Divorces impact many areas of life, including work life. The last thing that you need when you are already going through a major life upheaval is to worry about your job stability.
There are a few different things that employers should consider when they have a worker who is going through a divorce. The employee should take steps to minimize the impacts that the situation has on the employer.
Productivity concerns
The stress, emotional toll and logistics of a divorce can cause an employee who is going through a divorce to become less productive. This negatively impacts the bottom line of the business and can mean that other employees have to pick up the slack.
Some of this can’t be controlled by the employee. For example, court dates have to be complied with so the employee would have to miss work. Others, such as the need to vent to trusted friends, could be put off until after work hours when the time is more appropriate.
The logistical challenges are also considerable when someone is dealing with a divorce that involves children. In these cases, the shifting situation might make it difficult for the employee to handle child care. It is possible that the parent will need to take off of work to pick up a child from school or to go to a doctor appointment or another event.
Options to address the issues
Employers have many different options for handling employee divorce issues. The key is that they need to find ways to help employees and minimize the impact to the business. The size of the company can impact the resources that can be put toward this.
One option for companies is an Employee Assistance Program for workers who are going through any type of emotional or personal situation. These programs can provide help with finding local resources that the employee can use to address the problems they are facing.
Another option is that employers can find ways to help the employees refocus. It might be necessary to transition a struggling employee to a less demanding position until he or she is able to get the divorce handled and can return to focusing on work.
Overall, when an employer provides support for employees going through trying times in one’s personal life, the employee and the company can reap benefits.