‘Workers with ADHD will almost always have challenges in the workplace, even if they are able to work with understanding and accommodating bosses, or get the assistive tools they request. But things may be looking up, at least in part.
As ADHD diagnoses have increased in the past decade, this knowledge has enabled more people to seek help from their employers.
Of course, educating employers and making workplaces more inclusive is important, too. ..neurodiversity training and workplace adjustments benefit everyone.
“People think accommodations need to cost a lot of money. A lot don’t cost anything at all,” she says. These adjustments can be software changes that help make screens more readable, providing quiet space where interruptions are limited or observing strict calendar or meeting boundaries to avoid unexpected disruption. “You’re not giving someone an unfair advantage. You’re just giving people choice. And giving people choice means better outcomes.”
In the meantime, however, workers with ADHD may be on the back foot, especially if they’re not in an environment with supportive management.’
‘Unlike their NT counterparts, workers with ADHD often find themselves left behind.
Its effects in the workplace can be particularly acute, where norms around behaviour and processes can drive bosses to label ADHD employees lazy, disengaged or incapable. “ADHD traits can be really badly misinterpreted. If I struggle with timeliness, you’re going to think I don’t care about my job. If I forget something, you might just conclude I’m dumb.”
Beyond bosses’ perceptions, often, these workplace struggles can make workers with ADHD judge themselves, too, causing damaging emotional impacts.’
‘This self-judgement is one of the problematic knock-on effects that can send people with ADHD into negative emotional states. “There can be an element of, like, ‘why bother, when I’m not going to do it right? I’m just going to get a negative response’, This can trigger a common reaction of “rejection sensitivity dysphoria which is a much deeper feeling of rejection at a critique”one that can erode self-confidence and emotional wellbeing.
Often, people with ADHD are uneasy about asking for help, because it means announcing their diagnosis. The stigma is still very present it can be viewed as a condition for children, or something that isn’t much of a challenge. “There are plenty of people still out there who don’t believe in ADHD,” This can lead to scepticism of the idea that some people’s brains function differently as a result.
Many workers instead engage in “masking” to compensate. “It’s an idea of ‘who do I need to present as to be accepted?’ Restraining oneself from a lot of natural impulses” just to fit in with colleagues, she says. Masking can be effective for a short period of time, but it is rarely sustainable and often depleting.”’
