ADHD Awareness Month: Are Organisations Truly Upholding the Mindful Business Charter?

October marks ADHD Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness and foster understanding about neurodivergence in the workplace. For organisations that are signatories to the Mindful Business Charter (MBC), this month offers an opportunity to reflect on whether the values they’ve pledged to uphold are genuinely being lived out, particularly for those of us with ADHD.

There’s often skepticism about why firms sign up to initiatives like the MBC. Having worked in pitches, I know how powerful it is to tell clients that we’re committed to mental health, wellbeing, and mindful working. It’s great messaging when trying to win work, but the question remains: Is it more about trying to win clients or about genuinely striving to be better and do better?

In my experience, not all law firms are the same. Some signatories to the MBC haven’t even started the journey toward meaningful change, despite being part of the initiative for years. Others are embracing it, understanding that creating a mindful working environment requires constant adaptation and improvement. This variation between firms is important to recognise because while the Charter is a great start, it’s the implementation that really matters.

The MBC was created to reduce unnecessary stress and promote better mental health in professional environments, particularly in high-pressure industries like law. It emphasises openness, respect, trust, smart meetings and communications, and mindful delegation. But having worked in law firms for many years, I’ve found that the ideals of the MBC are often hard to reconcile with the lived experiences of neurodivergent employees.

Desk Presence, Online Presence, and Wellbeing Breaks

One of the principles of the MBC is respect for rest periods and physical wellbeing. It encourages a shift away from the expectation that people should be constantly at their desks or available around the clock. For those of us with ADHD, this is especially crucial. Focus comes in waves, and breaks aren’t just a luxury — they’re a necessity to reset and recharge. Without them, it’s like trying to keep your phone running when the battery hits 1%. The risk of shutting down entirely is real, and those breaks aren’t just pauses; they’re lifelines.

Yet, how many times have you wanted to take a long walk or go to the gym but felt that pressure to stay glued to your desk? There’s a pervasive idea in many firms that if you’re not physically or virtually present, you must not be working. This conception of “online presence” — the idea that if you’re not seen, you’re not there — is not only detrimental to those of us with ADHD, who need regular breaks to manage focus and energy, but also to anyone trying to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

When productivity is measured by desk presence or whether you’re logged into the virtual workspace, it shifts focus away from outcomes and creativity, reducing work to mere visibility. For neurodivergent individuals, this is especially stifling. It reinforces the misconception that physical presence equals productivity, when in reality, meaningful work often happens away from the desk.

(As an aside, with some firms pushing for employees to return to the office more often, one has to wonder whether this is motivated by a genuine desire for collaboration, or is it about revenue and underutilised real estate?)

Smart Meetings and Communications

The MBC promotes “smart” meetings and communications, which sounds great in theory. Meetings should be purposeful, with clear agendas, and respect for participants’ time and input. Communication, after all, involves more than one person — it’s a two-way exchange. But in my experience, these principles are rarely followed. Long, unstructured meetings are commonplace, and for someone with ADHD, this can be exhausting. It’s like trying to follow a winding river in the dark, unsure of where it’s going, making it harder to stay afloat with each passing minute.

Imagine HR scheduling a meeting with you out of the blue, without any notice. For someone with ADHD, this can heighten anxiety and create additional stress. The lack of preparation time can make it difficult to focus or contribute meaningfully to the discussion. Anxiety compounds the challenge, making it feel like you’re being caught off guard, with no time to organise your thoughts. Smart meetings, with clear notice and structure, aren’t just good practice — they’re essential for allowing neurodivergent employees to perform at their best.

The Charter also encourages thoughtful communication, avoiding unnecessary emails or messages outside of working hours. For someone managing ADHD, this can be a game changer. The constant barrage of emails, requests, and instant messages feels like a never-ending drumbeat. It’s not music to your ears; it’s noise that overwhelms, making it harder to hear the melody of what really matters.

Respect, Trust, and Flexibility for Individuals

At the heart of the MBC is the idea of openness, respect, and trust — treating individuals as unique, recognising their needs, and fostering trust through effective communication. In law firms, however, the push to conform to rigid structures often outweighs respect for neurodiverse working styles. Having ADHD means that I may need to work in shorter bursts or take more breaks. I may need more flexible deadlines or different communication methods. But too often, the respect for individual working styles is overshadowed by a “one size fits all” approach (which in some cases may be indirectly discriminatory).

Respect and trust aren’t just about being polite; they’re about recognising that people work differently and trusting them to manage their time and productivity effectively. The MBC calls for flexibility in how tasks are delegated and deadlines negotiated, but these practices are seldom applied in a way that accounts for neurodiversity. Deadlines are still imposed, rest periods are ignored, and the individual is expected to adapt, rather than the firm adapting to the individual.

My Lived Experience

As someone who’s spent years in law firms, I’ve witnessed the tension between what the MBC promotes and what is actually practiced. ADHD brings its own set of challenges in fast-paced environments, where expectations are high and constant focus is demanded. While the MBC promotes mental health and wellbeing, the reality for many neurodivergent employees is that the culture doesn’t truly support those values.

The pressure to conform to traditional ways of working — the long hours, relentless meetings, and constant communication — can be suffocating for someone with ADHD. It’s not enough to sign the Charter; organisations need to go further. Changing a firm’s culture is like learning to play a new instrument. At first, it’s clumsy and off-key, but with practice and dedication, it starts to harmonise. Real change requires consistent effort from everyone, from leadership to junior employees, to create an environment where everyone can perform at their best.

Moving Forward

ADHD Awareness Month is an opportunity for organisations to reassess their commitment to the Mindful Business Charter. Are they truly promoting environments where neurodiverse individuals can thrive, or are they merely ticking the box?

Is signing the MBC more about trying to win clients or about genuinely striving to be better and do better? The answer to that question determines whether these firms are committed to creating a truly inclusive environment or whether they’re simply using the Charter as a tool in a pitch.

The Charter is a good start, but living up to its ideals requires more than just signing a document. It means embedding flexibility into the culture, trusting and respecting individual needs, and fostering smart communications and meetings that work for everyone. For those of us with ADHD, the goal isn’t just to survive in the workplace — it’s to thrive, and for that to happen, the principles of the Mindful Business Charter need to be more than just words on paper.