Burnout among parent employees is often discussed as a personal wellbeing problem, but in practice it is frequently a management-system problem. For staff supporting neurodivergent children, the quality of line management can determine whether they stay, thrive, or leave.

Why Current Manager Habits Fall Short

Many managers default to visibility metrics such as immediate replies, early attendance, and constant availability. These expectations disproportionately penalise employees managing unpredictable care routines.

Without better frameworks, managers unintentionally reward performative busyness and under-value focused, high-impact delivery.

The Minimum Viable Playbook

A useful playbook includes three basics: weekly priority resets, explicit escalation channels when home pressure spikes, and a shared agreement on which meetings are genuinely mandatory.

This creates psychological safety while preserving accountability. Employees know what matters most, and managers get reliable visibility on delivery risk.

Supporting Possible Adult ADHD Without Stigma

Some employees may disclose ADHD; many will not. Managers should not diagnose, but they can use universally helpful practices such as written follow-ups, clear ownership, and realistic task chunking.

These approaches improve team performance broadly while reducing pressure on staff with executive-function challenges.

Measuring the Impact

Track practical indicators: regretted attrition, sickness absence patterns, missed critical deadlines, and internal mobility from high-pressure teams. These metrics reveal whether support is working.

Qualitative feedback matters too. Short quarterly check-ins often surface problems before they become resignation decisions.

From Individual Favors to Team Norms

Support fails when it depends on manager goodwill alone. It succeeds when teams standardise clear norms on communication windows, meeting hygiene, and workload planning.

Inclusion at scale is operational discipline, not a one-off accommodation.