It’s a curious question that employers would ask employees diagnosed with ADHD:

“How does it feel to have executive dysfunction skills? Is it related to ADHD, does it get worse in certain situations, and how does it affect performance at work? “

The answer is simple: having executive dysfunction skills is a pain in the neck, especially at work. And yes, it does relate to ADHD, and it can get worse in certain situations. Often it’s misconstrued as laziness, but we’ll get to that later.

What is Executive Dysfunction

We prefer how Cleveland Clinic simplifies it “is a behavioural symptom that disrupts one’s ability to manage their thoughts, emotions, and actions”

In other words, when a person is said to have executive dysfunction, it means they have difficulty controlling their thoughts, which can manifest as procrastination, forgetfulness, impulsivity, or inflexibility of cognitive processes, which can impact the accomplishment of goals.

Executive dysfunction occurs in many types of neurodiversity, such as ADHD, OCD, schizophrenia and Autism. The antonym for executive dysfunction is an executive function, which refers to the cognitive process that enables a person to initiate, plan and complete tasks. Some core skills under executive functioning are working memory, mental flexibility, inhibitory control and self-monitoring.

How executive dysfunction looks at work (signs & symptoms)

Let’s start with the symptoms of executive dysfunction; it can manifest in different ways depending on the person. And these are just a few potentials:

Frequent inability to meet deadlines

It’s a common symptom of executive dysfunctions because it can be hard to get a job started. One ADHD’er sums this up perfectly.

“You convince yourself that you should go to the gym, and when you finally drive the mile to the gym 9 hours later, you’re still sitting in the car for half an hour trying to convince yourself actually to go inside, or you’re up at 2 am realise you didn’t do something, and you have the urge to accomplish the thing, but again it’s 2 am, and people are sleeping so you can’t do the thing”

Executive dysfunction can be the reason for cognitive inflexibility, and it impacts employees diagnosed with ADHD at work.

Frequent late coming

Another common symptom of executive dysfunction is being late to work or appointments. This is not deliberate late coming (what others would call laziness)  because with reduced working memory and poor time management, it’s easy to get sidetracked, get your keys lost in the morning, be unable to get ready on time or even forget you had an appointment altogether. So employers must accommodate and be understanding of these symptoms to prevent undue stress.

Excessive daytime sleepiness

The constant urge to sleep is another symptom of executive dysfunction. This occurs when self-regulation isn’t working well. “It feels like a cloud engulfing your brain. No matter how much you want to do something, this lurking message says, ‘you don’t have the energy to sleep.” This reduces productivity and focuses at work.

Impulsiveness

Of course, each person is different, so impulsiveness varies. For some, it manifests as angry outbursts when someone interrupts. For others, it may spiral talking that they can’t seem to control. Others, it could be an urge to interrupt conversations or even eat anything they can get their hands on. Whatever form it takes, most individuals with ADHD always feel regret when it happens, which makes it unlikely they did it on purpose.

How executive dysfunction and ADHD impact long-term employability

Unfortunately, if left untreated, it can cause severe problems with long-term employment because of the difficulty in meeting deadlines, being late and inability to stay focused. It may also affect relationships with co-workers or managers who don’t understand ADHD or executive dysfunction. Here’s what one employee says regarding long-term employability:

 “It’s not easily taken me several years to find a job I could sit comfortably. I did not prescribe stimulants any more, but my ADHD is worse than ever. Job-wise, what works for me is something structured enough to keep me on task and not too overwhelmed, but there’s flexibility and variety within those parameters.”

How employers can support their employees with ADHD

To support your employees with ADHD at work, employers must understand the challenges their employees face with executive dysfunction. In addition, employers can support employees by providing them with more flexible work hours, using time management tools like to-do lists and goal sheets, offering extra training sessions, or even allowing job sharing where the employee works with someone else to share tasks.

Additionally, employers should make sure their employees with ADHD are provided with a quiet and private workspace where they can focus if needed. Finally, employers should be patient and understanding when managing their ADHD employees. These individuals can significantly contribute to the workplace with the proper support and management.