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Źródło: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp954ep948lo

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Can you keep a secret? Meet the autistic MI5 intelligence officer

Can you keep a secret? Meet the autistic MI5 intelligence officer

After the meeting, Liam took some time offwziął trochę wolnego from his job and spoke to several specialists. He learned he'd experienced autistic burnoutautystyczne wypalenie, a state of physical and mental fatiguefizyczne i psychiczne zmęczenie and heightened stresszwiększony stres which had built upnarosło over years.

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Some days he was relievedodczuwać ulgę to understand what had happened - other days he was anxiouszaniepokojony about whether he would have to find a new job.

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“I struggledzmagał się being offbyć poza (pracą) work,” he says. “I was so tired, there were lots of thoughts running through my mindprzebiegające przez myśl. I was worried how I would be viewed.”

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Despite the anxietiesniepokoje, Liam was supported by colleagues when he returned to work. He was offered sessions with occupational health and well-being teamszespoły ds. zdrowia zawodowego i dobrostanu, and neurodiversityneuro-różnorodność coaches helped him learn how to work with his autism.

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He learned about the importance of doing one task at a timewykonywanie jednej czynności na raz, having routinesposiadanie rutyn, and having conversations about what to prioritiseprowadzenie rozmów o tym, co ustalić jako priorytet.

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Over time things got easierstało się łatwiejsze. Liam joined a neurodiverseneurozróżnicowany staff networksieć pracownicza and was encouraged to share that he is autistic.

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He says he can now see the strength in the way he approaches tasks and describes intelligence workpraca wywiadowcza as like solving a complex jigsaw puzzle, where neurodivergentneuroatypowy people may be able to offer alternative perspectives, and help plug knowledge gapswypełniać luki w wiedzy.

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He says his hyperfocushiperfokus, attention to detaildbałość o szczegóły, and good memory have also proved fruitfulowocny in the field.

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Keeping secretsutrzymywanie tajemnic is a big part ofduża część working for MI5 and only Liam's close family know what he does for a living, but he says his burnoutwypalenie zawodowe was never linked to this aspect of the job.

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“I keep a lot of information insidezachowywać wiele informacji dla siebie," he says. "Keeping secrets is never an issueproblem for me.”

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MI5 is a Disability ConfidentPewny niepełnosprawności employer, which means it has taken steps to provide equal opportunitiesrówne szanse to disabled people. It employs about 5,000 people, about 4% of whom are disabled, according to figures released in 2022. The think tankzespół ekspertów, the Institute for Government, says this is below averageponiżej średniej for civil servants which in 2022 was 14% and 15.5% for the UK working population.

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Historically, security services have found recruitingrekrutowanie disabled people and other groups such as black and minority ethnicetniczny difficult, but MI5 says it has worked hardciężko pracować to change this. Its latest pay gap reportraport o różnicy w wynagrodzeniach shows a quarter of all new joiners in 2022/23 were from an ethnicetniczny minority background, and almost 48% were women.

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MI5 did not provide information on how many of its neurodiverseneurodywersyjny staff end upskończyć in senior positions, but Liam says being autistic has not held him backpowstrzymało go. His promotion to senior manager came after his burnoutwypalenie zawodowe experience and he says he knows others who have also succeeded in the organisationodnieśli sukces w organizacji.

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“Some people are on the ADHD sidez ADHD, some autistic and some are highly sensitive," he says. “Being neurodiverseneurozróżnicowany brings strength to MI5.”

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Gordon Corera, the BBC’s Security Correspondent, says there is a real emphasis onprawdziwy nacisk na diversifyingróżnicowanie staff in the UK’s security agencies.

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“It’s partly to reflect the populationodzwierciedlać populację, to be open to the best peoplebyć otwartym na najlepszych ludzi, and also to avoid the 'groupthinkmyślenie grupowe' which comes from only having one type of backgroundtło or one way of understanding the worldjeden sposób rozumienia świata.”

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He says of the three main agencies – MI5, MI6 and GCHQ – the latter appeared to have more visibly disabledwidocznie niepełnosprawny staff “and it’s often looking forszukać people with neurodiversityneurodywersyjność”.

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But adds: “MI5 always looked more diversezróżnicowany in terms ofpod względem ethnic background and has more women in senior positions.”

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Kamran Mallick from Disability Rights UK says UK work culture is evolving with regard tow odniesieniu do neurodivergentneuroatypowy people.

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“Organisations like MI5 play a crucial rolekluczowa rola in leading the wayprzewodzić to more inclusiveinkluzywny and supportivewspierający environments for people with conditions like autism,” he says.

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But according to the Office for National Statistics, in 2022/23 only 30% of autisticautystyczny people were in work.

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“Often a lack of awarenessbrak świadomości and understanding about neurodivergentneuroatypowy conditions among employers, leads to misconceptionsbłędne przekonania and insufficient supportniewystarczające wsparcie,” says Mr Mallick.

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Liam says he has everything he needs to do his job well and is keenchętny to share his story. But when pressed for informationnaciskany o informacje about the social spaces where his colleagues might meet to share their experiences, Liam gives nothing awaynie zdradza niczego.

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“ I can neither confirm or denypotwierdzić ani zaprzeczyć whether there is an MI5 pub.”

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