Working with ADHD while going through perimenopause or menopause can be a lot. Both can affect focus, memory, emotional regulation and energy, and together the effects often stack up. Many women who have spent years masking at work find that menopause makes masking much harder, which can leave them feeling less in control of their workload or their interactions with colleagues.
If this is happening to you, talking to your manager can open the door to practical support. This guide covers how to prepare for that conversation, what to say, and what to ask for.
How ADHD and menopause interact
It helps to understand what is going on before you talk to anyone. ADHD affects things like attention, time management and impulsivity. Menopause can bring brain fog, mood changes, poor sleep and fatigue as oestrogen levels fall. When the two overlap, many women describe feeling more overwhelmed, more forgetful and more exhausted than before.
Oestrogen is thought to influence dopamine, the brain chemical closely linked to attention and motivation in ADHD. That may be one reason why many women report that their ADHD traits become more noticeable during perimenopause, although research in this area is still developing. We go into more detail in our post on perimenopause, ADHD and the workplace.
Some women only discover they have ADHD at this stage of life, when strategies that used to work stop working. If that sounds familiar, our piece on later-in-life neurodivergent diagnosis may help.
Preparing for the conversation
It’s completely normal to feel hesitant about sharing health information at work. Going in prepared will make it easier.
Think about your needs
Notice where things are getting harder. Is it meeting deadlines, juggling lots of tasks at once, remembering details from meetings, or getting through the afternoon? Write down a few specific examples. They make the conversation concrete and help your manager see what would actually help.
Come with ideas
You don’t have to have all the answers, but suggesting a few changes gives the conversation direction. Flexible hours, a quieter place to work or a task management tool might make a real difference. If you’re not sure how to put things into words, our disclosure templates can help you structure it.
Know your rights
In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 protects people with a disability, which it defines as a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term effect on day-to-day activities. ADHD often meets this definition, though it depends on the individual, and GOV.UK explains the definition in full. Where it applies, your employer has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments. Menopause is not a protected characteristic in itself, but Acas guidance on menopause at work notes that treating someone unfairly because of menopause symptoms can be discriminatory where it links to sex, age or disability.
Starting the conversation
When you feel ready, ask your manager for a private meeting, so you aren’t squeezing it into the end of a one-to-one.
Be clear about the impact
Explain that you have ADHD, that menopause is affecting how it shows up for you, and what that means for your work. You don’t need to share medical detail. Focus on the effect on your work and what would help.
You might say: “I’ve been managing ADHD for a while, but recently menopause has made concentration and organisation harder. I’d like to talk about some changes that would help me keep doing my job well.”
Focus on solutions
Once you’ve explained the situation, move on to what would help. If focus is the issue, that might be more flexible deadlines or a quieter space. If stress and fatigue are the problem, flexible hours can help you match demanding work to the times you have the most energy.
For example: “It would really help if we could build a bit more flexibility into my deadlines and hours, especially on days when fatigue is bad.”
Reasonable adjustments to ask for
Every person is different, but adjustments that often help include:
- Flexible hours, so you can work when you’re at your sharpest, especially if sleep is disrupted.
- Working from home some or all of the time, for a quieter space with fewer interruptions.
- Regular short breaks to reset during brain fog or fatigue.
- Task management support, such as apps or written priorities, to reduce the mental load of keeping track of everything.
Our guide to ADHD in the workplace has more ideas for adjustments.
Follow up and review
One conversation is rarely enough. Some adjustments will work better than others, and your needs may change as menopause progresses. Agree to check in regularly to see how things are going.
Ask for what’s been agreed to be written down, so you and your manager both have a record.
Helping build a more inclusive workplace
Speaking openly about ADHD and menopause, if you feel able to, can make it easier for the next person. Neurodivergence and women’s health have both carried a lot of stigma at work, and that changes when people start talking. You could also suggest that your organisation invests in training, so managers understand how to respond well when someone raises this.
How Enna can help
If your current workplace isn’t willing to make adjustments, you deserve one that will. Our jobs board lists roles with neuroinclusive employers, and you can register for job alerts to hear about new ones first.
For employers, a workplace needs assessment is a straightforward way to work out the right adjustments for an employee with ADHD, and our neuroinclusive management conversations workshop prepares managers to handle disclosures like this with confidence.
