10/09/2026
Yesterday, our founder Sarah Warley joined Tom Swarbrick on LBC to discuss ADHD, employment and whether people with ADHD are being too quickly written off as unable to work.
Sarah was clear from the outset: āADHD is a very real condition. Itās a neurodevelopmental condition. Itās there from birth, and weāre basically asking someone whoās fundamentally wired differently to function in a neurotypical world.ā
For some people, those differences can significantly affect their ability to cope in a conventional workplace. But Sarah argued that the question shouldnāt simply be āCan this person work?ā Instead, we should be asking:
āWhatās stopping them from working, and what would actually help them to function better?ā
That might mean relatively simple workplace adjustments: clearer written instructions, better-defined priorities and deadlines, flexibility around working hours, consistency in where someone works, or focusing more on productivity than time spent sitting at a desk.
Sarah also highlighted why there canāt be a one-size-fits-all approach to ADHD. Two people with the same diagnosis may experience very different challenges and need very different forms of support.
And importantly, neurodivergent thinking can bring enormous value to organisations, including lateral thinking, big-picture ideas and perspectives that others may not see.
The answer isnāt to dismiss the very real difficulties some people experience. Nor is it to assume that a diagnosis automatically determines what somebody can or cannot do.
Itās to understand the individual, identify the barriers and create environments in which more people have the opportunity to thrive.
Thank you to Tom Swarbrick and LBC for an important and nuanced conversation.
EmployeeWellbeing