Why should we care?
Divorce isn’t just emotionally and socially tough. It creates financial disadvantage that can carry through someone’s life for decades, and that disadvantage is compounded for women - especially divorced mothers.
Did you know:
Women earn only two thirds of the income of men, one year after divorce.
The average divorced woman has assets valued at 90 per cent less than her married counterpart.
Divorced mothers have 68 per cent less superannuation than married mothers.
Divorced parents aged 45-64 have 25 per cent less, in asset terms, than married parents.
Home ownership rates for divorced couples are 15 per cent less than that of married couples.
While divorced fathers earn 26% more than their married counterparts, divorced women earn 10 per cent less than married women.
More than 20 per cent of single mothers struggle to afford basic items for their children such as school uniforms.
Divorce affects businesses too
Supporting women going through divorce isn’t just the kind thing to do, it’s also the economically savvy thing to do.
Research has found that every 10 employees going through a divorce can cost a business over (USD) $83,000 in lost productivity.*
That comes in the form of:
distraction and disinterest
decline in work performance
time off for legal, financial and psychological help
the extra time a supervisor might need to spend helping your employee deal with issues of performance and productivity.
The impacts
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When your employee is distracted and consumed with their divorce, they will be inefficient at their job.
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When your employee is distressed and emotional, they can cause stress and disharmony in the workplace.
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When your employee is stressed trying to juggle single parenting and their break up, their decision making abilities may be compromised.
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When your employee is feeling overwhelmed, they are more likely to take sick days, creating more work and stress for their colleagues.
Women are especially likely to suffer stress and disadvantage while going through divorce, because many have to juggle being the primary caregiver to children, and make lifestyle changes including increasing their work hours or taking on extra work to maintain their household.
The solution
Businesses that support their employees going through divorce can increase productivity, loyalty and morale of their team members.
Offering tailored training programs, divorce leave, access to counselling, and other services not only benefits those who need it, thus boosting your business’s productivity, it also paints a picture of the kind of business you want people to see.
77% of consumers are motivated to purchase from companies committed to making the world a better place.
Companies with inclusive agendas generate 30% higher revenue per employee and greater profitability than their competitors.
49% of consumers assume that companies that don’t speak on social issues don’t care.
44% of consumers want brands to focus on treating staff fairly.
How we can help
Women’s Divorce Academy is here to help.
We consult to businesses and government departments about the psychosocial safety benefits of providing divorce support in the workplace. We can also tailor a training package for any sized organisation to address the psychosocial hazard responsibilities of your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG).
When you support your people through one of the most trying times of their life, you lift their productivity, you increase their loyalty, you boost the morale of your entire team, and you show the world you are a progressive and supportive employer.
