Divorce is a painful, emotional time in a person’s life. When going through a divorce, the stress and emotional upheaval can cause some individuals’ performance to drop at work. Added to that, some may also find their employer subpoenaed for information, their chances for a promotion disappearing, or their business in jeopardy, too. Those who have children, may have to pass up a promotion or a new job in another state to retain custody or visitation rights to their children. Florida law requires that divorced parents with shared responsibility for children cannot move the children more than fifty miles from a residence at the time of their agreement.
One divorced woman owned a business with her former husband. While they were going through the divorce, she was not only locked out of her office, but lost access to her computer as well. As a result of these restrictions, her business failed eventually. According to this woman, it took a long time for her to recover financially from her divorce.
Although many divorced parents’ careers do suffer because of a divorce, there are those who divorce and then find new, more rewarding careers.
One such woman, a nurse, married a doctor at age 19. During her twenty year marriage to her husband, they had four children before divorcing. After her marriage ended, her biggest challenge was finding identity in her career after her divorce. At first she struggled, but then decided to follow her passion for pets and now owns several businesses associated with animals.
According to Elinor Robin, a family mediator in Boca Raton, people often do better in their careers after a divorce. A divorce, in her words, can be a career booster, as when the focus is off the marriage, the focus can be on the career instead.
Divorced parents can pass their experience on to their children. Let them know that a marriage doesn’t always last forever. The best way to be prepared should a marriage fail is to educate yourself before marriage. Even if you have been out of the workforce for a number of years, if you have either a degree or training to fall back on, you will be more employable and have a better chance at becoming financially independent in a shorter amount of time after a divorce.