HR Magazine - ADHD, HR and me

As an HR professional with ADHD, this is how managing neurodiversity impacts me and influences my style of work.

Like 3%-4% people in the UK, I have diagnosed ADHD. Like most women, mine wasn’t diagnosed until later in life. And, like many adults, it took a child in my family to be diagnosed before anyone realised that not everyone operates like me.

This isn’t to say that I didn’t know I was different: I feel things intensely and empathise strongly with the people around me. This has meant that I’ve often been told: “You’re not like other HR people.”

I think I’m very like other HR people: I am perfectly capable of strategic delivery; my empathy doesn’t get in the way of managing complex cases, measuring KPI’s and producing documentation. But I am also very conscious of the real impact of our actions on the people in our businesses.

Like most people, I care passionately about the wellbeing of our staff. If they’re not happy, I can feel it. I’ve jokingly been asked by managers if I’m psychic: I often predict the people who leave the business well before their notice is handed in, and I am aware of pregnancies before the parents are ready to tell me. As much as the phrase makes me cringe, this is my ADHD superpower.

I often have several projects on the go, and have spent full weeks down rabbit holes, learning something new and how I can pass it on. I have been described as “bubbly, fun and a bit scatty”. I have had phenomenal managers who want to understand and support me, and I have had managers who have been shocked when my disability is disabling.

I have been very fortunate that I have, on the whole, worked in organisations where I have been accommodated (some better than others), from noise cancelling headphones in open offices to flexible working, where I am able to set my own hours as long as outcomes are achieved. Reasonable adjustments are by no means a one-size-fits-all solution to accommodating people; they are as varied as the people who need them. My adjustments can vary week to week, depending on what’s going on in the world of work.

Overall, I believe that my ADHD makes me a better HR professional. The deep sense of empathy I feel can be overwhelming, but is also a privilege.

The title of HR manager is one I wear with pride. I connect with my colleagues on a fundamentally human level, allowing for greater insight into the challenges facing our workforce. My ability to juggle multiple tasks allows me to switch hats between managing employee relations cases, designing and delivering training and recruiting, relatively seamlessly.

All that being said, ADHD is not always glamorous. There are days when it is absolutely disabling: I can struggle to focus, miss social cues, and find myself down rabbit holes of information. On the other hand, there are days when my ADHD allows me to hyperfocus and produce days' or even weeks’ worth of work over the course of an afternoon. Employing neurodiverse people is about recognising that there is a balance to be struck. Not everyone needs to be accommodated in the same ways; not everyone will be able to work at a high rate consistently. Luckily HR allows me that flexibility, and to hold the same for other colleagues to do the same.

I embrace a 'loud and proud' approach to talking about my ADHD. Up until recent years this wasn’t something that we could discuss in the workplace, despite ADHD being classified as a disability. This is a deliberate choice on my part. In many organisations I have become something of a canary in the coal mine to indicate that it is safe for others to be authentically themselves at work. I am unapologetic about the accommodations I need, so it feels safe for others to ask.

By Robyn Le Gallais, HR manager, Supermarket Alliance