PegSquared

PegSquared Weekly When words don't mean what you think they mean Dear Reader, Last week, I sent my daughter an emoji. Completely innocent in my mind – just a quick, friendly response. She immediately messaged back: "Mum, do you know what that actually means?" Turns out, the harmless emoji I'd sent has an entirely different meaning to her generation. I was mortified. Here I am, spending my days helping organisations improve their communication around neurodiversity, and I'd just spectacularly...

PegSquared Weekly Workplace design and mental health at work Dear Reader, This week brought the usual headlines about “Blue Monday” – a term invented by a travel company, not by scientists or clinicians, and repeatedly debunked by mental health charities as a PR stunt rather than a real peak in depression. Something I had no idea about! But the attention it gets does highlight something real: winter can be hard, and workplace mental health cannot be reduced to a single day on the calendar....

PegSquared Weekly How Social Media has Changed the Neurodiversity at Work Conversation Dear Reader, This week, I traced back through the history of workplace neurodiversity programmes, trying to pinpoint when everything shifted. What I found surprised me: it wasn't policy changes or new legislation that reset expectations. It was social media - and it happened faster than most organisations realised. Your recruitment team is confused. Candidates are asking questions that didn't exist five...

PegSquared Weekly The celebration gap: When success doesn't feel like success Dear Reader, A Happy New Year and welcome back to PegSquared Weekly. I thought I'd start this year by tackling that feeling of dread I experienced sitting back at my desk - despite loving my job! Returning to work after the holidays can feel difficult. Your brain has gone through periods of autonomy, reduced cognitive load, and real recovery, only to re-enter systems designed around constant high demand and rapid...

PegSquared Weekly The celebration gap: When success doesn't feel like success Dear Reader, As we come to the end of 2025, it’s a time when people naturally reflect on what they’ve achieved. For many neurodivergent people, that reflection doesn’t automatically lead to celebration. What I see consistently in organisations is this: neurodivergent employees often struggle to recognise success because rejection sensitivity, perfectionism, and impostor syndrome distort how achievement is...

PegSquared Weekly PegSquared's Neurodiversity Impact Model: communication, environment, executive function Pegsquared's Neurodiversity Impact Model illustrates how neurodiversity manifests at work across three interconnected domains: Communication, Environment, and Executive Functioning, with individual neurotype at their convergence Dear Reader, I spent this week building out a comprehensive neurodiversity awareness session for a client, and I kept coming back to one uncomfortable truth:...

PegSquared Weekly "It's the most wonderful time of the year" – for some. Festive party special! Dear Reader, The festive season is upon us, and with it comes the annual workplace Christmas party. For many, it's a highlight of the year - a chance to celebrate, connect with colleagues, and mark the year's achievements. But for a significant portion of your workforce, particularly those who are neurodivergent, the traditional workplace festive party can feel less like a celebration and more like...

PegSquared Weekly It's not you, it's me (and why I've been apologising for the wrong things) Dear Reader, Before you start - if it is easier to listen to this email and you are using Microsoft - please see instructions on Immersive Reader above. Now let's dive in! I need to be honest with you. For the last few weeks, this newsletter has remained unwritten. I have emails I need to respond to. WhatsApp messages that stay on "unread" to remind me I need to go back to them - and I still haven't....

PegSquared Weekly Invisible Data, Invisible Talent - Why AI Risks Excluding Neurodivergent Workers Dear Reader, Artificial Intelligence can be a lifeline - especially for neurodivergent brains like mine, finding creative workarounds for everyday challenges. But beneath its appeal, there’s a risk that’s impossible to ignore in the wider workplace Imagine HR systems powered by AI: designed to make recruitment fair, fast, and future-ready. But beneath the buzzwords, a silent barrier emerges -...