Legally, your employer can't discriminate against you for having a disability (assuming you have been officially diagnosed with ADHD). They may be required to provide reasonable accommodations. And disclosing your ADHD may help you and your employer set you up for success on the job. Despite what the law says, disclosing your ADHD might work against you.

This article addresses the "to tell or not to tell" question.

Should You Tell Your Boss About Your ADHD?

I hope this helps. Dena

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Hope your situation works out better than mine. I have had retail jobs (most short-lived) for years and I'm 47. Try to steer clear of corporate retail as they are generally inflexible on many things. It's just the nature of the beast. You have to bend to so many demands simultaneously -- the customers, the boss, the co-workers -- and often they have a lot of rigid, inane rules that make it harder. The background noise and commotion can be distracting. I am just leaving a retail job right now, so I know I may be venting some of my frustration -- take some of this with a grain of salt -- but I will pray for you, whoever you are, that all goes well. Be really good at what you do, and that may help -- your expertise will be valuable to them so maybe then they won't mind working out some compromises. Best of luck!

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i wont pretend to know EXACTLY how you feel, but i can empathize with your situation. i was diagnosed in the second grade (and im currently starting my fifth year of college) and ive been on meds since it all started (well, there were a few breaks, but none lasted more than a few weeks). i was recently diagnosed with major depressive disorder (i think the doctors knew, but were hesitant to pin down a diagnosis, considering my age and other technical psychiatric stuff) along with generalized anxiety disorder. i also worked in a hardware/home improvement store as a cashier for three years during college breaks and on holidays. every year, during the summer, i worked anywhere from 5-6 days a week, for 8-11 hours a day. being a cashier demands that you stand in ONE PLACE for extended periods of time, regardless of if you have customers or not. it could be pretty tough. finally, i got tired of it after about a month. this is how i handled it: i requested a meeting with the store manager at his earliest convenience, and that i would meet with him off the clock if necessary. i tried to frame the issue like this: you're the head of a business, and your goal is to make money. in order to make money, this store needs to be as productive as possible. you obviously know that i can contribute to your store's productivity, or else you wouldn't have hired me. i have a few issues that i would like to discuss with you that has the potential to increase the productivity and overall customer service experience here in YOUR store. by framing it like this, what they hear is: "you hired me because you believe in my ability to contribute to this store's success. i want to do this to my fullest potential. in order to be as productive as i can be, id like to share a few ideas with you." FIRST AND FOREMOST: you have to think like your manager. their goal is to make money. they hired you because they felt that you could be a positive asset. in this sense, when they hired you, they accepted you for what you presented to them. so keep presenting that positivity, and enforce the idea that YOU are here to help THEM. ultimately, that means that if THEY were to lose YOU, then they would be losing a valuable asset. got it? i sat down with the store manager, and asked him about what he thought could improve the functioning of the store. a few things that he said included: not enough people to stock shelves, employees displayed little knowledge of products outside of their own department, the store was dirty (of course...it was a HARDWARE store!) if you dont want to do this, listen to your customers. if they hint that something could use some improvement, then mention it casually to a supervisor or whatever. then say that you think you could remedy that, and that you have a few ideas. AT THIS POINT: you should have your foot in the door. i never directly said "i have ADHD" in my entire history of working there, other than to mention it to a few close co-workers. if you're not comfortable with it, dont say it. talk to your psychiatrist if you need help "phrasing" your words. its all about the words you use. from there, i mentioned that if there were other functions in the store that i could fulfill, i would be more than happy to do so. of course, i mentioned that being a cashier was my priority, since that was the position that i was hired for, but that there really was no reason for me to be standing around doing nothing when we had no customers when i could be elsewhere in the store, making some improvements. out of that, i was allowed to leave my register when there were no customers and i was feeling bored, walk around, help customers, stock, clean, attend product knowledge classes... as for having a consistent work schedule, mentioning that you take medication which requires a "set routine" was a good move on your part. besides, if i were a manager, i would be delighted to have an employee who wants consistency, so long as the employee can stick to it and produce consistent results.

BOTTOM LINE: YOU are the asset to this company. THEY hired YOU because they felt that YOU could contribute positively to the company's ultimate goal. therefore, YOU have the right to ask THEM for (within reason, of course) anything that would help YOU to help THEM. if you know how to phrase things in a way that gives them the feeling that "YOU NEED ME", then they should be willing to help.

i never meant for this post to be so long...funny how with ADHD, you cant read five sentences, but somehow, you wind up typing up five paragraphs... so if you're actually reading this, AMAZING! keep us updated, let me know how things go. i think this is an important topic that many adults with ADHD face, or need to be prepared to face, and a lot of us could use the ideas. send me a message anytime, im more than willing to help as much as i can!

GOOD LUCK!

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