The effects of divorce and separation on the workplace

With over 42% of marriages ending in divorce, it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to be able to manage divorcing employees to maintain office morale and productivity.

Divorce causes stress with a huge array of emotions.  Research indicates that divorce is dealt with similarly to grief,  individuals experience a range of emotions which affects everyone differently in the workplace and at home.  It is knowing how an individual deals with this stress that will set an organisation apart. 

The upheaval of leaving a relationship, coupled with legal concerns, financial worries, childcare, telling the family all add up and take their toll on those separating. There are few people that can juggle all these concerns and maintain a constant work life balance.

This does flow through into the workplace with sleepless nights, worries, concerns where often the head is not in the game.  The body is present at work (presenteeism) but the mind can often be elsewhere.  

When a valued employee is going through the trauma of a divorce, the divorce can affect the entire workplace.  The cost to employers can go well beyond absenteeism for a few days here and there to attend court hearings or meetings with lawyers, childcare pick ups etc.  An employee going through a divorce can cost an organisation up to $100,000 in lost productivity.

Most court and lawyer appointments fall between 8.30am to 5pm, while some lawyers can be flexible, most judges and courts cannot.  The higher the conflict in the divorce the more court appearances,  time spent with the lawyers and in court.

A depressed, tired or distracted employee can end up with impaired judgment which negatively impacts his or her overall job performance placing the company at risk.  It can lead to safety concerns, injuries, mistakes and accidents.

Employees wasting valuable work time talking with colleagues about their divorce, to help process what is going on in their life, which distracts everyone from doing their jobs.  They may leave work early due to stress, anxiety attacks and/or illness leaving co-workers to take up the slack and carry the load to ensure jobs are completed.

Even the most understanding and patient employer is ill equipped to provide the safety and emotional support an employee needs during this time. And sometimes they may not be aware of what their employee is actually going through if they keep it to themselves.

Companies that support their employees during personal challenges like divorce will reap the benefits in terms of their bottom-line, reputation and staff retention.  It can mean the difference between a productive employee and happy customers or a company with a high employee turnover and a bad reputation.