Neurodiversity Celebration week – Meet G.Networker, Kelvin.

Tell us about your role at G.Network…

I’m the Revenues and Contract Accountant in the Finance team, which means I manage a lot of our payment processes. This includes payments from customers, billing, contract upgrades, downgrades, and renewals, as well as talking to customers if they have any queries or issues with payments. 

When were you diagnosed with ADHD?

I was in my mid-twenties – pretty late compared to most ADHD diagnoses, which is usually picked up at school. ‘The naughty kid in the class’ is the stereotype for someone with ADHD, but that wasn’t me at all. I could be quite argumentative and struggled to focus, but I always did well academically and maybe that’s why my ADHD went under the radar. It was only when my flat mates and then my partner started to make light-hearted comments about me having ADHD that I decided to look into it. I wanted to put the pieces together.

I found out that have combination-ADHD, which means I can be impulsive and hyperactive, as well as inattentive and distracted. It made a lot of sense, but I was surprised because I’ve never seen myself as neurodiverse. I hadn’t thought of it that way before.

How does ADHD affect your life? 

Firstly, I would say that I have never suffered with ADHD – I don’t see it as a problem in my life. But I do have traits that are very different to a neurotypical person, and being able to understand this better has helped me enormously. 

I can be clumsy, forgetful, and I’m always losing things! I can start a task and abandon it halfway through because I lose interest. But the thing about combination ADHD is that I can be inattentive at times, and other times I’m hyperattentive. If I find something really interesting, or set myself a goal, I can focus for hours. It means when I find a good book, I’ll finish it in no time!

And how about your career?

You might think ADHD and a career in finance don’t go well together, but I’ve found the opposite. Working towards performance goals or certain end points is really productive for me; whether that’s in the long-term, like the financial year, or the short-term, like giving myself an hour to complete an admin task. I’m good at setting myself deadlines and meeting them. Plus, because I can be forgetful, I know that I have to take thorough notes. That means I triple check everything and have an eye for the detail, which is key in finance.

If I ever find my work mentally challenging, it’s not because I’m neurodiverse. That being said, a long meeting where I have to sit and listen is something I’ll never be able to get along with.

Are there any adjustments you make to your work?

When I first started, I found that I was using lots of different platforms and I kept getting distracted and missing things by hopping between them all. So I came up with a way of streamlining my emails, tasks, and notes so they were all in the same place. I showed this to the rest of the team, and they loved it.  

G.Network offer hybrid working, which is great for me. I like being in the office and working alongside my colleagues, but sometimes for me, it can be distracting. When I put my headphones in, my team know that I’m not being rude, I just need to get into the zone. When I’m working from home, you’ll usually find me with a murder mystery podcast on! 

The attitude at G.Network is brilliant, and my manager is always open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. We’re not a Finance team that’s stuck in its ways. I also feel that everyone here is genuinely passionate about being part of G.Network’s mission, especially our aim to serve all Londoners.

Image credit: Sharlene's Illustration