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Should You Tell the Boss about Your ADHD?
A manager, a shrink, and HR experts weigh in
As a diagnosis, Attention Deficit is a misnomer. People with ADHD do not pay less attention, we pay more — so much more it can often be too much. Our biological impulse is to take in extra stimuli instead of screening it out. We hear and observe everything, making focus difficult.
When your brain’s made to let everything in, the upside is an ability to make connections no one else can. Since we take in more info than people without ADHD, we can connect the data they overlook. That’s the secret to Jim Carrey’s off-the-wall humor, Richard Branson’s ability to see into an industry’s future, and the way quarterback Terry Bradshaw always knew where the ball was.
You’d think the neurological secret to thinking like Richard Branson would be something to brag about at work.
Ask HR experts, though, and they recommend keeping your mouth shut.
Laura MacLeod, licensed clinical social worker and HR consultant, says, “Divulging [your] ADHD diagnosis burdens others with personal information. [It’s b]oundary crossing that’s not appropriate in the workplace.”
As someone with ADHD, I find this pretty insulting. I once had a client say he wanted to bend me over and ride me like a donkey. Now that was “boundary crossing…
