Untreated ADHD and a Productivity Gap on the Job

Workers with ADHD lose almost a month in productivity each year, according to a new study.

Adults with ADHD lose nearly a month’s worth of productivity at work each year, compared to adults who don’t have ADHD, according to a new study by the World Health Organization.

Researchers asked 7,075 workers in 10 countries about their job performance and their ADHD treatment, if any. They found that the 3.5 percent of adults meeting the criteria for ADHD largely go untreated, and that ADDers worked 22.1 fewer days each year (due to factors including accidents and time missed, as well as reduced efficiency), as reported by the workers themselves.

The findings suggest that, because ADHD is so prevalent in the working population, it would be profitable for employers to explore targeted workplace screening and treatment programs. Many advocates say that the right diagnosis and treatment would help countless adults with ADD, who may be struggling or underachieving, to function at their full capability on the job.

Another interesting note: Of the 3.5 percent of workers who had ADHD, the rate was highest in France at 6.3 percent, and lowest in Lebanon (0.9 percent). The U.S. rate was above the average at 4.5 percent, with about 28.3 days lost per worker, one of the highest numbers of the nations studied.

Read the full article in the May issue of the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

—as reported in the Fall 2008 issue of ADDitude