A digital work-support tool
A digital work-support toolSupport in your pocket for a more confident working day.
My Work Buddy is a phone-based work-support tool. It helps people get ready for a shift, follow what happens next, work through tasks step by step, check in and ask for help at the moment it is needed.
It is designed to sit alongside the people who already provide support — job coaches, supervisors, colleagues and families — not to replace them.
What it does
What is My Work Buddy?
My Work Buddy brings the useful parts of a working day into one clear place on a phone: what is happening, what to do next, how to do it, and how to ask for help.
The aim is straightforward — to make workplace support easier to reach in the moment it matters. Preparation before a shift, structure during it, and prompts that help someone keep going independently where they can.
It is built for real working environments, where time is short, instructions move quickly and asking for help can feel difficult.
In practice, it supports:
- Getting ready for a shift with fewer unknowns
- Following the working day in a clear order
- Working through tasks step by step
- Asking for help without needing the right words
- Checking in on how the day is going
- Building routine and independence over time
Real working days
Designed for ordinary workplaces
My Work Buddy is built around the kinds of roles people actually start out in, and the routines those roles involve.
Retail
Shelf and chiller replenishment, facing up, tidying and front-of-store routines.
Warehouse and logistics
Picking, packing, scanning and repeatable bench tasks with clear step order.
Kitchens and hospitality
Prep routines, cleaning schedules and service-time tasks broken into steps.
Office and admin
Post, filing, data entry and reception routines, with prompts for what comes next.
Photography shows illustrative workplace settings. It does not represent named employers, partners or endorsements.
How it helps
Support at the points in the day that matter
Each part of My Work Buddy is designed around a specific moment in a working day.
Prepare for work
See what is coming up before a shift begins — where to go, what to bring and who will be there — so the day starts with fewer unknowns.
Know what happens next
A simple view of the working day in order, so it is easier to keep track of where you are and what follows.
Step-by-step task support
Tasks can be broken into clear steps with words and visual prompts, to work through at your own pace.
Ask for help
A straightforward way to say that help is needed, without having to find the right words in the moment.
Check in
A short, low-pressure check-in so someone can share how the day is going and what would help.
Build confidence and independence
Familiar structure and prompts are designed to support people to do more for themselves over time.
Product in action
The screens people use at work
These are screens from the My Work Buddy app, shown as they appear on a phone.
Visual Task Guide
One step at a time, with plain wording and a visual prompt.
Get Help
A calm route to the right kind of help, without needing to explain first.
Induction and learning
Short lessons that introduce a workplace before and during the first weeks.
Check-in
A low-pressure way to share how the day is going, without a spoken conversation.
Who it's for
Built with several people in mind
My Work Buddy is designed for autistic people, people with learning disabilities or learning difficulties, people with ADHD, and people who experience sensory or communication differences that make a fast-moving, unfamiliar workplace harder to navigate. It is built with young people on supported internships, traineeships and work placements particularly in mind — including those with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), Statement of Special Educational Need (SSEN) or Personalised Learning Support Plan (PLSP) — as well as anyone starting or returning to work who benefits from clear, predictable, low-pressure support.
Difficulty holding multi-step spoken instructions in memory
The Visual Task Guide breaks tasks into single steps with plain wording and a visual prompt.
Anxiety about asking for help, or not having the right words in the moment
The Get Help screen offers a small set of clear options to say what would help, without needing to explain first.
Unpredictability in a new workplace causing overwhelm
Prepare for Work and Know What Happens Next give a clear, consistent view of the day before and during a shift.
Sensory or communication differences that make a verbal check-in difficult
My Check-in offers a short, low-pressure way to share how the day is going, without needing a spoken conversation.
Slower build of independence in a traditional classroom-style induction
Short, repeatable Induction and Learning lessons let someone build familiarity at their own pace.
Everyone’s needs are different. My Work Buddy is one part of a wider support plan and works alongside the people already providing that support — it is not a replacement for occupational health advice, a workplace needs assessment, or clinical guidance.
Individuals and interns
People starting work, on a supported internship or work placement, or returning to work, who want the day to feel clearer and more manageable.
Families and supporters
Parents, carers and supporters who want to understand the working day and help someone prepare, without needing to be there themselves.
Employers and providers
Employers, job coaches, supported-employment services and education providers looking for consistent, practical in-work support.
Design approach
Designed around real working days
My Work Buddy is a work-support tool. It does not assess, diagnose or provide clinical or medical support.
Accessibility is a design requirement, not an add-on
Clear language
Short sentences, everyday words and consistent wording across the whole product.
Predictable navigation
Screens behave the same way each time, so there is less to relearn.
Visual support
Icons and images sit alongside text to reinforce meaning, not replace it.
Reduced cognitive load
One thing at a time, with only the information that is useful right now.
Mobile-first access
Designed for a phone, because that is what people already have with them at work.
Support without stigma
Looks and feels like an ordinary work app, so using it does not draw attention.
For employers and funders
A practical layer of workplace support
My Work Buddy provides consistent structure and clearer communication in the workplace. It sits alongside human coaching and support, and is designed to complement rather than replace job coaches or people-based support.
Practical workplace support
Support delivered in the flow of the working day, on a device people already carry.
Consistent structure
The same clear format for tasks and routines, whoever is on shift that day.
Clearer communication
A simple, low-pressure way for someone to say they need help.
Works with existing support
Fits alongside job coaches, supervisors and provider teams already in place.
About
Why My Work Buddy exists
My Work Buddy exists to make workplace support clearer, more accessible and easier to use — for the person doing the job, and for everyone helping them.
Good support already happens in workplaces every day. It is often verbal, quick and hard to hold on to. My Work Buddy turns that support into something someone can look at again, in their own time, on their own phone.
We describe what the product does and how it is designed. We do not claim outcomes, endorsements or accreditation that we cannot evidence.
Our approach
- Plain English, checked for clarity
- Built for phones and real shift patterns
- Designed with accessibility from the start
- Careful, evidence-minded claims
Contact
Talk to us about My Work Buddy
Whether you are an employer, provider, commissioner, family member or someone starting work, we are happy to talk it through.
Email us directly at paul@myworkbuddy.org.