Everything can appear to be falling apart when a Columbus marriage ends. Spouses easily can become consumed by countless details and confusing emotions during divorce. It’s not unusual for spouses to become temporarily dysfunctional, but take care — employers are watching.
The Barna Group recently reported about one-third of all Americans will experience a divorce. Some spouses are able to cope with this transition out of marriage without allowing divorce to dominate everything in their lives. However, for many spouses, divorce is so overwhelming that personal care and employment take a distant back seat.
Divorcing individuals often stumble emotionally, physically and financially because ending a marriage is hard. Putting a divorce aside temporarily, even for work, can be extremely difficult. Some legal advisers strongly suggest keeping the news of a divorce low-key in the workplace.
Talking about a marital break-up with colleagues may be comforting, but the subject can be disruptive in a professional atmosphere. Your co-workers may not know how to respond to the announcement. At the same time, a manager may wonder whether personal problems have influenced your productivity.
Personal chaos strains physical and mental health. A reliable salesperson, always groomed perfectly and well prepared for business meetings, suddenly becomes sullen or slovenly. A divorcing worker’s healthy appetite, energy and regular trips to the gym disappear.
A career can be in danger when divorce symptoms override wise business choices. Finances also suffer when spouses develop an I-don’t-care-what-I-spend attitude. Some divorcing individuals act out in uncharacteristic ways by rushing into a new romance or by drowning sorrows with unhealthy substances, creating more problems instead of clearing the road ahead for the future.
A divorce is an upheaval, but your response to it can affect all the things you want to keep in your life – gainful employment and eventual happiness among them. Divorce attorneys, financial counselors and therapists help clients stay in perspective.
Source: The Star-Ledger, “Divorce can be a career limiting event if you aren’t careful” Lee E Miller, Jun. 15, 2014
