ADHD at Work

Understanding and supporting neurodivergence in workplaces.

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Psychologist & Behaviour Analyst

Psychologist & Behaviour Analyst

If you have ADHD, it can be hard to realistically gauge your own capacity in the moment and long-term planning can be hard too.

That sharp interest, that burning need to focus on whatever sparked your curiosity, can easily get labelled as a “calling”. So career choices can end up being very situation-dependent, impulsive, and made in the moment.

At times it can feel like: “Right — I’ll definitely be able to handle this, because I’m so interested.”

And right at that peak, it’s very easy to overestimate your energy and your resources. That can pull you into highly demanding commitments that become genuinely hard to carry through later on. In other words: it can push career choices in the wrong direction.

When you’re integrating into a job, you might struggle even with learning basic rules and instructions. It can be hard to read job descriptions properly, and to apply internal policies. Very often, the “in-between steps” get skipped. You might be driven by the expectation of fast, brilliant results — the kind that let you overtake colleagues around the bends. And then, almost overnight, you can find yourself in a place where doing the job becomes impossible — unbearable.

We’ve already published a lot of articles here about why this can happen for people with ADHD, and which mechanisms “help” it along. Have a browse.

In this article, we’re going to talk about work from the angle of how you can live with this in a big, neurotypical world. Let’s start with a definition: what is paid work, really? Because we live in a world where our wellbeing, our quality of life, and so much else depends on whether we can swap what we do for resources — and, more specifically, for money.

So, from a neurodivergent experience — our own, and many other people’s — problems can show up at two levels:

At times it can feel like: “Right — I’ll definitely be able to handle this, because I’m so interested.”

We’ve already published a lot of articles here about why this can happen for people with ADHD, and which mechanisms “help” it along. Have a browse.

So, from a neurodivergent experience — our own, and many other people’s — problems can show up at two levels:

Workplace Essentials

Here are some resources exploring ADHD in the workplace, with practical guidance for creating a more supportive environment for neurodivergent employees.

Employment Rights

Accommodation Guides

Employer Resources

Unspoken expectations

We could start with one key thing: it matters to consciously realise that there will be expectations of you — and not all of them will be written in the offer or the job ad. And there will likely be expectations that, as a neurodivergent person, you might not automatically pick up.

For example, a situation can happen where you’ve done your tasks, there were no complaints, and yet you haven’t been promoted for a while. When you ask why, they say: “Because you’re not proactive.”

But nowhere did it say you had to be proactive. It said you had to do these tasks. Your manager expected more than that. Often, the only option is to clarify what’s happening again and again — and to ask early. For example:

– What do you expect from me?
– What kind of worker do you want to see here?

Just like in interviews they ask us odd questions such as what kind of person are you? — you can ask the same back to the employer, but for a practical purpose:

– How do you imagine the tasks being done?
– What are the criteria?
– What soft skills are needed here?
– What does the ideal team member look like to you?

The same principles can help you in the work process too. It’s worth making a plan and writing down how you intend to do the tasks — then taking that plan to your manager and asking:

Social rules

The next area that can be affected is the social side: you didn’t rush to build relationships with colleagues too quickly. The point is this: be ready that you’ll have to deal with it — not just swallow it or avoid it. Because if most of the job fits you and you want to stay, you’ll need to untangle what’s happening — together with the possibilities and limits of neurodivergent people.

Because no matter how we say work is work and people are people — we can’t fully separate the two. People will still see you as a social being, and they may expect unwritten rules that “everyone knows” — except no one realises you might not know them.

Of course you won’t ask everything. But the basic things that matter most to you are worth asking:

– How do you communicate as colleagues?
– Do you eat lunch together?
– Do you do coffee breaks together?
– What are meetings like here — what’s the vibe?
– Is there a speaking order — who talks when? Can you ask questions in meetings, or not?

Until you ask, you won’t know. Even if there are general “neurotypical rules”, they can differ in every small group. In one place colleagues get together and celebrate events; in another, they don’t. Somewhere people don’t do birthday acknowledgements; elsewhere, they do. These can feel like small things — but they can still throw you off: because you might not always want to join in, or you don’t see the point, or it simply feels draining.

It’s in your interest to tell people as honestly as possible what you’re like — that alone can prevent a lot of misunderstandings. So early on it can help to keep tuning yourself in to the team. Your main tool is asking and clarifying.

A go-to person in the team

It’s understandable if constant questions tire someone out. In that case, you can look for someone in the team who’s more open towards you — more on your side, more willing. You’ll notice it because they answer more readily: not through clenched teeth, not turning away, not brushing you off. Your task is to “find” your own person — not to dump everything on them, but to spread your questions out: who it’s worth asking what. And with the more vulnerable questions — the ones that are harder to ask others — you can go to this person.

This is big work, and it doesn’t happen in one rush. Sometimes it takes three months, or even half a year. Luckily, there’s that common three-month probation period where you can start to understand what’s happening around you.

Think about it: when you enter a new social environment — and work is usually a new environment — there are new, unfamiliar people. They already have relationships with each other; you don’t yet. And it’s true: people often have automatic expectations about what “others” are like. Some people notice that; some people don’t.

Overload and self-regulation

In previous articles we’ve repeatedly talked about self-organisation, resource management, and ADHD-specific difficulties. It’s worth paying attention to that here too. For example, at the start in a new team we can be very enthusiastic, quickly build lots of surface-level connections — then everyone messages:

“You should reply — why haven’t you checked in?”

And you’re simply not ready to respond yet.

Or someone asks:

“When will the task be finished?”

And as a person with ADHD, you may have past experiences of deadlines slipping, handing things in at the last minute, after the deadline — or sometimes not at all. The ADHD nervous system can easily read these questions as pressure — even though very often that’s not true. With new people in a new situation, a deadline question is often just checking where things are at. Those automatic interpretations are worth filtering.

Also: everyone has their own resource cycle. Sometimes we get overloaded within a single workday. A new job — while it’s still new and unfamiliar — is extra stress by itself. And sometimes it’s the opposite: a new job can feel like a resource at first, then become stressful after six months.

It matters to notice when you’re tired — when you need to step outside, go for a walk, sit in the bathroom for a few minutes if there’s no separate room. When you need to put your headphones in. When you need to say:

– Guys, I’m not joining you for lunch today. I’m glad you asked, I appreciate that you’ve included me — but I can’t today.

Nothing breaks because of that. Anyone can have a headache. Anyone can have a bad day. Anyone can be sleep-deprived. If we can’t keep up the same level of communication and social involvement that we started with, we’re not deceiving anyone. We can simply say it out loud. We’ve collected lots of practical tips for this in earlier articles — have a look.

When is it time to move on?

In any job, it really matters to understand when these relationships get depleted — and why. From time to time, it’s worth checking in with yourself:

Because the baseline can change. Maybe the pay used to be good a few years ago, but it hasn’t increased — while the cost of living has. Maybe the team or management changed, and suddenly everything feels different. These shifts matter, and they’re worth noticing. And it’s also worth talking about how to end these relationships.

Curious to learn more? Dive into the full article below ↓

Quick links

Intro

Workplace Essentials

Unspoken expectations

Social rules

A go-to person in the team

Overload and self-regulation

When is it time to move on?

Daily Life & Comorbidities

ADHD and Work – job searching, interviews, staying in a role, and knowing when to move on

ADHD
& Sleep

How sleep sharpens focus, supports your mood and helps you thrive.

Support
Organisations

The right support and community groups when you need it.

About ADHD

Assessments & Treatment

About Us

Refer a Client

Book an ADHD Assessment

About ADHD

Assessments & Treatment

About Us

Refer a Client

Book an ADHD Assessment

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