Relationships at work: friend or foe? The perspective of ADHD employees

Purpose Neurodivergent employees present unique and valuable abilities and skills for organizations, such as creative and innovative thinking. However, they still face barriers and considerable stigma in the workplace, which are associated with higher rates of unemployment and turnover as compared to their neurotypical peers. This study focuses on attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a neurodivergent condition that presents specific professional challenges but also drives significant strengths when appropriately recognized and valued. In particular, it examines neurodivergent employees' lived experiences of workplace relationships and investigates how these relationships facilitate or hinder their ability to thrive at work. Design/methodology/approach Using the social cognitive theory (SCT) as a theoretical framework and rooting our study in the diversity management literature, we investigate ADHDers' everyday working lives by focusing on how they experience work relationships with internal and external stakeholders. We adopt an interpretive qualitative approach based on in-depth interviews with a purposeful sample of diagnosed ADHDers recruited from private psychotherapy practices in Italy. Findings The results of the thematic analysis highlight the emergence of four major themes: i.e. (1) need for flexibility, (2) supportiveness of informal/friendly work relationships, (3) unsupportiveness of formal/rigid work relationships and (4) relational leadership style. Research limitations/implications Our findings contribute to the diversity management literature in the underinvestigated research stream of neurodiversity. Practical implications The emerging findings offer insightful suggestions to managers and organizations for recognizing and valuing neurodivergent employees, and to potentially contribute to broader societal change. Social implications By deepening understanding of ADHD employees' lived experiences, the findings of this study aim to reduce workplace stigma and contribute to positive societal change. Originality/value Addressing an understudied aspect of ADHD at work, this study examines how work relationships (i.e., socio-structural factors) enhance or hinder self-efficacy and goal attainment.