When you’re in the thick of a divorce, no matter what you’re doing, the details and emotions of it are likely never far from your mind. This can impact how well you handle every aspect of your life — including your job.
The last thing you need during a divorce is to lose your source of income. Therefore, you need to find a way to prevent everything you’re dealing with in your personal life from impacting your performance at work.
Commit to leaving your problems at the door when you walk into your workplace. Focusing on work is often helpful for people going through a divorce or other personal issue.
Compartmentalizing can help. If you commit to devoting specific time outside of work to think about what you want from your divorce agreement and your plans for post-divorce life, that can help you focus on your job when you need to. That can involve controlling your thoughts in a way you’ve never had to before.
There will likely be occasions when you have to take some time away from work to meet with your attorney or go to court. It may be difficult to go from one of these appointments back to work. However, that’s where compartmentalizing your work and personal life is essential.
You probably don’t want to share the details of your divorce with your co-workers. However, it can be helpful to let your manager know that you are in the middle of a divorce and may occasionally need a few hours away from work.
As long as he or she understands what is happening, that your job is still a priority and that you don’t want to place any extra burdens on your colleagues, that should make things a bit easier at work.
Your family law attorney may be able to help by meeting with after work, during your lunch hours or on the weekend. This can help minimize your work disruptions while you go through this process.
Source: The Good Men Project, “The Stress of Divorce: How to Keep it From Affecting Your Job,” Audrey Silcox, Oct. 07, 2017
