Clocking off: How relationship breakdown is impacting people in the workplace

The effects of the pandemic have pushed many couples to breaking point. Joanna Whitehead looks at new research examining how the end of a relationship affects people when they turn up to work

What happens when our personal life starts to affect our professional life? (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

While lockdown restrictions are slowly starting to lift across the UK, there’s no disputing that the past year has been enormously challenging for many people. As well as a huge death toll, and fear for your health, the knock-on effect of the pandemic has impacted people’s livelihoods, with workers across hospitality, retail and the entertainment industries hit hardest.

Others may have continued to work remotely, but struggled to balance employment with childcare responsibilities stemming from the closure of schools. Social isolation, anxiety about contracting Covid, and the ill-health and even death of loved-ones has dealt a devastating blow to many families – and not all of them have survived.

For many couples, being cooped up together in lockdown under unprecedented circumstances has served as a make-or-break test. The strain of the pandemic has exacerbated existing irritations and inflamed previously low-levels of stress, creating a perfect storm of relationship dysfunction.

In September, Citizens Advice reported a 25 per cent increase in visits to its divorce page compared with the previous year. Elsewhere, law firm Wright Hassall reported a 31 per cent increase in divorce inquiries since the beginning of lockdown. And celebrity couples are far from immune – Kim Kardashian West, Kelly Clarkson and Zoe Kravitz have all filed for divorce since the start of the pandemic.

And with more of us working longer hours since the first lockdown, how does divorce or the breakdown of a relationship impact your working life? A new report published by Rayden Solicitors asked employees at 133 workplaces across the UK about their experiences to create the 2021 Divorce in the Workplace study. Researchers sought information on how the dissolution of a relationship impacted a person’s ability to do their job, what – if any – support was offered by their workplace, and what could be done to better support staff.

The results reveal the extent to which a failed relationship can affect almost every aspect of a person’s life. Of those who reported having gone through divorce or relationship separation, nearly four fifths (79 per cent) said that it had impacted their ability to work. Sixty per cent said it had impacted their mental health, causing depression, anxiety and stress, while nearly a quarter (23 per cent) had to take sick or unpaid leave.

Of those who reported having gone through divorce or relationship separation, nearly four fifths (79 per cent) said that it had impacted their ability to work

And it was men who struggled the most, with 93 per cent of those polled stating that this impacted their ability to work. In comparison, 74 per cent of women reported that their relationship breakdown had an impact on their ability to work.

When it comes to support from employers, 57 per cent of those surveyed said that they did not feel they received the support they needed. Nearly half (42 per cent) felt that their company could have provided more psychological and mental health support, while one in nine UK employees said that pressure as a result of work impacting their relationship was a contributing factor in its breakdown.

The impact of this lack of support on both employees and employers is significant. Decreased productivity was cited as a factor by workers, with 42 per cent of those who did not have sufficient support reporting that their work suffered, compared with 35 per cent of those who did.

And when it comes to staff retention, one in eight employees left their company within the year if their employers provided insufficient support during their relationship breakdown, compared to just one in 20 of those who did report sufficient support.

When staff were asked what employers could have done better to support them through this painful time, 42 per cent said that their company could have provided more psychological and mental health support. Of those polled, 33 per cent said that flexible working arrangements would have enabled them to attend separation proceedings and accommodated them for practicalities such as moving house, while 32 per cent felt that an offer of compassionate leave would have been useful.

When staff were asked what employers could have done better, 33 per cent said flexible working, while 32 per cent wanted an offer of compassionate leave

Additional protective measures for staff include joining a union to ensure that their employment rights are upheld and seeking out professional support, such as counselling, as an additional crutch.

It’s also worth remembering that we are living through an extraordinary time in history and that frayed tempers and heightened anxiety may simply be a product of these strange circumstances we find ourselves living under. Relationships psychologist Madeleine Mason-Roantree encouraged those considering separation to consider couple’s counselling before pursuing divorce. “There are some things within a couple that can be difficult to overcome without an objective party to help sort out the arguments and misunderstandings. Sometimes a couple only needs a few sessions to understand their unhelpful dynamic,” she said.

While we might try to keep the professional and the personal separate, there is no denying that extreme circumstances outside of work are bound to impact the way you feel when you clock on or sit down at your desk. Given the strain that the pandemic and lockdown has had on relationships, now more than ever companies need to be addressing the way that home life – and particularly stressful events like divorce – will take its toll on the workforce.