Flexible work is not automatically ADHD-friendly.

Flexible working has become almost synonymous with inclusive employment. Employees can choose where they work, gain greater control over their schedules and avoid some of the distractions associated with a traditional office. For adults with ADHD, this can be extremely valuable. But flexibility alone does not guarantee better performance.

New research published in Personnel Review suggests that the benefits of flexible working for employees with ADHD may depend heavily on two factors that organisations sometimes overlook: psychological safety and managerial support. The study, conducted by Priya Chaudhary and published in May 2026, drew on 22 in-depth interviews with neurodivergent employees. It examined experiences of procrastination, productivity and flexible working.

The findings challenge a common management assumption: that giving an employee more autonomy will automatically help them manage their work more effectively. For some employees with ADHD, flexibility can remove unnecessary barriers. It may provide greater control over sensory distractions, working hours, breaks and periods of focused work. For others, insufficiently structured flexibility may create new difficulties.

Without clear priorities, visible deadlines or regular communication, an employee may have to independently create the external structure that the workplace previously provided. This can increase the executive-function demands of the job. The employee is no longer responsible only for completing the work. They must also construct the system that initiates, organises and monitors that work.

When autonomy becomes ambiguity

Managers often use phrases such as: “Work on it when you have time”, “Use your judgement”, “Let me know how you go”, “I need it fairly soon.” These statements may be intended to communicate trust. However, they can also leave essential questions unanswered:

• What should be done first?

• What does “finished” look like?

• When is the real deadline?

• Should the employee interrupt another task?

• When should they ask for help?

• How will progress be reviewed?

An employee may therefore appear to have considerable flexibility while having very little operational clarity. This distinction matters because flexibility and structure are not opposites. A person can have autonomy over how and where work is completed while still receiving explicit information about priorities, outcomes and deadlines.

Psychological safety is a productivity issue

The study also highlights psychological safety. An employee may recognise that a task is unclear or that they are falling behind. But will they feel able to tell their manager before the problem becomes visible? If asking for clarification has previously been interpreted as incompetence, the employee may remain silent. If disclosing a difficulty feels professionally risky, they may spend significant energy attempting to conceal it. If requesting additional structure is treated as a lack of independence, support may arrive only after performance has deteriorated.

Psychological safety does not mean removing accountability. It means making it possible to identify and address a problem early.

What managers can do

Managers do not need to monitor every detail or become ADHD specialists. They can improve flexible working by creating a clearer operating framework:

• Define the required outcome.

• Identify the current priority.

• Replace vague deadlines with specific dates and times.

• Break long projects into visible checkpoints.

• Agree on the frequency of progress updates.

• Clarify which decisions the employee can make independently.

• Provide important instructions in writing.

• Create a safe way to raise barriers before they become performance problems.

These practices can support employees with ADHD, but they are also examples of effective management more broadly. The objective is not to eliminate autonomy. It is to prevent autonomy from turning into ambiguity. Flexible work is a workplace arrangement. Neuroinclusive flexible work is a management capability.

Research reference

Priya Chaudhary, “Tailoring smart working for neurodivergent employees: a study on ADHD, procrastination and flexible productivity strategies,” Personnel Review, published 12 May 2026:

https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2025-015