ADHD Impacts: Work, Business, Life & Relationships

Burnout & Productivity Loss

  • Adults with ADHD show higher job burnout levels and greater exhaustion than peers without ADHD.¹

  • In a large study, executive function deficits (planning, inhibition, working memory) were linked to ADHD symptoms and job burnout.²

  • One commonly cited estimate: untreated ADHD is associated with ~22 days of lost productivity per year (absenteeism + reduced performance) in work contexts.³

Entrepreneurship & Business Challenges

  • ADHD traits (novel thinking, high energy, tolerance for risk) are correlated with stronger entrepreneurial intentions.⁴

  • Other sources report that adults with ADHD are up to 3x more likely to start a business⁵

  • Yet, scaling and maintaining consistent business operations is a frequent pain point; with executive function gaps often interfering with long-term sustainbale growth.⁴,⁶

Executive Function & Daily Life

  • Executive dysfunction (difficulties with organizing, planning, regulating attention and emotions) is core to adult ADHD.¹,⁷

  • In fact, adults with ADHD show a consistent impairment in tasks requiring working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition.⁷,⁸

  • These deficits contribute directly to daily life challenges—missed appointments, disorganization, trouble sticking to plans, and chronic overwhelm.⁹

Relationships & Quality of Life

  • Adults with ADHD frequently report lower quality of life in psychological, relational, and social domains compared to controls.¹⁰

  • A qualitative study of adults with ADHD highlighted struggles in close relationships (misunderstandings, stigma, emotional reactivity, trust issues).¹¹

  • Persistent ADHD symptoms correlate with challenges in intimate partnerships—negotiating conflict, sustaining communication, and mutual understanding.⁶

Coaching Outcomes & Efficacy

  • ADHD coaching for adults has been shown to yield positive functional outcomes in observational and pilot studies.⁴,¹²

  • One outcome study (Kubik, 2010) of 45 adults showed improvement in multiple areas of life after coaching interventions.⁴

  • Reviews of ADHD coaching literature (e.g. 19 studies) report that most studies show gains in executive function, self-management, and well-being.¹³

Footnotes / References

  1. Turjeman-Levi et al. (2024). Executive function deficits mediate the relationship between ADHD and job burnout.PMC article.
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11007411/

  2. Empirical examination of executive functioning in adults with ADHD.
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7092442/

  3. ADD, Impact of ADHD at Work— productivity loss estimate ~22 days/year.
    https://add.org/impact-of-adhd-at-work/

  4. “Exploring the association between attention-deficit traits and entrepreneurship.” (Sônego et al., 2020)
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8023171/

  5. Fast Company, Why adults with ADHD are 3x more likely to start a business (journalistic summary)
    https://www.fastcompany.com/91360398/why-adults-with-adhd-are-3x-more-likely-to-start-a-business-adhd-entrepreneurs-founder

  6. ADDitude, ADHD & entrepreneurship—business research and traits
    https://www.additudemag.com/entrepreneurship-adhd-business-research-traits-stories/

  7. Acta Neurologica, Executive functioning in adults with ADHD
    https://actaneurologica.com/index.php/anc/article/view/1208

  8. Add.org, Executive Dysfunction & ADHD
    https://add.org/executive-function-disorder/

  9. Simply Psychology, Executive dysfunction in ADHD
    https://www.simplypsychology.org/adhd-executive-dysfunction.html

  10. Full article: Functional impairments among adults with ADHD
    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23279095.2018.1532429

  11. The experiences of adults with ADHD in interpersonal relationships.
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10399076/

  12. Kubik, J. A. (2010). Efficacy of ADHD coaching for adults with ADHD. J Atten Disord.
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19276311/

  13. “A Descriptive Review of ADHD Coaching Research” (Ahmann et al.)
    https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1182373.pdf

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