I'm a student looking for testimonies about ADD at work. I'm carrying out an inclusive design project revolving around concentration in the office and at home when teleworking. How well do you efficiently work in a office ? How do you feel in an open space or in a flex office ?
I'm trying to find out if there are any existing methods to help adults concentrating while working. Are there on the contrary as much strategies as people ? What ADD information concerning adults should I know about ? I must get as much specific data about ADD as possible to manage to do a viable project.
Tell me about your experiences, jobs you did and still do. Do not hesitate to recommend me ressource or other specialised interlocutors to learn theoric and practical knowledge on the subject. Do you work with medical professionals ? Maybe therapist, neuropsychologist, occupational / physical / therapist, ergonomist,... ?
Thank you for your contribution to my project !
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DesignwithADD
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Most offices are a nightmare for me. (This is a sum up of many jobs) Especially offices that constantly change your tasks (example, customers with complex issues don’t phase me, love to help solve issues, but if I have to detail the interaction (paperwork) and make sure I follow up, I need time between customers to make notes and schedule any follow up tasks. If there is a line of people, I must rush to help the next one, and with poor working memory (very common with ADHD) I’m bound to miss something important from the previous person) but it is expected you to get paperwork done on every task by the end of the day. I’m great with the changing to the next thing, not great going back to the previous one (or several back) for paperwork. Especially on high-paced days where the interruptions never stop. My brain is not designed to keep details in working memory long enough to get paperwork done at the end of the day. I need to finish while it’s still in my mind at the time I’m doing the task.
In some office settings, all the follow up tasks are supposed to fit into the work day, and the next day is always just as busy…. It’s never ending and I get burnt out quickly and things slip because I couldn’t follow up on everything from past customers/days.
Much of this is a staffing issue. If we had more people, we could take the time needed and take time to do the extra tasks, but the goal of management is to keep costs down. Employing more people when the current system “mostly” works isn’t going to happen.
I find that a job where I can just do things at my own pace and speed are best. I don’t mind fast pace, but let me completely finish one task before switching to a new one! Or, better yet, give me a few hours before shift end, in a quiet room with no interruptions, to do follow up tasks and paperwork. And give me 5 minutes between customers to jot down important information before it leaves my memory.
Somehow jobs never give you that extra time, even when you can show that you are more efficient. They are far more interested in the paperwork being done and more bodies being assisted. To be effective in those jobs with adhd you need to stay late or do work at home (which is discouraged if you deal with sensitive information). Which increases the burn out.
I need an office with a door, scheduled customer/task time, allowance to take more time if required for complex issues (or ability to record the conversation so I can play it back and recall any follow up tasks needed & complete the paperwork - to keep working with the scheduled appointments), and time at the end of the day to “finish up”.
And that is why I won’t be doing office work in the future. It’s just not set up for ADHD. Which is kind of ironic, because we switch tasks so easily, that with a few modifications we can be brilliant.
Good luck with your research. I suggest you read books on ADHD and watch YouTube videos with people who actually have ADHD. Talk with a few professionals, of course. Colleges ADA centers might be a good resource for you. They work with students to find methods to help them succeed in a classroom setting.
Asking a community help group for all the information you need isn’t going to get you anywhere. We are here to help and support each other (fellow ADHD people) and get help in return, not be test subjects for your assignment/job. Besides, as its often said, you meet one person with ADHD, you know one person with ADHD. Every person is different and ADHD can manifest completely differently in each person. My experiences do not = everyone’s experiences. There are so many factors at play with ADHD. We aren’t all hyper, unable to concentrate, & bouncing off the walls, for example. Learn more on your own and come back with specific questions. “Office” work is far too varied. What type of office work? What type of distractions? Is the job one that needs daily collaboration with co-workers? Do there really need to be five meetings a day? If you are designing a “perfect” space for ADHD, why not ask what your ADHD people need to be the most productive? Are you willing to switch things up when they need changes made to continue being productive? Why, when we can hyperfocus and get more work done in one day than NT can in a week, why can’t we take a day off to unwind? Do you have any idea how hard it is to “brain” after doing a weeks worth of work in one day? (FYI- It can’t be done many days in a row. We would literally die). You have a lot of research ahead of you! Good luck.
Hello ! Thank you a lot for your testimony and for your recommandations. You confirm what I've been told so far about people with ADHD being very different. Please excuse me if my post is clumsy, it was not my intention to bother the community. It is actually very difficult to find a way to talk to the people concerned when one's designing a project.
In this case, I am totally learning about ADHD as I realised I knew very little about it. I was planning to concentrate on office work at first because I was wondering how people with ADHD could manage to focus in an open space where nobody really does.
Discussing with professionals and other adults with ADHD taught me not to forget that focus cannot be separated from the other two symptoms, hyperactivity and impulsivity. I'm also thinking about the organisational aspect that I think can be connected with attention deficit.
I must say rethinking the office in a more inclusive way is quite challenging and I'm affraid not to be able to come out with an efficient proposition. Can furniture or space design really help adults with ADHD to feel and work better in an office ? Please tell me what you would need to be productive, what you would have needed in your previous jobs and what you are using currently. Thank you again for your answer, you gave me a lot to think about. Last question, what kind of job did you do in offices ?
Butterflywings response was great, and I agree it’s a little hard to answer open ended questions- people with ADHD like specifics or we will ramble on about something without realizing what we were supposed to talk about :). I am combined inattentive & hyperactive ADHD. I’d love to help with your research as much as I can, I’m in my mid-20s so I do not have as much office experience, but COVID has been great for my efficiency. I was working in the office, but there were only 2 others working with me and we were all far apart and couldn’t see what the others were doing. Surprisingly, it makes me more productive without having to wonder if I’m being “watched.”
A common thing with ADHD is being very sensitive to their environments, so I think doing research about sensory processing disorder will solve a lot of problems with designing for an office. At my old job, the days I was able to wear headphones were the greatest days of my life, because I could drown out my coworkers conversations, or the fan, or the squeaking of shoes, or the coffee brewing in the other room, small stuff that neurotypical people wouldn’t notice, but would drive me insane and make it almost impossible to concentrate.
My current job (I am a UX designer, which is why I was interested in your post!) requires a lot of group collaboration. This has been a lot easier over zoom because I can prepare / take notes way easier than if we were in person. I personally like to come really prepared because I know if I’m put on the spot I’ll freeze. I love design because it is ”my thing” that I hyperfocus on. But it still drives me insane. I’m really bad at putting limits on myself, and I am very indecisive (also related to ADHD) so sometimes I’ll pull an allnighter accidently just trying to choose a color palette. But even if I gave myself limited time to do it, I would be even more stressed…
I could say a million other things, but I’ll stop here for now. Another thing I would suggest is fully understanding why ADHD people experience their symptoms. I was specifically really interested in the science concerning our low levels of dopamine, the lack of reward receptors, and overall executive function.
Good luck on your project! When you finish it’d be awesome to see what you came up with 😊
I’ll also add that I’ve worked retail in a few places, and I loved the constant movement and small tasks. But that also meant there was more room for tiny mistakes, which tends to happen when we work fast. Big projects overwhelm me (as I assume many with ADHDers experience) so I have to make a conscious effort to break up whatever work I am doing at my current job so that I don’t feel overwhelmed.
Last thing specific to offices - I hate being interupted. It takes me a very long time to force myself to concentrate on something, so when I finally do and then a coworker casually comes by to have a quick convo, I become very irritated and then have to calm myself down to remind myself they were just trying to be friendly.
Thank you a lot for your testimony. I strictly observed Butterflywings' advise and chose to focus on visual and sound distractibility in open spaces. As for the type of office work, it would affect people using computer workstations or working on their own most of the time. I'm thinking about three problem solving scenarios so far : 1. an element to adapt on current desks without having to design a whole office furniture for the umpteenth time or recommanding to get rid of all the existing layout; 2. a service assisting employees with ADHD and employers to contact reliable professionals certified for ADHD to analyse and set up accommodations ; 3. a micro-architecture to be the identified place for hyperfocus where an employee with ADHD could settle or anyone in the day looking for productivity.
I am very pleased to learn that you work in design too. Is UX completly related to digital in your job or do you also carry out service design projects ? May I ask you about your educational background ? I don't know where you're from but I'm thinking about studying abroad. I'm currently looking for design schools in Europe.
Those are awesome problem scenarios! I think any of those that you choose will be great (and I wish they already existed!!) Your third problem reminded me a little bit about those napping pods I think they have at Google offices, which is just so unique and cool. One of my favorite things about designing for accessibility is that is often helps people without that disability, or with temporary disabilities. When I think of someone being "temporarily ADHD" I think of someone who might have a lot going outside of work to where they can be zoning off/distracted. Or like you said, just helping increase productivity overall!
I am not super familiar with service design projects, I tried doing some research and it seems to be a lot more centered on physical spaces/products, but UX deals with a lot of the same principles in fighting for the users needs. My work with UX is pretty much all digital, the company I work for deals with online classes so there is really nothing physical about it lol! My education was actually in Marketing/Advertising, so upon graduating I tried it out and hated it. But I had some Graphic Design and coding experience from my Art minor, and learned about UX through that. I then did an online certificate program and with some networking and patience, it ended up working out!
I am from the US and studied here, my family is actually from Sweden, although I'm not super familiar with Design schools in Europe.. my dad went to Lund University which is considered one of the top schools in Europe/Sweden for tech & engineering type stuff. Berlin is also a big tech hub, so I'm sure there would be good design schools around there. I did a study abroad semester in Italy, but I was doing business classes so can't say much about it. But definitely study abroad if you get a chance! Europe is amazing. Good luck with everything!!!
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Another thing I would suggest is fully understanding why ADHD people experience their symptoms. I was specifically really interested in the science concerning our low levels of dopamine, the lack of reward receptors, and overall executive function. 
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