ADHD employees

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) causes people to have an inability to concentrate on tasks and general job duties. ADHD employees can cost their employers thousands of dollars due to miscalculations, accidents, and mistakes. It is important for employees to have treatment for ADHD if they want to continue working. There are 3 basic types of ADHD:

• Inattentive ADHD - This type of ADHD is normally when the employee seems confused or doesn't listen to the things they are telling you. The employee may seem to be in a zone and they are there, but their mind is somewhere else.

• Impulsive ADHD - This type of ADHD is when the worker is in the moment. They jump ahead with projects and refuse to let things progress naturally. Instead they take shortcuts to complete their work, often leading to mistakes and other errors.
• Hyperactive ADHD - This type of ADHD is when the employees cannot seem to sit still. It may seem like they have had 10 Red Bull energy drinks and they are literally bouncing off the walls. They constantly get distracted by things and are constantly talking. They will interrupt you because they simply cannot wait to say what is on their mind. These employees can easily distract other employees from their work and they do not behave like a normal adult should.

It is hard to work with an employee that has ADHD because they do not respond to threats. They don't seem to get discouraged by the consequences for their actions and they do not think about their future. Long-term planning is not part of their agenda, if you want it to be part of their agenda, you must provide them with a clear schedule.

So how can you help your employees with ADHD contribute to the office? Here are some easy tips that may help:

Tip # 1 - Eliminate distraction
An easy way you can help your employees with ADHD is to eliminate distraction. People with ADHD need to be in an office without windows or in a cubicle. If they have a cell phone, it needs to be left in their desk or turned off during work hours. If they are in a room with other workers, their back needs to face them so they cannot get distracted by looking at their screen. Their computer should only have internet access to work-appropriate web sites so they cannot get distracted with shopping and doing other things at work.

Tip # 2 - Deadlines
You need to clearly outline everything for your employees so they can understand it. A person with ADHD does not have the ability to focus too much at one time so you need to have an agenda that clearly outlines their projects. The outline must list the due dates of everything and it must provide information on everything that the project entails. For example, if you want them to design a new brochure for your company, you need to list what the project includes. This means you need to list a date for when the text of the brochure is due, then when the artwork is due, etc.

Tip # 3 - Meetings
Hold regular meetings with your employees to see how they are doing on their projects. Not everyone works the same, so you may need to adjust your projects. Ask the employee what you can do to help them retain information and work better. Having a meeting with your ADHD employees will also help you keep them on track with their projects. You may find that you are not challenging them enough or that you have overwhelmed them.

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Categories: ADHD,

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