There are so many ways divorce could be impacting your work, even if you’re doing everything you can to hold it together on the surface.
Divorce doesn’t just affect your personal life… it affects every area of your life.
It doesn’t stay neatly in a box until you get home at night to deal with it.
It follows you into your 9am meeting.
Into your inbox.
And into the decisions you’d normally make in your sleep.
You thought work would be the thing that held you together… your constant… but instead, it’s where the cracks are starting to show.
You’re going through the motions… answering emails… attending meetings… and somehow still hitting the deadlines.
But under the surface… you’re struggling to hold it all together… and you’re worried that the career you’ve worked so hard for might be at risk as well.
This is the part no one talks about – the real, lasting impact that divorce can have on your career or business. Current research shows that family breakdowns cost the UK government £46 billion every year.
5 real ways divorce could be impacting your work
Here are some of the most common ways I see divorce impacting the careers of even the most capable, successful clients I work with.
1. Mistakes, missed meetings, forgotten deadlines.
You’re used to spinning all the plates and pride yourself staying on top of everything. But right now, your brain’s at full capacity. You’re trying to hold too much, and things are starting to slip. But before you start beating yourself up and telling yourself you’re failing at work, know that you’re not alone. One study found divorce reduces productivity by up to 39%, for up to three years.
2. You’re physically present but mentally checked out
You manage to drag yourself out of bed after yet another sleepless night and show up at your desk – but you’re not really there. You can’t focus or think straight and decisions you’d usually make with your eyes closed feel impossible.
This is called presenteeism – and it costs U.S. companies an estimated $150 billion a year.
3. You’re exhausted – mentally and emotionally
It’s taking everything you’ve got to get through this – the emotional upheaval, the logistics, the decisions you need to make that are going to impact the rest of your life that you don’t trust yourself to make in this state. You can’t think clearly, and it feels like you’re wading through treacle. Even simple tasks that you previously thought nothing of feel like a mountain.
4. You take time off – but nothing changes
At some point, something has to give, and sometimes time off work is necessary. But time out alone, without the support and guidance to help you heal and move forward, is not going to shift anything. 23% of employees going through a breakup or divorce take extended sick or unpaid leave and 1 in 10 leave their job within a year.
5. Your body starts showing signs too
Disrupted sleep…. the brain fog that won’t lift… the migraines.
And the inner voice that tells you you’re not doing enough.
That you should be able to cope.
That you’re letting your personal life bleed into your work.
How divorce impacted my work
I know this because that was my own experience – I’ve lived it.
When I was going through my own divorce, I held a senior finance role at Sony, leading a team of 25 people. And I just didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to support them in the way I wanted to, or how I was used to.
So after taking time off, I made the decision to take a role without any people management as it was all that I had the capacity for.
I know what this costs – professionally, financially and emotionally. And I also know it doesn’t have to be this way.
Even if divorce is impacting your work, it doesn’t have to unravel everything you’ve worked for
That’s why I work with my clients to help them fast-track through this process.
To find clarity.
To feel like yourself again.
And to rebuild your life with clarity, confidence and momentum.
Not because you need fixing.
But because you need a plan, support, and space to think… so this doesn’t derail everything you’ve worked so hard for.
You don’t have to do this alone.
To summarise
You know how to lead high performing teams.
How to build a career.
And how to be high-achieving, capable, and in control.
But no one teaches you how to navigate a divorce while still trying to perform at your usual level.
It shows up when you’re staring at your screen, rereading the same email three times because it just won’t go in.
When you postpone that meeting… again… because you haven’t got the headspace.
When planning next quarter feels impossible… because just getting through the day is hard enough.
You don’t hesitate to get expert support for your business or your career. So why wouldn’t you do the same for your divorce?
Because the sooner you feel supported, the sooner you can get your personal life… and the professional one you’ve worked so hard for… back on track.
If you’re going through a divorce and want to minimise the impact on your career or business, then my coaching can give you the tools and strategies you need to feel back in control and able to perform at the level you’re used to.
