A psychotherapist said “time blindness” is a legitimate symptom of conditions like ADHD.
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A TikToker struggling with “time blindness” was mocked online for asking for accomodations at work.
She actually had ADHD of which a common symptom is struggling to do things on time.
Experts say that “time blindness” is a legitimate issue that employers need to accomodate for.
A TikToker struggling with ‘time blindness’ went viral on the platform after she made a video saying companies and colleges should offer “solutions” to the problem.
Sarah Trefren, who goes by the handle Chaotic philosopher on TikTok, made a video in July explaining that she was yelled at for asking a “reasonable” question about time blindness when applying for a job.
“I just wanted to know if there are accommodations for people who struggle with time blindness and being on time,” she explained in the video which now has 5.7 million views.
The person she was with yelled at her saying “accomodations for time blindness doesn’t exist and if you struggle with being on time, you’ll never be able to get a job.”
The person added: “Your stupid generation wants to destroy the workplace”
In a TikTok posted on Tuesday, Trefren clarified she has ADHD and was applying to trade school. She was on the phone to ask the school if they had adjustments for “ADHD time blindness.” She said it was her mom who yelled at her.
Trefren has been mocked across social media platforms for being an entitled Gen Z worker and has even been dubbed the ‘time blindness girl.’
One comment on her video said: “No, this would mess up the break rotations, affect positions where lives depend on the worker. If this is normalized it will become normal to be late.”
Her video was also shared in a Twitter post, with over 700,000 views, and captioned: “Being late is now a disability called ‘Time Blindness.’ I’ve heard it all at this point…”
One TikToker joked in a video: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen America be as united as they have been against this ‘time blindness girl.'”
Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and author of “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do,” told Fox Business: “Time blindness can be a symptom of a mental health issue, such as ADHD.”
She added: “It’s not just someone being inconsiderate — it’s a real thing.”
Morin explained that people who have “time blindness” can “underestimate how much time something will take and overestimate how quickly they can accomplish a task.”
This can look like missing deadlines at work because they started late or lost track of time.
“Time blindness is often associated with neurodevelopmental conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” Dr Becky Spelman, a UK-based psychologist, told British newspaper The Sun earlier in July.
Christina Morrison, a manager at HR services firm Insperity, also told Fox Business that “once employers are aware of a disability, they are then obligated to accommodate those disabilities.”
Morrison said accommodations can include “flexible scheduling, job coaching, mentorship and time management tools.”