May 26, 2026
I personally have worked with and evaluated many persons with ADHD over the decades where the characteristics they exhibit in the workplace negatively impact their ability to effectively fulfill their job requirements. This is true with many persons who are working in areas they personally love and went through extensive training to be able to do. It is not a lack of ability or desire. Before I identify characteristics that persons exhibit that have ADHD, it is important we not include in this group persons who by choice do not work to their ability and do not try to function to their highest level and as a result, find themselves having problems in the workplace. No, we are talking about persons who have ADHD and are having problems in the workplace because of it, but have not been diagnosed. As a result, they have received no medical or mental health suggestions for overcoming it. Persons with ADHD have some combination of the characteristics of lack of focus, inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, and procrastination. When undiagnosed and untreated, the impact can be devastating in the workplace. Characteristics of ADHD that negatively impact the person in the workplace would include poor focus on required activities, time blindness/losing track of time, inability to focus on tasks, high error rate due to lack of focus and inattention, joblessness over time due to poor work performance, a poor team member on projects that require team effort to complete them, poor productivity, stress related work absences, stigma of having the ADHD label, mind travel from one thought to another when paying attention is critical, procrastination, problems with organizing activities, problems with prioritizing activities, distractibility, impulsivity, and poor memory. It is important to remember that no one has all of these characteristics, but even a few of them can cause you problems in doing effective work in the workplace. If you feel you have any of these characteristics and they are
negatively impacting you in your job performance, then I would suggest you seek out an ADHD evaluation by a psychologist and receive appropriate medication and mental health recommendations consistent with your specific needs. A trained therapist in ADHD and the resulting potential negative impact in the workplace could be helpful. The first step is to
determine if you do have ADHD, and if so, what can be done to best help you overcome the characteristics if they are negatively impacting you in the workplace.