'Are You Lazy Or Stupid?': The Reality Of Navigating The Workplace With Dyslexia

We need to talk about the invisible effort of adult dyslexia.

Natalie Brooks is the founder of Dyslexia in Adults, and author of Dyslexia Unlocked (available 23 April 2026).

After making the same mistake twice in relatively quick succession at my former workplace, a manager said to me “are you lazy, or are you stupid?”. The mistake itself was small. I had sent a quote in pounds instead of dollars. But it happened twice, and what my manager saw as carelessness, was actually my dyslexia.