How to manage an employee with ADHD (free support plan)

Recognising the symptoms of ADHD at work

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In order to provide effective support, it's important to understand how to spot signs of ADHD in your employees.

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Many of the behavioural characteristics associated with ADHD can affect productivity at work. Common ADHD symptoms include:
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• Getting to work late or finding time management difficult 
• Being unable to concentrate for a solid period of time – getting bored or distracted by other tasks with more immediate rewards
• Finding it impossible to prioritise work
• Having emotional outbursts
• Taking unnecessary risks
• Having difficulty following multi-step directions
• Feeling restless (outwardly or inwardly)
• Interrupting other people unintentionally, or zoning out during conversations
• Having trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once most of the work’s been done

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Treatment for ADHD

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The treatment for ADHD is usually a combination of medication and psychotherapy, though plenty of people with ADHD choose to go without either. Sometimes, having a better understanding of the condition is enough to manage it effectively day to day. If your colleague discloses that they’re suffering from ADHD or ADHD-like symptoms, then it’s a good idea to gently signpost them to their GP or any mental health support that’s available in your company.

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But (and a BIG BUT), just like any other health concern, physical or mental, it’s not up to you to advise or convince your colleague to seek treatment. The best thing you can do as their manager is to listen to how their job’s being affected, and how you can help them to feel better supported in their role. 

Work adjustments that might help an employee with ADHD

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If your colleague is finding it difficult to articulate what they’d like to change about your workplace to accommodate them, here are some ideas to help them feel more comfortable and productive. Some of these things they can implement themselves – others they’ll need your help with.
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If these ADHD workplace adjustments are visible to other team members, it’s also worth asking your colleague whether they’re happy for the reason to be communicated more widely, or not. 

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🏢 ADHD adjustments to the work environment

• Remove distractions around the workspace, whether that’s at home, in an office, or a combination of both. That might mean keeping less physical things out on the desk (a dedicated drawer or locker helps here), swapping seats to one that’s not in the middle of the room, or removing ambient noises like the radio. If you’re in a shared space, allowing your colleague to wear headphones at work may help them to concentrate. 
• Keep phones on silent and out of view, if they aren’t essential to the job at hand. 
• Keep open browser tabs to a maximum of 3, and turn off unnecessary Slack or email notifications to prevent distractions. 
• If you’re in an office, populate meeting spaces with Post-its and pens. It might seem counter-intuitive, but often, people with ADHD will be able to listen more actively to a presentation if their hands are busy. 

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📅 ADHD adjustments to scheduling and organisation

• If your company is open to flexible working hours, your colleague may find it useful to start work earlier, when there are less people online who might need their attention. Equally, lots of people with ADHD struggle to get to bed at a reasonable hour, so they might appreciate starting a bit later.
• The Pomodoro technique is a useful strategy to keep up productivity without the need to concentrate for large amounts of time. Typically, it involves alternating 25 minutes of solid work, with an active 5 minute break. 
• Acknowledge that prioritisation is difficult and be explicit about the order you want them to complete tasks in. If practical, a short meeting at the start of the day might be useful to go through which specific tasks are expected of them, and to write down instructions, if needed.
• Co-creating a list of today’s jobs might also be useful. Writing a “Must do”, “Should do” and “Could do” column will make prioritisation easier. (Make it visual with colour-coding, if possible.) To avoid any guilt about things that haven’t been done, make sure to erase anything from the “Could do” column at the end of the day and transfer the items to tomorrow’s list.
• Encourage them to take their full lunch hour. Getting out and about is likely to benefit anyone with hyperactive tendencies. Taking a walk in a park at lunchtime is related to better concentration and less fatigue throughout the afternoon, for example.

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🤝🏽 ADHD adjustments to interviews and meetings

• Detail the normal job interview process ahead of time and ask the candidate whether they would like any specific adjustments. They may like to refer to notes, for example, or may need more time between interviews and practical tests. 
• Make any interview questions as specific and direct as possible.
• For any meeting room, try to reduce visual and aural distractions. That might mean blurring your background on Zoom, pausing notifications, or choosing a room that doesn’t overlook a corridor or workspace. Turn off unnecessary screens in the room. 
• Avoid holding in-person meetings or interviews in public spaces. 
• With your colleague’s permission, communicate to other team members that a common symptom of ADHD at work is having difficulty concentrating on what people are saying. This is not out of rudeness. A bit of understanding can go a long way to repairing tense working relationships.

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💡 ADHD adjustments to feedback and recognition

• If you give a verbal instruction, ask your colleague what they took away from what you said, in order to check they’ve understood. Alternatively, follow up in writing so they have a reference of your conversation.
• When giving feedback, focus on what that person has achieved this week/this month, rather than what they haven’t. Give specific examples wherever you can, to avoid room for misinterpretation.
• Be extra clear about deadlines and expectations. If they have a big project to deliver in 2 weeks, don’t wait until the day before the deadline to check in. Arrange more frequent catch ups if you can. 

Managing someone with ADHD can take a bit of extra effort 

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Unlike adjustments you might make to accommodate other short-lived bouts of poor mental health in your team, ADHD is a lifelong condition and may need a permanent shift in management style. Realistically, hosting more regular catch ups and helping someone to prioritise their workload is a job that may take up more of your time than you’re used to. It’s important to be honest with your colleague (and yourself) about how much time and support you can offer while coping with your own workload.

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Our free ADHD support plan for managers will help guide these conversations👇

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Signposting people to credible external resources (like Spill) can relieve some pressure. Therapy has proven to be effective in helping people with ADHD cope with the feelings that result from it, think more positively about themselves, and develop strategies to improve their ability to focus and be productive.

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Once you know that someone on your team is living with ADHD or suspected ADHD, you don’t need to have all the answers. (The fact that symptoms vary so much between one person and the next is a key reason that neurodiversity is so under-diagnosed.) 

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By far the most effective way of supporting someone with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the workplace is to ask them directly what they’d find helpful. Remember that an open dialogue is the most important tool in your manager’s toolbox, and you already have the skills you need to help this person feel their best at work.