by Daley Jones
Co-Chair | ADHD Alliance

Been a little while since I’ve written anything. Busy busy busy as per.

Speaking of being busy, one thing that I have been endeavouring to find time for of late is exercise.

Now, I don’t need to say anything about the obvious benefits of regular exercise with regards to people’s physical health. There are plenty of articles out there, written by people far more intelligent (and fitter) than me that will explain all of that.

But what has become increasingly apparent to me is how important regular exercise is to my mental health, and in particular my ADHD and dyspraxia.

Now, like many I’ve always hated running. However, having nothing to do during lockdown (remember that!?) and not being able to take part in team sports (football for me), I decided going for a run was better than doing nothing.

I won’t lie… the first few weeks were bloody awful. I hated every single run. But then one day, quite unexpectedly I found myself enjoying my run. It was such a shock I remember the moment clear as if it was yesterday.

I was running along a canal one morning. It was a beautiful autumnal day, I’d run past some canal boats (cooking bacon, the bastards) and some swans. And found myself thinking “Well, isn’t this nice?”

I eventually set a goal of doing a half marathon, which I trained for and completed in June 2021. However, thanks to my good old ADHD… as soon as I completed my goal, my brain said: “That’s it, done now”, and honestly I’ve struggled to get back into running again.

The thing is, my physical fitness massively improved. But what I came to realise, only quite recently in fact was the massive benefit the exercise was having around my ADHD.

There is the obvious point: ADHD man = he like to move.

But what I started to miss was the headspace going for a run gave me. I’d literally have nothing to focus on, or worry about. It would just be me, the road/path/towpath. It was an extremely liberating state of mind.

Then there’s my dyspraxia. I got my ADHD diagnosis first, but I quickly realised the issues I had controlling my big old frame (6’5″ and fairly broad, ladies and gents) and my fine motor skills were causing me far greater self-esteem issues than my ADHD.

It’s always been there. I avoided going to sports day at school. There was an expectation that I’d excel at certain sports like long and high jump due to my size – this was obviously not true. Hop skip and jump: forget it, with my sequencing issues. Javelin and shot put: my force feedback issues prevented me from using the requisite effort. And then there’s one of my life’s great loves: football. I’ve always played football. But it was always apparent there were issues for me that others didn’t seem to have.

Heading the ball? Ha, that requires me to anticipate the movement of the ball, and get my brain to engage my legs to jump with the correct amount of force, move my head back and then forward connecting with the right part of my forehead… NO CHANCE.

What about in goal? Sure, I saved a few shots because I’m a big lad. But judging a low-driven shot? By the time I’d worked out where the ball was heading and processed what I needed to do… the net was already making that satisfying yet galling ripple sound.

The point is – all these perceived failures put me off physical activity.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking to Caragh McMurtry at a neurodiversity speaking event we were both at. As well as being a generally all round lovely person, Caragh Is a former Olympic rower, representing Great Britain and appearing at the Tokyo Olympics. She also happens to have an autism diagnosis.

I urge you to have a look at Caragh’s brilliant website, read her story and find out how she is trying to help neurodivergent athletes and their coaches maximise their potential.

I’ve been lucky enough to have an in-depth conversation with Caragh about the issues I’ve had as a neurodivergent person wanting to get into sport. She really is very inspiring!

She helped me come to the realisation that regular exercise was having massive benefits to my dyspraxic self-esteem. When I was running, I was no Mo Farah, but I was really proud of my achievements. I was getting out moving regularly, and only occasionally crashing in to things (low hanging branches along towpaths have a lot to answer for).

Needless to say, my new levels of understanding around the importance of regular exercise means I am trying to get back into a routine. I won’t lie, it’s proved difficult – primarily due to issues being organised and executive function. But I’ve re-joined the gym and have benefitted from advice from a neurodivergent-friendly personal trainer: the lovely Shelley Rudge.

Shelley explained the weight based gym exercises in a way my dyspraxic brain could comprehend, really listened to my feedback around the ones I found more difficult, and found excellent easier-to-understand alternatives that had the same desired effect. Check out her Instagram.

So, I implore you… Get out there! It doesn’t matter if you aren’t going to look like a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, or be the next Laura Muir. Regular exercise will have such a transformative effect on your mental health, as well as your physical. I just need to start following my own advice on a regular basis! ∎

This blog was originally published on the Metropolitan Police Service Intranet – it is reproduced here with kind permission of the author

To mark the beginning of National Inclusion Week 2024, Lincolnshire Police NPAA Coordinator Andrew Woodcock looks at the proven advantages of diverse and inclusive workplaces

My passion and interest through my own neurodivergence is championing awareness across the organisation of neurodiversity. However, my research has led to the wider subject of diverse teams, and their importance and relevance to all the staff networks within Lincolnshire police.

For many years in policing we have been required to undergo diversity training. Much of the focus from this training was initially around race, understandably due to high profile cases such as the Stephen Lawrence murder. Back in 2002, my university dissertation examined the progression of policing following the Macpherson report into the failings identified following the investigation, which identified fundamental issues with institutional racism and police culture.

The impact of Macpherson on public confidence decades later is still felt. More recently policing has gone through a series of further scandals relating to non-disclosure (Liam Allen), misogyny (David Carrick and Wayne Couzens) and also issues over police officers’ conduct on social media platforms such as WhatsApp. Public confidence in policing has taken a massive hit, and this has reflected on a local level in policing across Lincolnshire.

So why am I talking about all this? Here are some key statistics with links referencing the original articles:

• Diverse teams are 35% more likely to outperform their competitors (McKinsey)
  Although police forces are not in a competitive market, we are inspected and benchmarked against other Forces – so naturally if we have more diverse teams we are likely to stand up better to independent scrutiny.
• Diverse teams are 87% better at making decisions (People Management)
• Decisions made and executed by diverse teams deliver 60% better results (Forbes)
  We have to make decisions in policing every day. Some of these decisions will have lasting impacts on people’s lives. Therefore having a diverse team which reflects society is likely to lead to better decisions being made.
  Part of debriefing where things haven’t gone well should consider is the team involved in that situation diverse? Did lack of inclusion in a team and recognition of diversity lead to poor decision making? How can this be rectified?
• Diverse teams have 19% higher rates of innovation (Forbes)
  It is well documented that Lincolnshire Police is one of the worst funded Forces in the country. This has been the case for decades, despite the determination to change funding formulas which remains ongoing. Building diverse teams is likely to lead to us making more efficient use of our resources – innovation may also even lead to greater resources via the Home Office STAR funding stream.
• Diversity improves team performance by 30% (Gartner)

How do diverse teams benefit our workforce wellbeing?

• Inclusion increases employee engagement by up to 83% (Deloitte)
• Employees who feel their organisation is inclusive are three times more likely to be happy in their job (BCG)
• Inclusion reduces absenteeism – a 10% increase in perception of inclusion adds one working day per year per employee (Catalyst)

Diversity and inclusion boosts recruitment and retention:

• 62% of employees would reject a job offer from an organisation with a culture that wasn’t inclusive (People Management)
• 39% of jobseekers won’t even apply for a role if they don’t consider the organisation to be inclusive (McKinsey)
• 76% of candidates consider diversity to be an important factor in their choice of employer (Glassdoor)
• Inclusion increases staff retention by 50% (Harvard Business Review)

As you can see, there is clear evidence that diverse teams impact on external recruitment into policing, and also on internal progression.

Work is ongoing nationally including the recent amendment of the Code of Ethics and updated Competency Value Framework (CVF) to improve representation of neurodiversity in higher ranks.

Having a diverse workforce impacts on whether members of the public may choose to engage with the police and provide information. If the public see the police as unrepresentative, they are likely to be distrusting and less receptive to providing information which we rely on in a policing by consent model. This is most notable in communities across the UK where murders involving gun crime and gangs has been met with a wall of silence.

The inspirational speaker Simon Sinek argued eloquently about why people buy Apple products as an example of the power of ‘communication from the inside out’. (His viewpoint I must add is not universally accepted.)

“Here’s how Apple actually communicates. Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one? Totally different right? You’re ready to buy a computer from me. All I did was reverse the order of the information. What it proves to us is that people don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it.”

Here are some figures you need to know about the competitive impact of diversity and inclusion.

Diversity and inclusion increase revenue:

• Diverse management teams achieve 19% higher revenue (BCG)
• Diverse companies generate 2.3 times higher cashflow per employee (Deloitte)
• Diverse companies are 36% more profitable (Gartner)
• Diverse companies are 70% more likely to capture new markets (Harvard Business Review)
• Diverse organisations generate a 66% higher return on equity (Deloitte)

Diversity and inclusion attracts customers:

• Up to 50% of customers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by an organisation’s support for equality (Deloitte)
• Consumers are four to six times more likely to buy from and champion a brand with a strong sense of purpose (CSR Wire)
• 57% of consumers are more loyal to brands that commit to addressing social inequalities (Deloitte)
• 64% of consumers were motivated to take action by an inclusive ad (Google)
• Inclusive ads increase purchase intent by 23% (Microsoft)
• 53% of UK people say their purchase decisions are influenced by a brand’s diversity and inclusion efforts (Kantar)

If you’re considering whether diversity and inclusion is a worthwhile investment for your organisation, or you’re trying to make a business case to the senior leadership for diversity and inclusion work, there is plenty of evidence out there to help you.

Please take time from your busy working days to consider these examples and understand how we can all impact on making our teams more diverse. ∎

This blog was originally published on the Lincolnshire Police intranet – it is reproduced here with kind permission of the author

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, Police Superintendents’ Association Disability Lead Superintendent Paul Burrows reflects on his own mental health journey and provides advice and insight on supporting those in the workplace who may need help

The adage that ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ is powerful and poignant.

We hear so much in the media about those who are taking a break from sport, the arts or just life in general to reflect upon their mental wellbeing. Having recently been on this journey I thought there might be some beneficial insights I could provide to those who are perhaps fortunate enough not to have been such a traveller. Or perhaps validation to those who have like me, travelled. I am stronger but changed. I now, for example, have a new definition of ‘good friend’ – it is someone who looked out for me and helped me realise they cared and that people cared about me. Perhaps these words will engender more good friends?

I have no doubt that there may be some cynicism about wellbeing breaks. They can come across as being ‘de rigueur’. However, through lived experience I can vouch for the importance of looking after one’s mental health before you get to crises. This wellbeing MOT is critical. But how do you realise you need to do this? Are you failing to sleep? Being incredibly tired at work, or even falling asleep? Are you irritable and having arguments – usually at home? Suffering from palpitations? Light-headed? Demonstrating road rage? Not taking breaks or your rest days? Always thinking about work, even on holiday?

The reasons I struggled with my own mental health (I really don’t like the term ‘illness’, though someone far cleverer than me will no doubt explain that it is an illness), are many and varied and deeply personal. The underlying factor was burnout, the second was conversations which, because of my own neurodivergence, I failed to contextualise. These were the first dominos.

Also, as a Strategic Firearms Commander (SFC), Advanced Public Order Commander (APOC) and on-call Superintendent, I worked many additional shifts which meant I rarely got the rest I needed. I am not unique. This burnout exacerbated other events and conversations that tipped me over the edge to amongst other things, a marriage breakdown.

You don’t want to get to where I was, so hopefully these few words may halt a slide.

I am the PSA disability reserved representative and have been open about my own autism. Whilst off work sick, I continually asked myself the question of whether I was creating my own self-fulfilling prophecy. The statistics speak for themselves: in the UK, 66% of autistic adults have thought about taking their own lives, and 35% have attempted suicide. Around 1% of people in the UK are autistic, yet 15% of people hospitalised after attempting suicide have an autism diagnosis. If you reflect upon how many of your own team have a diagnosis or consider themselves to be autistic, it might well be worth looking at your long-term sickness figures for anxiety and depression in a different way. I also pose the question: do you know who your team is? Our role as managers is critical – what are we missing that is hiding in plain sight? Do we foster relationships that are genuine and sincere? The number of conversations I have had with neurodivergent colleagues from other Forces would suggest these relationships sometimes still need to be built. Otherwise, individuals are left questioning their own self-worth.

Having been away from work, I am stronger for my experience, but changed; and changed quite fundamentally. It is for this reason that I write about my journey in the hope that it may help someone either by ensuring they or perhaps even you get the support needed.

So, what have I learned?

The first thing is that it must be accepted that you are not well, and that support is required. Unfortunately, the crises can bite you before you consciously accept this fact. Look out for the triggers. I had many but didn’t realise what they were. I was told I looked grey, but this was only said to me when I came back to work. I didn’t take my rest days in lieu (RDILs) after working on-call as I needed to be at that meeting; I didn’t take my 11 hour break between shifts entitlement because I needed to be at work. I constantly checked my emails when off duty. Really?

So, what is the first step?

A good friend of mine who had his own period off sick with ‘stress’ said to me that after accepting I was not well, I also needed to accept that I would never be the same again. Fact. Another friend said that he came to realise before his retirement just how many people in the police service are hanging on to their mental health by their fingernails. Both these individuals were superintendents, so this issue is very real.

My concern is that as we see more and more colleagues getting promoted to senior roles relatively early, and with extended service, they may well be in these ranks for decades. The pressures will only mount and unless the on-call and specialist cadre burden are shared equally there will be too many more who develop lived experience of mental health crises. Teamwork is key, at all levels and in all roles.

Being on the PACE (Custody) and SFC on-call rotas and being a Silver Public Order Commander, I accrued a large number of RDILs. I couldn’t take them and still be at work to do my day job. I was burned out, my life home-life collapsed, and I went off sick.

I’m not unique in the level of stress and demand I was facing. PSA statistics show alarming levels of mental ill-health amongst our members, as do that of Oscar Kilo and other policing organisations. This is also not unique to the superintending ranks. Our colleagues at the Police Federation regularly share evidence of the toll of policing across the workforce.

When you reach burnout, on some days all you can do is set yourself a single task: that may be get out of bed, clean your teeth, or go for a walk. This may be all you can achieve. The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is ‘moments for movement’. I thoroughly believe that exercise is critical to mental wellbeing, and if you can encourage the individual to do one thing, it is exercise – outdoors, in the daylight. I don’t mean train for a marathon, it may be as simple as a walk, however slow, around the block – but something in the daylight.

It is also worth having a look at how wellbeing support is presented on your Force website. All people in crises will want is the number to call and in what circumstance, in short sentences. It is simple. They are under stress. Do you need help? Phone this number. It also needs to be clear what level of crises the person you are phoning can support. I was rejected from a number of services because I was, at the time, too ill. There are significant gaps in our service provision, and most of what is offered is lower-end conversation therapy – which is hugely important, but please don’t assume the services available will meet all needs. Also – and I can’t say this enough – the person may need help navigating this journey.

Reach out. I have reflected a lot about my own experience and how I have previously failed friends who were off sick. I thought, “Someone else will speak with them”, “They don’t want to speak to me, there is a named welfare contact and I don’t want to pry”. They are all good reasons to justify not reaching out. However, the person who is struggling will be the arbiter of who they want to speak to. I was truly humbled by the number of people who reached out to me and who made themselves available for a coffee and a chat. This will not be forgotten. As an autistic person, I don’t have a wide circle of friends, in fact I would have said I didn’t really have any friends. I know otherwise now.

So, you have reached out. What should you do? It is all about listening and not necessarily about providing solutions. Being off long-term sick can be isolating and lonely; everyone is different and will have a different number of outside-work social networks to reply upon, but some may have none. Particularly those who live and breathe work. Dare one suggest it, but those who are autistic may be particularly likely to have a limited network of friends to speak to. A single contact at whatever interval your Force requires from the welfare contact may not actually be enough.

Returning to work. I read some years ago about the importance of having someone walk into work with you on that first day back. To meet you in the car park or even away from work and physically walk you to where you work and perhaps sit with you and have a cup of tea whilst you settle in. This was, and is, brilliant advice. I know individuals who have sat in car parks in tears not feeling able to walk into work. These are robust people. Don’t underestimate the thoughts going through the individual’s head, matters that may seem trivial: what will people think of me? Will I be welcomed back? Why do people think I was off sick? It is also worth reflecting on how many hours the person will return to work for in the first instance and what the nature of their duties will be. Did anyone think about turning off their email or recording an out of office reply whilst they were away? How many computer-based training packages are they required to complete? It all adds up and can become overwhelming. The process of re-acclimatisation may take weeks. It will also be exhausting.

My final observation is: have you considered how many of those who are off work on long-term sick leave with anxiety and depression may be undiagnosed (or indeed diagnosed) neurodivergent? There is a considerable body of evidence that indicates that those who are ND are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression and seven times more likely to attempt or commit suicide. The view is that 20% of us/our colleagues in the service are ND, so there may well be an additional consideration here to be made. The question I find myself posing a lot is, “Do you know who your team are?” If not, if could be more beneficial than you ever imagined to find out. ∎

This blog was originally published on the PSA website – it is reproduced here with kind permission of the author