Employee with ADHD during onboarding, age 34
A new employee with ADHD starts a new role. The first three months will shape the relationship with their manager for a long time. Without any information, repeated forgetfulness, reversed priorities, and a poorly kept calendar will be read as "we can't trust this person." Sharing the QR code with the manager on day one allows things to be framed differently, using the levers that actually work (short frequent check-ins, written priorities) instead of moralizing reminders.
This case applies to adults with ADHD (recent or long-standing diagnosis, with or without medication), starting a new role or going through a change of manager.
The moment
Friday, end of the first week at a digital agency. Theo, 34, a senior developer with ADHD, comes out of his weekly check-in with his manager Julien. The meeting lasted 45 minutes. Julien listed twelve tasks for the following week out loud, brainstorm style, with no priority order. Theo nodded, jotted a few things down, and didn't write everything.
He opens his inbox: the summary email from the meeting isn't there yet. He starts the tasks in the order he jotted them down, gets going on the first one, switches halfway through to the third one that interests him more, and forgets to finish the second.
The following Tuesday, Julien stops by his desk: "What happened with the Redis migration? That was priority #1." Theo goes pale. He hasn't finished the migration. He's done plenty of other things, just not that. Julien starts to get annoyed.
Theo hands him his phone: "Look, I shared this with you on day one." Julien opens the QR code from Theo's email signature, the one he'd never clicked. He reads: combined-type ADHD diagnosed at 32, on extended-release methylphenidate 40 mg. What works: a prioritized JIRA ticket for each task with a visible order number, a 15 minute check-in every morning, a written summary within 2 hours of every meeting. What doesn't work: spoken lists with no priority order, 45 minute meetings at the end of the week.
Julien exhales. He suggests: "Let's start fresh Monday, I'll set up tickets for you. You tell me which one you're tackling."
- You write it
- The QR is in place
- The reader scans
- Understood, without explaining again
Where to place the QR code for this case
The email signature is the first channel: the discreet text link to the profile follows every exchange, and each person can click when they need to. Back it up with a profile shared directly with the manager on day one of the new role (a direct email with the QR link included).
Add it to the team's internal Confluence, Notion, or wiki, if the company has a culture of sharing everyone's personal "user guide." Some tech teams keep "How to work with me" pages: the QR code fits naturally there.
Avoid sharing it through HR without going through the direct manager first: the manager should be informed first, not last in a chain. Avoid laminated cards on the desk: they visually expose the colleague to their open-plan neighbors, which can backfire.
For cross-team projects, sharing the QR code with each new project lead allows for smooth onboarding without a fresh explanation of how they work every cycle.
Pre-written text templates
The three templates below are written by the adult concerned. Professional vocabulary dominates, medical vocabulary is limited to the first line to set the context.
For the "About me" section
"Theo, 34, senior back-end developer. Combined-type ADHD diagnosed at 32, on extended-release methylphenidate 40 mg. My strengths: deep focus on a subject I'm passionate about (sometimes 4 hours straight), creative problem solving, energy on fast-moving projects. My areas of attention: unprioritized administrative tasks, long meetings without written support, priorities that change during the day."
For the "How to help" section
"You can: assign me JIRA tickets with a visible priority order, hold a short 15 minute check-in every morning instead of a long one on Fridays, send me a written summary within 2 hours of every important meeting, flag urgent matters through a separate channel (Slack DM rather than email), let me work remotely during deep-focus phases."
For the "What to avoid" section
"To avoid: listing 10 tasks out loud without prioritizing them, reading a lapse as disengagement (I lose track of things that aren't written down), changing a priority 3 times in one day without telling me (I keep working on the old one), inviting me to status meetings without a written agenda beforehand, saying "just try to be more organized" without giving me a framework."
Conditions relevant to this case
This case starts from combined-type adult ADHD, often diagnosed late. It also applies to ADD without hyperactivity (attention that drifts without physical restlessness, often affecting women and under-diagnosed), and to adults with ADHD alongside anxiety (which calls for additional adjustments).
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View the casePrepare your profile for this situation, without having to explain it again every school year.
You write down the essentials once. The grading teacher, the AESH (a teaching assistant for students with disabilities, in France), the substitute scan and understand. You stop repeating yourself.