18/11/2025
They made Steve and Liam do a puzzle - and this was a small part of their learning.
Liam and Steve attended an event focused on neurodiversity in the workplace today. It wasn’t another awareness session. It was a challenge to rethink how we recruit, support, and work with individuals across our industry.
What stood out was how directly relevant this is to haulage, storage and logistics, particularly for businesses like ours at GMA.
Key takeaways included:
• Shift your thinking – Ezra and Karis from Suffolk Mind explained the move away from the outdated ‘medical deficit’ approach towards a social model that recognises environment, clarity and support as key factors. Labelling someone isn’t helpful if you don’t understand their actual working needs.
• Practical examples – Hyper-focus can be an asset in route planning and accuracy. Sensory overload is a real risk in busy warehouses. Small changes like quiet zones, noise cancelling headphones and clear task instructions can have major impact on staff engagement and retention.
• Legal and operational risk – Burkitts LLP highlighted that only 31 percent of neurodivergent individuals are in employment. Tribunal claims involving neurodiversity have jumped significantly since 2020. Creating the right culture is not only the best way to stay compliant, it makes business sense at a time when our sector faces serious skills shortages.
• James Kindred’s talk – James spoke about being diagnosed autistic and ADHD at 45, and the years of working ‘against the grain’. His message was simple: awareness is fine, but if nothing changes in the workplace, nothing improves. Businesses that act now will attract the best problem-solvers and more creatively minded people.
What we’re taking forward at GMA:
1. Review work environments and operational roles to align strengths, not restrict them.
2. Challenge how we communicate tasks and feedback internally.
3. Train our management teams to better support colleagues who think differently.
4. Treat adjustments as investments in people and performance, not compliance exercises.
The message was blunt and accurate. Inclusion isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about building safer, more productive teams by working with people as they are, not as policy expects them to be.
Thanks to the speakers and organisers, and to everyone pushing this forward. We’ll be using what we learned to improve how we support our people and how we serve our customers.
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