Explanations over Excuses: disclosing ADHD at work

There will no doubt be a moment in your career when you need to ask for a favor, for the benefit of the doubt, for grace. Just this morning, a client shared that she took three days off last week when she was sick with Covid. She knew that her absence would have far-reaching repercussions on the project but she was ill. Her team understood.

Working with ADHD, particularly if you’re disclosing your diagnosis, may require you to ask for accommodations or ways of working that might be otherwise than assumed. Here are three ways to approach accommodations and set your environment up for success:

  1. Be well-researched. I’m not going to lie; most of the world is still operating under the assumption that a person with ADHD is a hyper little boy who can’t sit still in his chair. When and if you share your diagnosis, you might do well to provide a few basics (a definition of ADHD, some basic stats, what behaviors made you aware of your ADHD).

    It might also be beneficial for you to share some resources. Do you keep up with new content at ADDitude? Have you used any of the worksheets at the Mini ADHD coach? The Job Accommodation Network has a comprehensive list of potential accommodations related to time management, focus, hyperactivity and beyond. Read through the list to identify potential matches for your own work challenges.

    You’re not the first or last person to have ADHD at your company but, by sharing trusted sources, you remind your manager about a greater ecosystem of workplaces trying to figure it all out.

  2. Explanations over Excuses. What I’m really talking about here is accountability. Should there be a question of your performance, behavior or questionable decisions, take an explanations approach. Convey what might have led to the mistake at hand without shrugging off responsibility. Using excuses to justify behavior or choices is damaging to your reputation, not to mention that of other neurodivergent folks at work.

    Explanations over excuses is also an empowering perspective for you as an individual! You are a unique, interesting, whole person. To the best of your ability, try to see your ADHD as relevant but not confining. And when all else fails, remember that doing your best is literally the most you can do!

  3. Manage UP. As often as you can, bring potential solutions alongside problems or hiccups. In patiently laying out the details to your manager, you’re managing UP — which is to say, you’re proactively providing new information to someone with more power in the org chart.

    Try not to judge your manager’s lack of knowledge or skills; they may not have experience in this realm and could be nervous to ask for clarification. They will need to bridge your requests with their own manager or the company at-large, which may be met with some resistance. This can be daunting for all.

Does this sound exhausting? I’m sure it does. The danger in this kind of blog post is the risk that ADHDers will be intimidated by educating their workplaces about ADHD while managing ADHD themselves. I truly hope that won’t always be the case but in 2024, we’re relatively early in taking ADHD accommodations seriously at work. Getting more comfortable with some of these basic communication tactics will help you succeed at work today and build trusting work relationships for the future.


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