Disclosing Your Divorce to Your Boss

Workplace Implications of Divorce: Discover the Benefits of Keeping Your Boss in the Loop in New Jersey

Divorce is a complex and often messy process. Preparing for the legal dissolution of the marriage, navigating the myriad emotions, and walking your children through a difficult transition are all elements of a divorce that can be tough to handle. With so much already going on, one can wonder whether it’s necessary or worth it to involve anyone in the process who isn’t already intimately attached to it. Yet the reality is that your divorce can impact more players than just you and your family. It can even affect your job. Does your boss really need to know you’re getting a divorce? The short answer is yes, and here’s why. Keeping your boss in the loop without providing all the details will help you work together to navigate your workload and productivity at this time, as well as improve your working relationship. If your boss isn’t supportive, you’ll have valuable insight into whether you need to make a professional shift in addition to a personal one.

Why Open Communication Matters in the NJ Workplace

Many are hesitant about sharing their divorce process with their bosses. Reasons include that they don’t want to give their boss an impetus to find shortcomings in their work, they want to keep their personal and professional life separate, or they just don’t see the point. While such hesitations are normal, it is important that an employee openly and transparently communicate appropriate information regarding their divorce with their boss. Here’s why. During divorce proceedings, various court hearings and attorney meetings are likely to occur. Taking proactive measures to let your boss know the likely trajectory and schedule will prevent unforeseen conflicts as those dates arrive. You can also show your proactive impetus by bringing forth ideas for how you’ll manage your workload as the divorce proceedings continue. As you bring these timelines and plans forward to your boss, you’ll get a read on whether they are willing to support any schedule and workload flexibility you may need and have prepared for. If you don’t feel supported, you can take steps to check with your company’s policies and support systems or even hire an employment attorney. Your boss is not legally entitled to discriminate against or punish you in any way based on your shifting circumstances.

Updating Financial Information with Your Employer Due to Divorce

You are not legally required to inform your boss about your divorce. However, you may need to update your status information for tax withdrawal, retirement accounts, and other related assets management overseen by your employer.

Have a Forthright, Informative, and Prepared Approach to Inform Your Boss about Your Divorce

Remember: when it comes to letting your boss know you’re getting divorced, think forthright, informative, and prepared. Forthright means that you approach them upfront with the information, letting them know you’re aware that the circumstances may temporarily impact your capacity to be 100 percent ‘on’ and available at all times. This type of honesty will build trust with your boss and leave them more likely to work with you regarding the matter than against you. Informative means that you only bring the information about the divorce to the table that is applicable to your work commitments and strategies. Don’t be overly emotional or treat them like your best friend or therapist. Objectivity and a problem-solving mindset regarding work will leave them impressed and ready to give you more, not less, leadership opportunities in the future.

Prepared means that you come to the table with plans of action for how you will address your need to miss some days, or take on fewer projects, or whatever the case may be for this time period. How will you ensure that your divorce has minimal adverse impact on your productivity and professional capacities? Who have you enlisted to help you pick up the slack? What systems are you putting in place to make sure work gets done, be it after hours, on weekends, or according to some other arrangement? Let your boss know how seriously you take your role by showing them how prepared you are to navigate this testy time in the best way possible.

Count on Our Divorce Lawyers to Handle Divorce Issues Affecting Your Job in North New Jersey

If you’re going through a divorce and it is affecting your work commitments, you will likely benefit a great deal from speaking to a family law attorney about how to prepare your employer for upcoming obligations. You have the right to access available work leave to tend to the demands of your divorce, and your employer cannot discriminate against you based on your divorce. Our legal team at The Montanari Law Group will protect you and help you navigate the various elements impacted by your divorce.

Our lawyers at The Montanari Law Group are known for the successful representation of clients in Fort Lee Hackensack, Newark, Woodland Park, Totowa, Jersey City, Wayne, and towns throughout Passaic County and Northern New Jersey in the myriad realms of divorce law. Contact us today at (973) 233-4396 for a free and confidential consultation regarding your divorce issues.