Meet Jasper – Jasper is a person of many words, few words, kind words, and sarcastic words, all said at 1 million miles an hour.

My name is Jasper. I started working for Complete Communication in September 2022. Since then, I have followed the company through its changes and am now an employee of The Inclusivity Group. I love all things computers, games, Math, and reading too many books. Basically, I am a nerd, and I own that word.

My fresh start

When I started working for Complete Communication, I was at a point where most aspects felt pointless. I had recently been homeless, I was 22, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I also didn’t have very good social skills.

Working here led me to interact with many people with different life experiences, including our deaf and disabled clients and colleagues. This was the first step in helping me decide who I wanted to be.

Asking for help is an OK thing!

The second step on my journey was learning to ask for help. Due to my upbringing, I found it hard to ask for help, especially from someone older than me. This includes the managers I would need to ask for help from if I wanted to grow as an employee. Learning to trust and rely on others was challenging… But as the months passed, I realised this was a safe place; I started opening up and talking more about myself and my life.

A fantastic part of this company is that everyone is very open with each other and talks about their life experiences. This allows us to understand each other personally. It also helps seeing different situations from their perspectives. This makes the company so open to diversity. It can treat each person based on how they want to be treated.

For me, I’ve always identified with the LGBTQ+ group, in particular the Trans element of it. My partner is a transman and had been before I ever started at the company. However, I was always worried about how an employer may perceive this. I worried I would be discriminated against, especially as it is currently a very heated topic in the world. My work colleagues didn’t know my partner was trans until after a year of working here. It took me time to feel comfortable to mention it to them.

The moment I started to become the real Jasper

Once I gained the confidence to talk about my partner’s identity, it made it easier to talk about my own. I could see that no one within The Inclusivity Group would react negatively to these characteristics or treat me differently because of them. If anything, they encouraged me to be my true self. Because of this acceptance, I was able to wear what I wanted to on casual Fridays without feeling I would judged. This means I was able to wear skirts and other feminine clothes I own but have never dared to wear.

I am now a lot more open with the team about who I am, who I want to be and what I want in life. I have a trans flag on my desk, and I wear a trans hairclip every day. Even my work clothes are more feminine now. This reflects that I’m more comfortable. It means I no longer have to restrict myself to being masculine on all but casual days.

I am far from the end of my journey. Still, my time here has allowed me to gain confidence. I can be whoever I want without fear of judgement or discrimination.

The workplace environment at The Inclusivity Group that has allowed me to prosper. This is shown in the work my colleagues do for our clients. All our clients, regardless of gender, religion, race, and nationality, get bespoke support that matches their needs. The Inclusivity Group cares about creating a society where Deaf and disabled people can live a life with equal opportunities as anyone else.

Finding a place where I belong

When it comes down to it, finding an employer who supports and empowers you to be your best is paramount to developing into the best version of yourself. Finding yourself isn’t easy, and I’m very grateful to The Inclusivity Group for assisting me and so many others in being who we want to be.

Working at The Inclusivity Group has been one of the best experiences of my life. It will continue to be memories I cherish as I grow in my career.