How to Manage ADHD at Work and Turn It Into a Strength

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeremy Didier had taken her son to a psychologist for a possible ADHD evaluation when she spotted an article about women with the condition. As she read it in the waiting room, she thought to herself: They’re describing me.

“Lots of risk-taking, lots of very impulsive behavior growing up,” Didier said. As the magazine described, she’d excelled in school but gotten in trouble for talking too much. She’d amassed too many speeding tickets as an adult. She turned to her husband and said, “I think I might have ADHD.”

Didier is now the board president of Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, a nonprofit advocacy and support organization. Her realization mirrors the experiences of other adults who wonder if they have ADHD after a child’s diagnosis.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by inattention, hyperactivity or a combination of the two. Common symptoms such as trouble concentrating or sitting still can create challenges at work.

People with ADHD are often passed over for promotions, said Andrew Sylvester, a psychiatrist at UCHealth in Longmont, Colorado. Difficulties with attention may lead the mind to drift during meetings, and cause someone to miss important discussion nuances. The disorder may interfere with organization, planning and remembering details.

Yet some adults think of having ADHD as a source of personality strengths and ways of thinking that benefit employers. Diagnostic manuals may call it a disorder, but it also can be a superpower, they said.

“Our brains work differently and so we’re more likely to be able to think outside the box and come up with different things, and sometimes that’s because we’ve had to do that in order to to survive,” Didier said.

Here are some ways to cope with and channel ADHD in the workplace.

Finding Community

Getting diagnosed with ADHD doesn’t always lead to a quick fix. While doctors often recommend medication and therapy, not everyone can take medication, and those routes don’t necessarily eliminate all symptoms.

Didier floundered with a messy house and lots of yelling as she and four of her five children were diagnosed with ADHD. She experimented with medicine, diets and reward charts, and discovered what helped her the most: a community of parents who had children with ADHD.

“There’s nothing like talking to other people who are going through what you’re going through to help you feel … that you’re not alone,” she said.

Didier eventually became a social worker and now runs support groups for adults with ADHD, teaching skills they can use at work.

Some organizations have employee resource groups organized around neurodiversity to provide camaraderie and support to adults with ADHD, autism, dyslexia and other conditions.

GPS of the Brain

People with ADHD often struggle with executive function, which Didier describes as “your brain’s GPS” for navigating your day. Executive function is a set of mental skills that includes making plans, managing time and flexible thinking. It also includes working memory, which helps us keep track of what we’re doing.

To keep from getting derailed, experts recommend breaking large tasks into chunks, writing detailed to-do lists and taking breaks.

Personal chef Bill Collins, 66, who was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago, writes structured lists when he’s making a meal for a client. He creates categories for kitchen areas — counter, stove and oven — and then lists tasks such as “chop carrots, boil water for pasta” underneath each category. Then he numbers each task so he knows exactly what to do, where and when.

“That’s how I got around my unknown ADHD early on, just making lists,” Collins said. “If it’s something I don’t want to do, I put it at the top of the list so I can be done with it.”

Another technique is called “body doubling,” which involves a pair of work colleagues meeting over Zoom or in-person to focus on completing projects. The two may choose to perform separate tasks — one might build a presentation deck while the other files tax reports — but help each other stay accountable.

“You’re just sitting there during that dedicated time, getting things done,” Didier said.

Insurance company Liberty Mutual provides an AI tool that helps break down large projects into manageable tasks and provides reminders about deadlines, to help employees with ADHD stay focused and organized, said Head of Benefits Verlinda DiMarino.

Getting Through Meetings

Meetings can be difficult for people with ADHD if their minds drift or they feel an urge to get up out of a chair. They also may struggle with impulse control and find it hard to wait their turn to speak.

Nicole Clark, CEO of the Adult and Pediatric Institute, a mental health practice in Stuart, Florida, suggests asking for meeting topics in advance and writing up talking points. If you think of questions during the meeting, write them down.

Some employers use a voice-to-text service, projecting what a speaker is saying on a screen, which helps people with attention difficulties stay focused, Clark said.

Sylvester, the psychiatrist, recommends practicing active listening by repeating in your head what someone just said, or taking a brief time-out from a meeting to reset.

Tell them, “’I need five minutes. I’ll be right back.’ Get up and walk out. Do what you need to do,” he said.

Mariel Paralitici-Morales, chief medical officer of the Adult and Pediatric Institute, who has ADHD, sits close to whoever will be speaking to help sustain attention.

“Having something in my hand helps,” said Paralitici-Morales, who sometimes holds a fidget spinner. “If we have to talk, I found it’s easier for me to be the first one and break the ice” to keep herself from second-guessing what she planned to say.

Seek Accommodations

People with an ADHD diagnosis can request accommodations at work through the Americans with Disabilities Act. Noise-canceling headphones may help. Consider asking for the ability to take a break every 20 minutes, Sylvester said.

“Set a timer for five to 10 minutes. Get up and walk around. Make some coffee. Go play with the dog,” he said. “When that timer goes off, go back to a 15 to 20 minute hard productivity cycle.”

Employees can also request a flexible schedule or ability to work from home, which can enable time for therapy or self-care.

Antoinette Damico, 23, who coordinates events at an executive search firm in San Francisco, said she practices meditation, writes daily goals in a journal and stays off short-form media to improve her concentration.

Celebrate Your Strengths

Having ADHD can be an asset in the workplace, and many CEOs and entrepreneurs are neurodiverse, Didier said.

“We bring all kinds of unique talents to our workplaces. Hyper-focus, lots of energy, resilience, the ability to multitask,” she added. “There’s something about people with ADHD that seems to unmask or give us a greater capacity for creativity and innovation.”

Damico also thinks her ADHD provides some advantages. When she’s interested in a topic, she can be extremely focused, reading extensively and talking about the topic nonstop, a trait others with ADHD report.

“It can generate a real passion in you that is a bit unique,” she said. “It really creates this grit in me in terms of when I really want to accomplish something, there’s this boost of energy.”