Thriving as a Neurodiverse professional: challenges and success in the workplace

Scott Pacifico, Senior Associate for the Content Acquisition Team at S&P Global, spoke to myGwork about his experiences as a neurodiverse person navigating challenges in the workplace. Scott's journey sheds light on the trials and triumphs he has encountered throughout his career, as he shares advice to those who want to be better allies to neurodiverse people.

Please introduce yourself and describe your role at your workplace.

I’m Scott Pacifico I have been at S&P Global for nearly 9 years in the London office, working previously as a team lead for the Ratings Operations team and more recently as a senior associate for the Content Acquisition team (CARM).

Can you share your experiences as a neurodiverse person in the workplace, particularly any challenges you have faced and how you have overcome them?

The UK has been quite slow in accepting and diagnosing ADHD and it only recently became classed as a non-visible disability. This meant I spent 40 years of my life tackling something my GPs said didn’t exist. This meant in both education and work I struggled as the conventional way of learning and working at times did not suit me.

The term masking is still a reasonably new word to me and one I struggle with as I have come to discover just how much I have done this throughout my life. The need to fit in and hide what is your true authentic self at work has historically been a challenge, this can be mirroring teammates to blend in, monitoring how much I am speaking or not speaking, keeping my focus on the task in hand and working to what is the norm.

It has taken working at S&P Global and feeling both secure in my role and teams that I am now able to be both myself in personality and in the way I work.

In what ways do you believe being neurodiverse impacts your experiences in the workplace, and how do you navigate any unique challenges that arise?

Two days are never the same, and I say this as someone who both takes ADHD medication and has coaching/therapy to help maintain and cope with my ADHD. I can say with true honesty the jealously and envy I have of Neurotypical people who experience a consistency of mood, attention span and general wellbeing.

With this inbuilt inconsistency I must constantly monitor myself professionally and personally to make sure I am working at a good standard whilst accepting the ebbs and flows of ADHD, which can at times mean I can complete projects in record times one day but struggle with motivation the next day.

Tools I use to keep myself consistent is planning, planning and more planning. I am rarely seen without a note pad and sticky notes, this is so I can plan my day and set targets to keep myself on track. This is to keep myself both, so I achieve my goals, but also to I limit myself to avoid the dreaded “ADHD Burnout”.

I have been fortunate in my time in Ratings that my role was set to daily targets and goals, and in my new role working within CARM where I have set goals and objectives to help keep me on track. I have also been very lucky that I have had and continue to have supportive management.