Accommodating ADHD in the Workplace

Published in Attention Magazine, October 2005 issue No. 5

Computers, faxes, printers and other office machines provide and endless symphony of sound in today's workplaces. Phones ring. Pagers beep. Text messages arrive. Emails appear, and instant messages interrupt what you are reading. Maybe there is background music, and always there is noise from traffic outside your cubicle. And then there are the people. The atmosphere of the modern office is rarely either a place of quiet contemplation, or particularly conducive to concentration. If you have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD or AHDH), that same workplace may make it impossible for you to succeed.

ADHD is now the second most common mental condition in the U.S., second only to depression. As many as 6% to 10% of adults in the United States may experience this disorder - a significant portion of the workforce. Those afflicted with AD/HD can experience short attention spans, easy distractibility, impulsiveness, forgetfulness, and restlessness. Yet these same people often have a high energy level coupled with enhanced creativity and problem solving skills, and a seemingly incongruous ability to hyper-focus on a task.

Competitively successful employers realize they have to do more with less, and that this means they must excel at maximizing the creativity and productivity of all their workers. Employee turnover is expensive, and detracts from profitability and efficiency. It seems there is a lot in it for both employers and employee to learn to accommodate a condition like ADHD. So how can we help create a "win-win" environment at work that maximizes the strengths of those with ADHD, and minimizes the weaknesses?

Workers with AD/HD tend to have both above-average creativity and intelligence; often these employees merely need some extra help and effective management to cope with the myriad distractions of an office. At the same time, the employee must assume responsibility for taking control of his or her behavior and doing whatever it takes to meet the employer's reasonable expectations. And, when individuals with AD/HD use competent coping strategies - like medication and behavioral techniques, they tend to work and perform extremely well.

The key to success, from the employer's perspective, is a strong manager who can identify and bring out the best in people, and who knows how to bring together team members with complementary skills. Studies have shown that without effective management, AD/HD employees tend to turnover frequently. A recent Roper poll of adults who identified themselves as having AD/HD found that they held 5.4 jobs over the past 10 years compared to 3.4 jobs for adults without AD/HD. Only half of adults with AD/HD are employed, compared to 72 percent of adults without the disorder.

Poll any group of adults with AD/HD and it is likely most will have a horror story of having been fired for performance issues after identifying their condition to a boss. The disorder carries an unnecessary stigma, and many bosses are only too willing to dismiss what they perceive as a potentially unproductive employee. However, the reality is that the majority of AD/HD accommodations are both quite inexpensive, and are helpful to any employee - not just those with the disorder. For many people, asking for reasonable adjustments to deal with workplace distractions in the normal course of business is less risky than asking for the same things and calling them "disability accommodations". This author recommends the "reasonable business adjustments" approach as the first approach to take, as most employers are receptive to removing office distractions that are likely to boost productivity.

In the event that removing office distractions doesn't work, the employee should consult an employment attorney and ADHD coach to determine if a disability under the law exists in his or her case, strategize an appropriate way to bring the disability to the attention of the company, and outline reasonable accommodations necessary for him or her to effectively perform the essential functions of the job.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does prohibit discrimination against "qualified individuals with disabilities" in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions and privileges of employment. Its application is widespread, as private employers with 15 or more employees, state and local government activities, employment agencies, labor unions, and all "places of public accommodation" are all covered under the ADA.

Although ADHD is not specifically listed as a disability under the ADA, court cases have held that ADHD can be a disability if the employee can prove all four elements of the test for a disability (see sidebar box). Employers are required to engage in an interactive dialogue with an employee seeking accommodations for a disability; however, the employer doesn't have to lower its performance standards for a job due to the employee's disability. The bottom line is that the employee with ADHD has to take a significant amount of responsibility for making the accommodations, and his or her own performance level, succeed (see boxes accompanying this article for suggestions.)

The huge potential economic impact ADHD can have upon an employer's bottom line makes it imperative for employers to develop awareness and educational programs to help managers identify behaviors that could be indicative of ADHD. Managers can then be proactive in providing appropriate management interventions without needing to ask if the person has ADHD or needs disability accommodation. These programs can also function as a helpful tool to educate those suffering from ADHD to realize the potential source of their problems, and to seek professional help for it (a self-diagnostic test can also be found on www.add.org).

Distractions may be a fact of modern life, but they don't have to derail the ability of those with ADHD to be productive employees. Even employees without ADHD can exhibit "Attention Deficit Traits" due to the multi-tasking and sensory overload of daily living. Let's work together to harness the creativity and energy of those with ADHD, keep them employed, and at the same time, increase the odds for improved corporate productivity and profits.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robin F. Bond, Esq., SPHR, is a workplace legal expert and president of Transition Strategies, LLC, a law firm in the Philadelphia suburb of Wayne, PA. She represents employees in all matters of the world of work, and is a frequent media commentator on employment law topics.