HR would do well to remember it’s a 'legitimate disability,' says expert
If you have watched television or been on social media over the past year or so, you have inevitably seen advertising about Ozempic, a highly popular weight-loss medication.
“Ozempic has had a massive impact but I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of what this particular category of drugs is going to look like in coming years,” says Nedzad Pojskic (pictured left), vice-president pharmacy benefits management at Green Shield Canada (GSC) in Toronto.
The company recently released a report around overall drug spending trends, especially in the diabetes and weight-loss drugs categories.
Based on more than 32 million claims from more than two million drug claimants, the Greenshield report shows that these types of drugs have become much more popular — rising from the ninth-largest share to second-largest.
Diabetes drug spending overtook rheumatoid arthritis in terms of the top category of spending in Canada, according to another report.
Rise of ADHD medication
Another category that is showing tremendous growth has been ADHD drugs, which saw an increase in 2022 spending of 15%, representing six out of every 100 claimants.
“Over the years, we’ve seen an increase in ADHD diagnosis across the age spectrum. Now, we’re certainly seeing more and more diagnosis in older age groups — which is certainly a new trend — and the rate of growth among some of those segments is certainly faster than amongst the children,” says Pojskic.
But what’s behind the rise in diagnoses? The pandemic may have played one small part, says an expert.
“People were saying that in their very busy lives — where they were racing around, driving kids everywhere, balancing work, appointments, all that kind of thing — they always chalked up their symptoms of losing things, being late, forgetting all of those things that we see with ADHD as being too busy,” says Heidi Bernhardt (pictured right), founder of the Centre for ADHD Awareness Canada (CADDAC) in Toronto.
“Then COVID came along, and many of them were no longer working [on-site]. They had their kids at home, they had more distractions at home, very often their scaffolding at work that would have supported more of their organization and time management, that kind of thing was taken away because they are now working at home.”
More women being treated for ADHD
Another reason behind the rise involves women, she says.
“There’s been a lot of research that’s shown that women with ADHD have for decades been missed. Their ADHD has not been diagnosed; they’ve been misdiagnosed with anxiety or depression, or if they do have anxiety and depression, their underlying ADHD was not diagnosed, [with] unfortunately, very serious consequences. As Canadian research shows, one in four women with ADHD have attempted suicide so we know when ADHD is not diagnosed and treated, it can have very significant side effects.”
Besides the obvious increase in drug costs, employers could do more to recognize that workers with ADHD might need more support, says Bernhardt.
“We see significant issues, not for everybody, but if [supports] aren’t there, and they don’t understand why they’re not able to be as productive, why they’re more distracted, why they have poor time management, all of these things, they struggle, they don’t get promotions, they end up either being laid off or fired or they get frustrated; they quit their job, they move from job to job.”
Helping employees thrive
But what are some of the best ways to help ADHD employees thrive?
“Simple things like being allowed to take notes during a meeting, allowing movement breaks. Sometimes people find it more beneficial to put their 15-minute coffee breaks and lunch break together so they can do a walk or physical activity for an hour in the day. Sometimes it’s things like when they have something they really have to focus on, being allowed to use an empty office or a boardroom to work; being allowed to wear headsets in a noisy environment,” she says.
And these employees often don’t need that much in terms of accommodation, according to Bernhardt, as many changes in an office setup require no costs or result in less than $300 for a one-time visit from an expert.
“From an employer’s point of view, that is very cost-effective to put that in, rather than have to train a new employee, find a new employee. And adults with ADHD also come with strengths. They can also be very beneficial in the workplace but again, it’s understanding how they work, why they work that way to take advantage of those strengths for the employer.”
When it comes to ADHD employees, HR would do well to remember that it is a “legitimate disability,” says Bernhardt.
“There are far too many adults in workplaces with ADHD who aren’t getting the supports they need and HR also has to realize that that is actually a human rights violation and just as legitimate as anxiety or depression or a physical disorder. I think with that understanding, they will then want to become knowledgeable about ADHD and what they can do to retain those employees and have those employees work at their optimum.”
