Going through a divorce is a challenging experience, so it’s no wonder it can have a dramatic effect on many people’s careers. Here are our top strategies for how to prevent the effects of divorce from ruining your career.
While it’s certainly true that no two divorces are the same, there are several common struggles that people experience when going through the process. No matter if the divorce was amicable, or inevitable, both parties will have emotional and practical issues to solve, that could impact their work-life.
There’s no denying that going through a divorce and managing your work-life is difficult, no matter what stage of the divorce process you’re at. Regardless of whether you’re seeking an initial free consultation for divorce or finalising the process, you’re going to have plenty on your plate. But it doesn’t mean your career has to be adversely affected.
Strategies to prevent the effects of divorce impacting your career
In this guide, we’ve compiled some useful information you can refer to if you’re going through a divorce while working. So, here’s how to keep your career on the right track….
Reach Out to Your Loved Ones for Support
When you’re going through the effects of divorce, one piece of advice that you should always keep in mind is that you should never be afraid to reach out to your loved ones for support. Even if you feel as though you’re able to manage the divorce impact by yourself, it always pays to seek the guidance of someone you love or trust so you can get a different perspective.
There are plenty of moments in your life where you need to lean on your friends and family members for support so that you can fully express how you’re feeling without fear of being unfairly judged or criticised. You’ll certainly feel better after sharing how you feel, and it’ll help to achieve clarity about what steps you’re going to take next. As the saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved.
Be Open with Your Workplace Management
It’s probably not going to be beneficial if you share every aspect of your divorce with all your colleagues, but it’s a good idea to speak to a senior member of staff, such as your line manager, about your situation and the effects of divorce.
You don’t need to sit down for a drawn-out conversation about every detail relating to your divorce, but if you make someone aware, they’ll be aware that your general performance may suffer and help you to retain some accountability.
By speaking to a senior member of staff about the effects of divorce, you can also make some alternative work arrangements, such as working different hours to accommodate having to deal with the divorce. Where necessary, you may also be referred to speak to your HR department, who will keep your situation confidential, while also providing some useful advice.
Make the Most of Annual Leave
If you’re going through the effects of divorce proceedings, work may seem like an unwanted distraction, especially if your separation is contested, which will probably mean a bigger divorce impact on your life and functioning. For that reason, it’s sensible to make the most of the annual leave you’re entitled to, which should give you some time to refocus and make suitable arrangements for the coming months.
Many people fail to make the most of their annual leave, especially when they’ve got plenty going on behind the scenes in their personal lives. This often proves to be counter-productive in the long run. After all, working all year round without a break won’t do you any favours!
After you’ve taken some much-deserved time off, not only will the details of your divorce seem that much clearer, but you’ll also be in a better state of mind to return to your job.
Keep Your Personal and Professional Lives as Separate as Possible
This sounds like an obvious piece of advice, but the lines between your personal and professional lives can quickly become blurred when going through a divorce. It can be easy to spend all day fretting over your divorce when you should be focusing on work, and vice versa.
Wherever you can, keep the two completely separate. As soon as you walk through the doors to your workplace, focus on nothing but your role until you walk out again in the evening. Once you’re back at home, then is the time to make arrangements relating to your divorce.
A simple tip to help with this would be to try and avoid home working if possible. While it certainly has its merits, one of the biggest issues of working remotely is that it presents several potential distractions that could prevent you from working as efficiently as you might in a traditional setting.
Find Simple Ways of Reducing Stress and Anxiety
The effects of divorce are likely to cause you plenty of stress and anxiety, both of which are likely to result in poor work performance. So, to help counter this, you should try to look for simple ways to practice self-care that will help you during difficult moments at work.
You could try taking time out of your lunch breach to go for a walk, spend some time meditating or keep a journal. There’s no right or wrong way to relieve stress – if you find something that works for you, stick with it!
When you’re in a relaxed state of mind, you’ll be able to focus clearly on your work and reduce the chances of your divorce acting as an unwelcome distraction.
Summary
In this post, we’ve taken a close look at some of the ways you can stop the effects of divorce from impacting your career. As you may already be aware, it can often prove difficult to keep your divorce from affecting your professional life, but if you keep these pointers in mind, you should be on the right path.
Have you got any more pieces of advice for anyone else who might be going through a divorce?
