

Training your people as workplace mental health advocates is just the beginning - real impact comes when learning is supported, embedded and sustained over time. That’s why our supervision sessions are such a powerful next step. Our supervision sessions give advocates a structured, safe space to: 🌱 Reflect on real experiences and challenges 🛠️ Strengthen skills with guided feedback 🤝 Build a peer support network grounded in shared learning Each session is themed and tailored to reflect real case studies, current pressures and the evolving needs of your teams. These sessions can be delivered virtually or in person, anywhere in the world and in multiple languages. Whether you’ve just completed training or want to ensure your advocates remain confident and connected, supervision provides continuity, confidence and community. Learn more about how supervision sessions can elevate your workplace wellbeing strategy👉 https://lnkd.in/djjwG7kP #WorkplaceWellbeing #MentalHealthSupport #Leadership

Here's what I know from my background in applied social psychology: No one escapes being human. We all have a nervous system. And whether we acknowledge it or not, that nervous system is running the show in ways we don't always recognize. It's there in the meeting where you snapped at someone who didn't deserve it. It's there when you've rewritten that email five times because you can't quite get the tone right. It's there in the performance conversation you've postponed three times because you're not sure how to start it. Your nervous system isn't the enemy. It's actually trying to protect you. But here's the thing, it doesn't always know the difference between a real threat and a hard conversation with a colleague. So what happens? Capable, intelligent professionals find themselves reacting instead of responding. Not because they don't care. Not because they lack the skills. But because in that moment, their nervous system got there first. This is where most workplace solutions miss the mark. We invest in productivity tools, leadership programs, wellness perks. But we don't give people the neuroscience-based strategies to actually access their best selves when pressure hits. Through NuriEdge, we provide quick, on-demand support grounded in how your brain and body actually work under stress. Not theory you'll forget by next week. Practical strategies you can use in the 90 seconds before that conversation. Or the moment conflict starts brewing. Or when you need to regain composure before responding. Because when you understand how your nervous system works, and you have tools to work with it instead of against it. That's when you show up as the leader you want to be. That's when you do your best work. You don't have to leave a personal confession in the comments, but I always welcome your observations and insights on what you are seeing middle managers struggle with most? (at companies other than your own of course 😏 )