The likelihood that any one person has never met someone with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is extremely low. This likelihood is becoming less common with awareness and research. 6.1 million children aged two to seventeen have been diagnosed with ADHD in the United States alone.
Considering ADHD is 70% to 80% hereditary and not all cases are diagnosed, the true number can only be hypothesized. There is a first installment to this series that you can read here, covering an introductory to ADHD and what it means for those who experience it.
To cover the basics, following is a list of main symptoms that most with ADHD can attest to:
- Hyperactivity – This symptom is probably the most recognized by the layman and may be physical or verbal. For example, bouncing, tapping, fast walking, and other physical representations. Verbal hyperactivity is seen in talking fast, verbal tics such as humming, whistling, and seemingly arbitrary sounds
- Impulsivity – This can be seen as recklessness in many different settings such as poor money management, e.g. lack of savings, immediate gratification buying, etc.
- Emotional dysregulation – Wikipedia defines emotional dysregulation as the difficulty in managing emotions, resulting in an intense and prolonged reaction to emotional stimuli, often seen as outside of the “normal”, societal range of responses
- Trouble completing tasks and frequent procrastination – Probably the most popular symptom to quote, trouble multitasking and executive dysfunction (the ability to initiate tasks, poor working memory, time blindness (not recognizing how long a task will take, e.g. getting ready for work, preparing for deadlines, etc.), disorganization, short attention span, especially for non-preferred tasks
As can be easily imagined, these symptoms can pose a significant challenge to everyday hurdles we all experience. The main topic covered here is those who experience ADHD and how it impacts the workplace. Often, these challenges are chalked up to a lack of work ethic, dedication, intelligence, or a combination of all three and more. Short-term memory issues, communication, social impact, and job stress can all impact the work performance and job satisfaction of people with ADHD more significantly than those without.
Short-term memory issues post a huge complication for people with ADHD in the workplace. In most jobs, memorization and standardization of work expectations is unavoidable; this can be the primary expectation that can lead to perceived poor work performance as well as other stressful and unavoidable repercussions from supervisors. Being unable to, or finding it more difficult than others to, retain short-term memory, such as with verbal instructions, deadlines, and losing steps within a standard can be the difference between maintaining employment and “not being a good fit”. This can not only affect someone’s job performance and confidence in any given position but also damage their social confidence.
The desire to “fit in” doesn’t stop after school years. Connecting and creating relationships, both personal and professional, is a normal human drive that is not exclusive to those without ADHD. Depending on the type a person may experience (hyperactive vs inattentive), it can be a lifelong struggle to know how to behave in a way that others can relate to, as children and adults. Receiving criticism, constructive or not, can damage anyone’s confidence and have a lasting consequence on someone’s opportunity to form relationships with their coworkers. In certain professional roles, there can be a sense of “cookie cutter” expectations for workers, which comes at a steep price for many with ADHD.
The stress of performing well professionally while trying to fit in and form lasting relationships within the workplace can be overwhelming and this stress, as is commonly understood inside and out of the mental health community, can cause significant upset to the meeting of long term employment goals. These subjective shortcomings can frequently lead to professional discipline, demotions, and terminations.
The consequences that follow a lack of understanding and support for those who experience ADHD can be long term and devastating, especially for those just starting out in their professional life. Poor references, despite good intentions and the desire to perform above and beyond, can permanently damage a person’s professional reputation, making it challenging or impossible to retain new employment when another ends.
All those with bills to pay in their life can empathize with this fear of unemployment, though most can’t experience the intensity of intent compared to the reality of struggling to perform to a certain standard with a disability like ADHD. The setting of uncertainty in a job or career can lead to many staying in a position that they are unhappy in or that causes them significant stress, potentially impacting their overall health and exasperating their symptoms.
ADHD is understated as a simple lack of trying or a simple personality quirk which means it can go misunderstood and ignored, leaving these individuals without the knowledge to seek coping skills. Those seeking therapy, medication, or other medical intervention can often reach a comfortable status quo and understand their strengths, both professionally and personally. ADHD being a verifiable disability, despite its common misunderstanding, offers many opportunities to learn how to manage and maintain professional longevity in a role that makes the most sense for each individual. Many turn to ‘unorthodox’ workstyles, such freelance work and ‘odd’ jobs, to overcome the strict, neurotypical expectations of most common employment opportunities.
When a person understands their strengths and weaknesses, they can work to implement management mechanisms to make standards and expectations work to their benefit. Some can be as simple as requesting written instructions for their workday, implementing specific time-management techniques, scheduled breaks throughout the day, or medication. Reducing the amount of stress for such a consuming aspect of everyday life like work is imperative to maintaining employment of any kind, but especially for those who truly enjoy their job and value their coworkers.
The more a community, both big and small, understands its minorities and their needs, the more successful everyone can be in every endeavor we set our all very capable minds and spirits to. Empathy speaks the loudest to those who struggle to envision the same finish line others have already crossed.
As a lifelong writer of creative stories and novellas, Vance graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Communication. She is deeply invested in the art of connecting others through writing and words and shining a light on otherwise shrouded communities such as LGBTQ+, neurodivergent groups, and survivors of domestic abuse. Located in Talkeetna, AK with her five cats and Australian Shepherd, Corvo, she works towards a career in writing and editing as well as a Master’s in Communication.
