Jul 30, 2015

Divorces are intense and create a big blow to your personal life. It means a new lifestyle, new compromises, new everyday routines and a big change to your financial situation. You may now be sharing custody of children, coming home to an empty house, caring for your house and cooking solo and paying attorney fees that you never had to deal with before.

In addition, believe it or not, your divorce is going to affect your professional life. It’s a mentally, emotionally and financially straining ordeal and there are going to be side effects that seep into your career life. While you can’t avoid the divorce distracting you from work, you can make some decisions that will help with the challenge. Here are some tips to protect your job while you’re ending your marriage.

Vocalize the Situation to your Boss

Make sure your boss knows what is going on. You don’t need to tell the whole office about your personal problems, but your boss and anyone else you interact with daily should understand the situation you’re in.

They should understand that divorce is common and it’s a time to empathetic. Just don’t use it as an excuse to come in late, miss deadlines or slack at work. Continue to do your best work while colleagues cut you slack on their own for a distracted mind or adjusted workload.

Scheduling

This is a good time to readjust your hours. With joint custody situations, you may not be forced to take kids to school or activities unlike before. If you’re moving to a new place, it could affect your commute. You still have to work the same amount of time so you need to find a way to adjust the rest of your time to make it work for your new or changing responsibilities.

Lastly, avoid venting to any coworker about the divorce or the kids’ behavior because the workplace is competitive and you don’t want to risk missing out on promotions due to appearing distracted. Be sure to watch your finances because you’ll be a one-income household now and your divorce attorney is going to be expensive.

Try not to let the divorce affect your daily work life and your coworkers will understand when you have the occasional legal meeting, therapy appointment or school event that interrupts your week. Eventually, your new schedule and life will become normal to those around you.