Reasonable adjustments

Hello! Welcome to my newsletter.

In this newsletter I will be sharing with you how I handle everyday life with ADHD, but without ADHD medication. I will share tips, tools and strategies for you to introduce in to your own life so you too can manage your ADHD holistically.

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Reasonable adjustments at work

According to acas.org.uk, reasonable adjustments are “…changes an employer makes to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to someone's disability”

Until I was diagnosed I wasn’t really sure exactly what a ‘reasonable adjustment’ at work was. After my diagnosis, once I started to read anything and everything about ADHD, I was shocked to learn how broad the range of ‘adjustments’ could be. It was also very interesting to find out that you actually don't need to ‘prove’ to your employer that you have a disability to request them, which also means you don’t need a formal diagnosis.

Working a 9/5 week for someone with ADHD can be pretty painful. We just don't thrive in these kind of settings. Working 8/9 hour days (sometimes more!) makes the majority of us a lot less productive than we would be if we were working shorter days.

We procrastinate, we get distracted, we lose focus and quite honestly, we get bored!!

Working in an office environment can be difficult too. Loud noises, more distractions, feeling “chained” to a desk, social interactions we might not be comfortable with. Being forced to take breaks at set times for set lengths, and sometimes even being timed for loo breaks!!! (Just writing about this is giving me serious icky flashbacks from previous call centre jobs and having conversations with people on my team because they “took too long on the toilet”).

I'm now very lucky that I work for myself, but I have worked at lots of places, most of which have been very accommodating of my reasonable adjustment requests.

I think the big thing to remember here is the “reasonable” part of ‘reasonable adjustment’. If you have a 100% office based role, a reasonable adjustment request to work at home 100% of the time, isn’t very reasonable!!

But, here are some examples of reasonable ‘reasonable adjustment’ requests, that can be especially helpful for people with ADHD and that I have requested since my diagnosis.

Flexible start/finish times - if you struggle with punctuality having a 30/60 minute window of when you start work, gives you the comfort of knowing you are much less likely to be late for work. For example, at my last place of work I used to start anytime between 8-9. Some morning’s I’d be logged on and ready to go at 7:59. Other days I was struggling and I needed that extra hour in bed, but I never felt guilty for doing so.

Flexible break times - so you can take a break when YOU actually need it. Having breaks at a set time every day can be a nightmare for an ADHDer, you could be mid hyperfocus and even a 10 minute interruption could ruin the rest of the day for you. If taking a break much later on supports your productivity throughout the rest of the day, then being in control of your own day is going to give much better results, for everyone!

Having a set desk (rather than hot-desking, if you work in an office) - so you don’t feel anxious about where you might be sat (or who you might be sat next to!). I also like to sit facing the door with not much behind me. I feel anxious if I can’t see what’s going on, also I’m just so bloody nosey that if I have my back to a door I am constantly looking over my shoulder every time I hear the door go!

Requesting more context is given to those meeting invites that just say “Let’s catch up” - I wouldn’t be able to count the amount of speeches I’ve made in my head in preparation for all the “you’re fired” conversations… I’VE NEVER EVEN HAD!! I don’t think it’s just me that looks for a follow up email with my P45 attached! But in all seriousness, an invite/DM like this can cause serious, unnecessary, anxiety which can be easily avoided if more context is given. For example, “Let’s catch up….. about that massive pay rise we want to give you” ha ha.

Wearing noise cancelling headphones/listening to music - This is another good option for those working in an office. The general hum of an office can be super distracting, even more so if you have a more ‘chatty’ person sat next to you (I’m usually that person!), so wearing noise cancelling headphones or being able to listen to your favourite playlist at work can be super helpful.

Deadlines - asking for clear deadlines is probably less of a reasonable adjustment, and should probably be a given regardless. However, those with ADHD may need extra check-ins along the way to ensure that deadlines are on track and that nothing has been forgotten. Also, sometimes a deadline is simply “in the next day or two” or “before the end of the month”. Both of those statements would either give me massive anxiety and I would panic and do the task immediately dropping everything else that might have actually been more important, or I’ll go the exact opposite and think “well, the end of the month is 3 weeks away, I’ve got loads of time” then the thing I was actually meant to do will leave my brain, never to return and never get done! So if, like me, floating deadlines are not your thing, just ask for a firm one. Or even a “can we come back to this in a week and see where I’m at with it, and check priorities”, something like that.

Regular catch ups with your manager - most places I have worked I’ve meant to have regular meetings with my line manager, but more often than not these would be rescheduled or cancelled. One thing I was really adamant about at my last role was to make sure I had regular catch ups with my boss. I liked to have that time to touch base, discuss any issues or ask any questions I may have had. I also liked to use it as a chance to go through my to-do list and check that my prioritisation of my work is the same as the expected prioritisation. I also just liked a bit of reassurance now and then, that I’m doing what is expected and that I haven’t missed anything I should have done/been doing.

Uber rides - this is actually a bit of an odd one, and definitely a more personal reasonable adjustment request, but I think it’s a good one to share. When I was still taking ADHD medication, one of the side effects for me was overheating. Which inevitably led to sweating, like really sweating. It would be so bad that a 2/3 minute walk could leave me drenched. This was an issue that became even more apparent when I used to go to London to visit client offices or when my old company had an away day. A “quick” tube ride away would leave me hot, sweaty, my fancy office clothes would be stuck to me and my make-up would have slid off down my face, and worst of all I would feel so so embarrassed. Embarrassed to my core. I hated it. Walking in to a clients fancy London office looking like I’d just run the London marathon was not a great look. So, at my request, I was able to expense an Uber. Then at my last company away day, most people walked the 10ish minutes from our hotel to the restaurant, but there was absolutely zero hesitation in allowing me to catch an uber to save myself from experiencing ‘The Sweat’!

I hope these few examples help to give an insight into the kind of reasonable adjustments that can be made to help our lives be a little bit easier when at work. This list is no where near exhaustive and can vary depending on each person’s needs.

Please reach out if you want to talk reasonable adjustments or if you would like support in knowing how to ask for them. Reasonable adjustments at work are something I can absolutely support with through my coaching, and can be a vital cog in the whole machine when looking at becoming drug free, and dealing with ADHD with skills not pills.

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I hope you find what I write interesting, helpful and sometimes funny! And if you do, I'd love it if you shared what I am saying with others.

I have some spaces available for coaching. If you would like to apply, and get a FREE discovery call, please follow this link: https://app.youform.com/forms/ccaga68h

Carly x