Colleague, ADHD and reasonable adjustments

[keepingitcoolagain]

So i’ve been in my job a couple of years and work very closely with a colleague who I really like and respect.

Early on in me joining she disclosed that she believes she has ADHD and is looking at going through the assessment process.

I was diagnosed with ADHD about 4 years ago and have never told a workplace. Mainly because I hold it together well at work by being absolutely organised and methodical, having strategies for making sure I don’t get behind and forget things (home is much less organised!)

Anyway, my lovely colleague basically isn’t doing her job. She focuses on creative stuff she enjoys doing but then the day to day operational stuff doesn’t get done. Her projects feed in to mine (I’m the project manager but not her line manager, which is common).

I’ll ask her and ask her to do things and it’s all yeah yeah but it never gets done. The only way I can get the stuff done that I need is to sit on a call with her and basically stand over her and make her do it. Our days don’t overlap much (both pt) so it’s hard to find time to do this.

Anyway, I raised this with our joint line manager recently and she’s putting all sorts of plans and strategies in place to support colleague. I know this is because colleague has disclosed she suspects she has ADHD and it’s being done on reasonable adjustment grounds. So basically she never gets a consequence for not doing major parts of her job.

The thing is, I am getting increasingly stressed with my job - I literally cannot do it in chaos, not knowing if the things I need will ever be delivered, repeatedly having to chase, or going hands off and trusting her to do stuff that doesn’t get done then it’s me that gets it in the neck as i’m the client facing one who has to manage expectations.

This is long, sorry, but I’m wondering if I should disclose my diagnosis to our boss and explain how all of this is impacting on me and creating huge anxiety as I cannot cope with chaos.

Im wondering if this might lead to us being treated more even handedly as currently I’m picking up the slack from someone else’s ADHD which is impacting my own?

Even with reasonable adjustments they still need to be able to do the job. I would disclose your ADHD if you need adjustments, but to be honest noone could work with this and not be stressed and underperforming due to your colleague not doing their work. I think you can definitely raise it more on this basis.

That sounds really difficult. It sounds to me that reasonable adjustments should not involve you picking up all the slack.

Okay so firstly stop picking up the slack or standing over the colleague. Let her fail so to speak so it becomes clear what is not being done.

Document everything including how it's impacting the business and your mental health. In your next 1-1 go through all of this with your line Manager.

Send everything task related in emails or another recordable format so you have evidence. Give specific deadlines for her to meet then there's evidence when they are not being met.

You have put systems in place and it's not fair if they're coming crashing down because of someone else.

You are babysitting this colleague. She can’t / won’t work independently.

Stop chasing her and managing her.

You need to make it her managers problem.

Call a meeting on resources she is not in the room.
Take your schedule of her deliverables to her manager and the boss (assume not one and same) and agree its them who are responsible for getting you what you need a reasonable time before you need it. You add in as much fail time delays into the timimg so that you are not time crunched.

Each day or even moring and post lunch follow up with her manager on how her scheduled is working out.

If she is not meeting the deadline then its up to her manager to find a solution.

You are not the resource manager for her that is always her manager.

That sounds really difficult - in solidarity as I also work better by being supremely organised, and a lot of changes in my job have made that more difficult. I actually specifically chose my job because of the ability and need for strict organisation so having to work on chaos has whipped the rug out from under me and it's really, really stressful. The job used to be a major source of regulation and now it's a major source of dysregulation.

You definitely need to have a conversation with your employer about the impact on you and on your ability to do your own work, but also the impact on your general wellbeing. If that means disclosing your diagnosis to underpin it, then yes you should think about doing that.

You can’t let your own performance be judged on her inability to carry out her responsibilities - which you may risk if you are the project manager and the project misses deadlines etc.

Appreciate your medical information is yours to share, but I think at this stage it may serve you well to disclose your diagnosis. If not only to demonstrate that ADHD doesn’t automatically mean that you are incapable of fulfilling your responsibilities.

Ultimately, her job needs doing, and if she is still not able to do it even after reasonable adjustments have made, she will need to move into a different role if available or leave. But that is not for you to manage.

Thanks all, some really helpful thoughts to consider here

Your colleaue is taking the fucking piss.

You need to explain to the manager that she simply isnt doing any work - and it affects your work directly.

Explain that if the manager cant manage, then you intend to launch a grievance on them both for being incomptent - and go off yourself with stress and let the muppets deal with the fallout.

And note to self - stop mollycoddling your colleague - ADHD for her is an excuse to do nothing and she is exploiting it - she sounds fucking incompent and should be sacked frankly.

You disclosing your ADHD won't make it any more likely she'll do her work properly.

If she continually doesn't do it, presumably nobody does? So it doesn't get done. It gets flagged up. Then she'd be disciplined and sacked if no improvement? That's regardless of reasonable adjustments or any disability disclosure.

That's what should happen anyway!

Up to you what you share. But you can’t ask your manager to do something about your colleague as a kind of adjustment for you unfortunately.

I would stop standing over her to get her to do her work and let her fail - set up the expectations, deadlines and then report to her manager if she doesn’t do it. Every time.

Solidarity OP. I’m mid ADHD and Autism diagnosis and it has made a lot of things make sense. I also had a job where I specifically liked it because it was well ordered and structured and recently it has changed to involve a lot more people doing bits and it’s really sent me to a big spiral of demise because my coping techniques at work are all related to tasks and efficiency and these people are chaos goblins that just chunter around all non commital and never achieve anything until the last minute, but I can’t hack the last minute changes and it’s killing me.

I’ve just found a new job. Going back to task based rather than doing a specific bit of a task and having to rely on others whilst being the customer facing front for their work.

Sorry if that doesn’t help but I totally feel for you.

The issue here is not your ADHD. You've worked well until this colleague started causing issues. Whether you disclose is up to you, but if it isn't the actual problem then why should you feel you have to?