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Everything in the list of "Inability to get things done" is something someone with ADHD struggles with and can be successfully managed in the right environment,
by iamdbtoo 5y ago
Everything in the list of "Inability to get things done" is something someone with ADHD struggles with and can be successfully managed in the right environment, but it sounds like this person would fire that person without reflecting on the environment they've created and how that person experiences it.
- Decker87 5y agoI'd rather hire someone who doesn't struggle with those things.
- iamdbtoo 5y agoI'd rather work for someone who understands their employees are human.
- MattGaiser 5y agoI am sympathetic to both your views. Employment is increasingly a 1-2 year stint where workers are swapped in frequently and you need to get value out of them before they leave. But it really screws over people who are not known factors or who might need adjustments.
- Decker87 5y agoIt's not about being human or not. In a very early stage startup you just simply cannot always afford the investment (time and/or money) needed to create a flexible enough environment to support someone who struggles with things like staying focused or working at a fast pace. And that's okay. Startups are a little over-romanticized anyway.
- bqmjjx0kac 5y ago> someone who struggles with things like staying focused or working at a fast pace. You might be surprised by the hyper-focus abilities of folks with ADHD. Keep in mind that your perception is skewed by selection bias — you probably already know many productive coworkers that never told you they have ADHD.
- xedrac 5y agoPerhaps ADHD comes in many forms and severities. My wife has ADHD and her ability to "hyper-focus" is about as good as my ability to breath under water.
- iamdbtoo 5y agoIt absolutely does.
- bqmjjx0kac 5y agoMy experience of ADHD is that I hyperfocus on work because it's interesting. I'd basically do the same thing without medication, but I wouldn't be able to do my laundry or cook dinner at the end of the day because I'd be exhausted. ADHD symptoms are a multidimensional spectrum [citation needed], and so-called normal people lie somewhere on that spectrum. Making affordances for folks with ADHD is a win for everyone. For example: write meeting notes and assign action items, use a bug tracker, ask people if the process works for them.
- iamdbtoo 5y agoThe fact that you think it takes so much work to do that means you don’t understand how it works.
- winter_blue 5y agoThank you, I've felt the list was heavily something a person with ADHD struggles with as well. In the right environment, ADHD people can shine brilliantly and beyond any expectations.
- PragmaticPulp 5y agoEnvironment can absolutely influence people’s ability to get things done. That effect may be amplified by ADHD, but it’s not unique to ADHD. Every manager should be sympathetic to their team and try to make a reasonably accommodating environment. However, it’s still up to the employee to take ownership and be accountable for getting things done. You can’t reasonably expect managers to constantly micromanage employees to extract work from them, nor can we expect companies to create perfectly distraction-free environments. At some point, it’s the employee’s responsibility to manage their own output. It’s not just the employer who suffers when a team member is unable to complete tasks. The rest of the team has to step up and fill in the missing pieces or constantly watch over the person who can’t get things done. Eventually you start losing talent because your good employees are tired of doing a job and a half while some other employees are only delivering half of their work, and everyone suffers.
- iamdbtoo 5y agoI didn’t say the employee has no responsibility. This article makes it sound like the person is completely unwilling to work with anyone who isn’t perfect.