ADHD & Neurodiversity in the Workplace

Someone with ADHD might not be someone you immediately think of when you think of the ideal employee, but with the right environment and support they can show you what they’re made of. A person with ADHD can bring a new way of thinking to the workplace, new ideas, energy, and intense passion, optimism and focus to the workplace.  

Admittedly this isn’t always the case, disorganisation, zero time management and constant mistakes are a part of the done deal. I can vouch for this from personal experience. 

I’ve struggled with finding strategies that work for me. When I was younger, I was in detention every week due to being late or missing homework deadlines, definitely not a sign! I struggled a lot with avoiding conflict, losing my temper, shutting down, manic depression. I had no impulse control, no executive functioning skills. I didn’t know how to regulate my emotions let alone how to speak about them, so no one knew how to help or even what was going on. And given the stigma around mental illness and disability, I didn’t want to talk about it, to admit it or seem a burden, troublesome or less capable. 

It’s only in looking back now that I realise, I had ADHD; I didn’t realise my ‘normal’ daily life was a symptom of it. ADHD is usually seen as hyperactive and lively, full of fun and energy! Not depression, anxiety, frustration, and executive dysfunction. How could I possibly have ADHD?  

That was until a friend of mine who has ADHD explained what ADHD is “there’s a lot more to ADHD than most people think” she said, “you know, you should really look into it.” 

And down the rabbit hole I went…

Weeks of research lead to the realisation, oh shit, this could be it. Now I know you shouldn’t trust Google 100%, but I trusted my gut. This is the closest thing I’ve ever had to an answer, I actually feel seen. People underestimate the relief of getting a diagnosis, but god it was the best feeling when I got that call to say “you have ADHD.” After a lifetime of waiting and years on the waiting list, I was finally getting my answer – My frustrations meaning something, a way to move forward after being stuck. To give a reason to what I’ve been struggling with since a child.

I was on the waiting list for 3 years, during that time I went to college, nearly quit but came out with a Diploma, joined The Learning Foundry doing a short course, nearly quit, but came out with a qualification. Through the Learning Foundry I did a work placement with The Regenda Group, which lead to an apprenticeship in graphic design and digital content.   

Admittedly, I had my struggles while working here at Regenda, I came in with no knowledge of how to manage myself in a working environment. I still had a lot a lot of aspects from childhood that held me back ‘the people pleaser’ and an ‘impulsive perfectionist’ who had too many contradictions of herself to keep up. 

At first it was exhausting, and it nearly cost me my job.

I was too scared to talk about it to anyone, I had a hard time asking for help. I didn’t have any coping mechanisms; I didn’t understand what I needed and what works for me. I was getting by trying to do the ‘normal’ way of things because it worked for everyone else, why didn’t it work for me? What am I doing wrong? I kept pushing myself into a mould that wasn’t made for me. I needed to realise everyone else’s way wasn’t mine, I needed to develop my own way of doing things. Something that works for me, my style, my way.  

With neurodivergent people this is often the case, a cookie cutter mold that just doesn’t work for us. From the interview process to everyday work life, the norm isn’t always the best option. We have different wants and different needs than neurotypical people. Even from person to person it’s a spectrum, each of us has different symptoms, strengths and weaknesses, the best thing an employer can do is have a conversation with each person, you can’t go wrong by having an open conversation about how to accommodate and improve on both sides, every person will appreciate a different approach.  

The difference it can make when you reach out, someone who cares about understanding you can change someone’s life, someone’s outlook on themselves. I’ve had a few people who took the time to understand me. The first instance was my year 11 English teacher, she saw me struggle and wanted to help. She didn’t know everything, but she tried, we talked about dyslexia; that was busted with a test. We didn’t know why I struggled but she helped, she wouldn’t shout or give me detention if I didn’t complete a task, something I greatly appreciated considering I was in detention every week. She gave me extra support at lunches, sat me at the front where I could see her and try and remove the distraction from the window and people. Checked in with me often and gave feedback and ways to better my work and remember to include things like grammar in my work. Turns out screaming CAPITAL LETTERS at the top of every page actually helped, writing it down, who knew?!

My manager now has also helped me with coping strategies that work, once I opened up she tried to find out as much as she could about ADHD, she spoke to people with experience which ended up in a referral to a course for neurodiverse people, and I sent her articles as well that I related to. She helped me prioritise and we learnt together what worked. Once we figured out what my strengths and weaknesses were, things were put in place to help, at that point it was up to me to take advantage of that and show what I was made of.

Personally, I can get quite overwhelmed and fall into old ways of perfectionism and harsh self-criticism. I struggle with time and need more support with prioritising. I forget a lot of things, so I need to be organised and have everything written down, with the rise of zoom and Teams calls, it really helps for me to record a conversation and listen back to it. I’m literal and take everything at face value, so a lot more conversation is needed. I get overwhelmed and distracted by noise so headphones are a must. Textures, temperature, stimming, fidgeting, eye contact. There are so many things that go into every individual’s experience, conversation is needed with that individual to know what they need. ASD is a spectrum, ADHD is so varied its insane, Dyslexia has different areas of struggle.

If you want some overall first steps to support an employee, this might be a good place to start: 

Put instructions and key conversations in writing

Personally, I struggle with short term memory, so instructions written in a clear and concise manner is key. Not only this but people with ADHD are impatient and we don’t operate with long slogs of information. Give us a quick overview of a project or discussion and go from there. Give instructions broken down into small sections, it’ll make it easier and less daunting to read as well as something to look back to when we might forget something important. If you’re not able to have a conversation in writing, it can be amazing to record a conversation so a person may be able to listen back to it. 

Set clear deadlines

People with ADHD work well under deadlines, having clear, specific and realistic timeframes is essential to reduce procrastination and reduce ‘time blindness’. People with ADHD often don’t have a clear concept of time, we don’t procrastinate because we’re lazy, but that a deadline is so far in advance or not clear so it’s not on our minds. Executive functioning comes into this as well, sometimes we can face ADHD paralysis, our minds won’t let us do a piece of work or a task for whatever reason, the pressure of a deadline can override that paralysis*.

*Understand our limitations, sometimes our body physically will not let us do a task, no matter how much we want to. Listen to us when we say we can’t do something.

Break tasks into smaller chunks

We work in sprints rather than marathons. People with ADHD are looking for dopamine, its what were lead by. So breaking down tasks into smaller chunks and tick that off your list is a great motivator, getting that dopamine hit from getting a task done as well as making tasks look less daunting to complete.

Regular progress reviews but try to avoid micromanaging

Checking in is important, making sure these strategies you put in place are working.
It’s important to make sure the person you’re working with doesn’t struggle in silence, if you see them struggling, address it privately, talk to your employee and ask, what steps can we take to change? Make sure they give you feedback as well, this is a two-sided conversation, make sure they’re as involved in the process as you are. Despite checking in and monitoring progress, it’s important not to micromanage us. Put trust in us, give us the room to thrive and we’ll outgrow your expectations.

A safe work environment

An office environment can have a massive impact on someone with ADHD, this is unique to each person. Something that works for me could be incredibly different to the next person. Taking frequent breaks can make a big difference in our ability to focus, breaks of downtime and their own way of a reward can help recharge our battery. Personally, I like an open plan office with people around, I find it keeps me accountable to my own boundaries and work, it stops me drifting as much. Some others might like a quieter secluded space, their own office to remove detractions. Some might like to move around a lot, changing seats and locations for stimulation, some like staying in their same place for consistency and stability, their space that they can come to and work. Their brain knowing that when they are there it’s time to focus on a task. I personally prefer that consistency, however that changes at home. Hybrid working is a godsend for people with ADHD, being able to destress and be at comfort as well as not have to mask as much, it’s great to just be able to have that balance. But it can also mean a lot more distractions at home. There are different ways I cope at home to being in the office, for example having shoes on at home tricks my brain to thinking I’m at ‘work work’ and helps me to focus. Changing locations when I feel stuck or slumped helps me get out of my head. I always have a hoodie on at home, reducing my vision of my surroundings and muffling noise slightly, helping me not be distracted or overwhelmed by noise.

Training both official and own research

Learn more about neurodivergence yourself as well as official training, there are many sources and things you can utilise for your own personal learning such as the ADHD Foundation has a Neurodiversity Friendly Award for employers completing training company wide. As well as the individual with a disability, ways that they can learn more and learn strategies and even courses that just give them the confidence to be them. I went on a 3-day course that changed the way I viewed myself. Positive Futures held a programme in partnership with the ADHD Foundation (both resources I couldn’t recommend more) the aim being to improve everyone’s understanding of themselves and to gain the knowledge and skills to progress and/or reengage in an education or work environment. I really fell in love with the people and there programme there, it helped me with my resilience and that my frustration isn’t anything to do with my lack of ability.

Utilise technology

Use multiple screens to make sure everything is visible. This can reduce the amount of energy on memory we have to use. Let them use reminders and to do list apps, text to speech and speech to text softwares. White noise apps and music. Using technology to stay organised, avoid distractions and remember tasks can be a key to the success of a person. I utilise these however I also use physical notebooks and post it notes as physical reminders as well as digital. Utilising both can be essential.

Don’t ignore it

Often if you don’t present the typical or disruptive symptoms, a person can often be ignored and brushed over. It’s not even considered that they might be struggling as employers or schools might not see it. Every time I tried to talk, I got told to “get on with it” or “nah you’re fine, there’s nothing wrong with you Susie, you aren’t possibly that way.” I struggled for years with no one believing what I was feeling so I shut down. No one saw me struggle as I wasn’t a little boy who was hyperactive and disruptive, it’s a hidden disability, it doesn’t mean its not happening.

We all have such different needs but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth that effort of accommodation. For one, that’s the bare minimum. Secondly, we have so much we can teach, so much skill, so much dedication and resilience and whatever other buzzwords I can use we have it all!

Give us a chance and give us the change we need, and we’ll offer so much more.