Tips on How to Reduce Divorce Stress at Work
If you are not careful, you can feel so overwhelmed by your separation or divorce that it can take over almost every aspect of your life, from how you relate to your children, your health, your relationships with friends and even your interaction with work colleagues. The best London divorce solicitors recognise how a separation or divorce can affect individuals and know the importance of trying to prevent relationship difficulties affecting work.
It is tough when you are going through a separation or divorce, especially when some work colleagues will be gushing about wedding plans, celebrating the birth of a baby or just talking about a holiday booked to mark the passing of another wedding anniversary. The temptations can be either to talk about your separation or divorce and the dilemmas you face or to withdraw into yourself. The top London divorce solicitors say that neither is a good option but understand how difficult it can be to juggle home life when you are in the midst of a separation or children and financial court proceedings with work commitments and deadlines and the banter of work colleagues.
The best London divorce solicitors know that, for some people, telling a boss at work or work colleagues about a separation or divorce is one of the hardest aspects of their relationship break down. That is sometimes down to embarrassment or because you are worried about your job situation or fear your work performance will be more closely scrutinised because of your separation and personal circumstances.
The top London divorce solicitors say that as a separation or divorce can be a stressful process, it is important to look at ways to reduce stress in both home and work life.
How can OTS Solicitors help?
Taking early legal advice can reduce the stress and worry of a separation or divorce proceedings. London based OTS Solicitors provide advice on all aspects of family and divorce law and provide pragmatic, professional legal advice tailored to your individual personal and financial circumstances.
To discuss your separation or divorce proceedings and how the family law team at OTS Solicitors can help you keep your separation or divorce as amicable as possible please call 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to speak to one of our experienced London divorce solicitors who will be happy to help you.
Best tips on how to reduce divorce stress at work
The best London divorce solicitors know that it is trite to say that you should not let your home life affect your work life, but the reality is that you are not a robot and the feelings that you experience at the time of a separation or divorce are bound to have an impact, often temporarily, on your work.
Some people say that divorce makes them work harder because they use it as a means to escape an unhappy home life, whilst others say they feel too distracted to concentrate at work, when they feel that their personal and home life is crashing around them.
The top London divorce solicitors have come up with the following tips to help reduce divorce stress at work:
1. Think about telling your boss or HR staff
Sometimes employees are pleasantly surprised at just how sympathetic or supportive a work boss or HR staff can be if you mention that you are going through a separation or divorce. That can sometimes be because an employer has noticed an unexplained drop in your performance levels or accuracy and they have thought you must be bored with the job and looking for another one. The explanation that you are going through a tough separation can set a bosses mind at ease, as they will know that with help and support, that you will be back to top form and that your difficulties are not work related.
2. Think about getting support from work
Some employers offer access to free counselling services to help employees going through a separation, divorce or bereavement. Other employers offer free advice services to help employees with money worries. Whilst counselling is not for everyone, for some people it can really help to talk to someone who is not a close family member, friend or work colleague. A counsellor will not have their own “agenda” and will not provide answers but the can provide a very useful sounding board and help you find your own solutions.
3. Compartmentalise work time
If you are going through a separation or divorce it can seem as if everyone wants to contact you, from your ex texting you about child care and school collection, to the estate agent wanting to come round to value the property or the financial advisor wanting to set up a meeting.
The texts, WhatsApp. and messaging can seem like a constant barrage and is enough to distract anyone from work. Try to avoid looking at personal phones and email accounts during working hours. It isn’t necessarily the time taken to read the message but the feelings of frustration that can arise from the message content. Those emotions have to be dealt with before you can refocus on work and that can create a problem with work productivity.
If you set aside time at lunch or before or after work to answer messages about your separation or divorce then not only will you be less distracted at work, you should also feel in more control. The best London divorce solicitors say that then you are dictating the time of your response, rather than reacting each time your ex sends a message or text.
4. Talking to work colleagues
Think about who, if anyone, that you want to confide in at work. Although some people tell everyone, it is often best to confide in one or two trusted work colleagues whilst you take time to work through how you feel about the separation and come to terms with it.
5. Work and the children and money matters
For some individuals a separation or divorce means that they need to ask their employer to provide financial information about bonus schemes and likely payments or may need to ask if the company would be willing to increase their hours of work from part time to full time or reduce work hours.
For other people, a separation or divorce may mean that they need to adjust work patterns to fit around extra or new childcare responsibilities, for example collecting the children from school on a Wednesday for an overnight visit. The visit may be achievable if an employer is willing to agree to a Wednesday early finish and a Thursday late start.
The top London divorce solicitors say that nowadays employers realise that if they are able to accommodate flexible working then it works for the employer as well as the employee. Flexibility creates more loyalty towards the company as well as more productivity through the employee being more productive through flexible working.
6. Take legal advice
If you take legal advice from the best London divorce solicitors then they should be able to help you reach an agreement over children arrangements, such as custody, access and child arrangements orders, as well as helping you reach a financial settlement.
If you choose your London divorce solicitor with care, the divorce solicitor should listen to you and to your priorities to help you find a solution to parenting arrangements and help you work through the financial settlement options. Struggling without a solicitor to understand legal jargon or worrying because you have not taken legal advice and do not know where you stand legally can just add to the stress experienced at work.
The right London divorce solicitor should work with you to minimise the stress of your relationship breakdown and the impact of your separation or divorce on your work.
The best London divorce solicitors recognise that tips to reduce divorce stress at work will not reduce the level of stress experienced by everyone experiencing the trauma of a separation or a divorce but practical, simple tips do have their place in helping reduce separation and divorce related work stress.
How can OTS Solicitors help?
OTS Solicitors provide specialist divorce and family law advice tailored to individual personal and financial circumstances. The aim of the family law team at OTS Solicitors is to try to make sure that your separation or divorce is kept as amicable as possible.
Please get in touch with us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to speak to one of our experienced London divorce solicitors who will be happy to help you.