In a recent survey of divorced and divorcing conducted by www.thedivorcementor.com, almost 50% said that their divorce significantly impacted on their effectiveness at work. What’s more, a further 25% said that they needed to take more time off than normal and another 25% said that they did not feel supported in the workplace during their divorce process.
These figures are surprisingly large and quite disappointing. It strikes me that if a HR person asks if someone is coping they’ll inevitably get the answer “yes”, even if that person is struggling. With such a large proportion admitting that divorce affected their productivity and effectiveness, it is an issue business really cannot afford to ignore.
- Have a publicly acknowledged policy regarding absence for issues such as lawyer appointments or court appearances. Are these granted, or to be taken as leave?
- Distribute the above so that line managers can act accordingly
- Promote an open door policy where employees feel that they can tell you their situation
- Be prepared to open up a conversation about the situation if the employee isn’t coming to you
- Outline practical steps that people need to go through to get a pension valuation which may be necessary for their financial settlement
- Consider offering emotional support so that people can process their emotional issues outside the workplace and get on and on with their jobs.
- Divorce is a huge life changing issue that will affect some people’s productivity. Understanding this and also remembering that this is a phase and they will get through it
- HR can point out that because divorce is a situation where so much is up in the air, the very process of coming to work offers structure in a predictable environment and this provides stability at a time of massive change
- If divorce is between two people in the workplace then HR must think carefully about how to offer support equally to both participants
- Consider adding divorce coaching to an employee benefits package so that employees will feel supported and yet confident in an independent provider.
