Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects an estimated 3.5% of the global workforce and is associated with important differences in occupational functioning (APA, 2013; Lauder et al., 2022). Adults with ADHD often report difficulties with attention, organisation, time management, stress regulation, and interpersonal functioning at work, although many function well when work fits their needs and strengths (Doyle, 2020; Hotte-Meunier et al., 2024). This suggests that occupational outcomes are shaped not only by individual characteristics, but also by person-environment fit, workplace support, and work design (Hotte-Meunier et al., 2024). However, research has focused more on broad occupational difficulties, diagnosis, and overall symptom severity than on how specific work design features interact with ADHD symptom dimensions in everyday work. As a result, evidence on ADHD and work design remains limited and offers little guidance on how work design might reduce strain while supporting strengths such as creativity, hyperfocus, and effective functioning (Fuermaier et al., 2021; Nagata et al., 2019; Weinhardt et al., 2025).

This study addresses that gap through a qualitative design using the Critical Incident Technique (Flanagan, 1954). Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with adults with ADHD, who will describe specific situations in which aspects of their work either intensified ADHD-related difficulties or supported more effective functioning. This approach is well suited to the study because it elicits participant-led, context-rich accounts without imposing assumptions about which workplace factors matter most. Interview data will be analysed using the SMART work design framework (Parker & Knight, 2024) to examine stimulating, mastery, autonomy, relational, and tolerable aspects of work design.

The study is expected to show how adults with ADHD perceive the relationship between work design and occupational functioning. It will examine which work characteristics are experienced as helpful or harmful across different ADHD-related challenges, and how these interactions relate to outcomes such as strain, engagement, organisational commitment, and day-to-day functioning. The findings we intend to share may help employers better understand how ADHD is expressed at work, how work design can intensify or reduce difficulty, and what support is most useful in practice. Better understanding may support more constructive employer responses to disclosure, greater psychological safety, reduced masking ADHD-related difficulties and compensatory effort, and stronger well-being, organisational commitment, and sustainable performance (Lauder et al., 2022; Quintero et al., 2025; Oscarsson et al., 2022; Østerud, 2023). Overall, the study may inform more tailored and proactive approaches to work design for adults with ADHD.