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Employers - Protect Yourself from Custody Battles
By Charlotte Hardwick
Employers - Protect Yourself from Custody Battles
that Hold Your Company Hostage
Charlotte Hardwick
Child custody? How'd that get to be an employer's concern?
When an employee faces child custody litigation, it will
effect their ability to do their job. And it often causes
legal consequences for their employers as well. Unless you
know where to draw the lines regarding your legal
obligations and exposure, you could find your employee's
custody difficulties costing the company in a variety of
ways.
Custody problems have a major impact in the workplace, where
they effect other employees, as well as hurting the bottom
line. Worse yet, they can be disruptive in the workplace for
a long time. Unlike other kinds of employee stress, a
custody dispute could keep creating turmoil until the
employee's youngest child turns 18. A matter may seem to be
resolved, only to rise again years later as the child's
circumstances change.
Financial Costs Add Up
The widespread effects of custody litigation on employers
isn't a new issue. It's just that nobody has been noticing
how many negative ways it creates problems in the workplace.
But you need to, because the risks and harmful consequences
to your enterprise of ignoring it are significant.
When you consider the impact on other employees, your
personnel policies, and financial exposure, this article
should be a wake-up call.
Impact on the Employee's Performance
1· Absence for appointments with attorney, evaluations,
court dates, etc.
2· Stress making them more distracted, and even ill (so
more sick leave)
3· Co-workers having to pick up the slack, so they feel
put upon
4· Unavailable for travel or extended hours
5· Involving other employees in the unfolding dramatic
developments, which sidetracks them all from the job at hand
6· Likely self-medication with drugs or alcohol to deal
with emotional strains
7· Depression, anger and other emotional spill-over on
the job
Impact on the Supervisor or Employer
Extra supervision is usually required to compensate for
erratic employee performance issues. Distracted employees
aren't capable of doing their best work. Plus, you need to
be vigilant as to how custody developments effect co-
workers, and the extent to which they're pulled into the
personal problems. Constant updating and consoling distracts
everyone involved from their work.
In an effort to be "understanding" it's easy for supervisors
to fall into enabling behaviors, that are harmful both for
the business and the employee. These could include:
- "Covering Up: Providing alibis, making excuses or
even doing the work rather than confronting the issue that
they're not meeting their responsibilities.
- Rationalizing: Developing reasons why their
continued behavior is understandable or acceptable.
- Withdrawing: Avoiding contact with the employee or
their problems.
- Blaming: Blaming others for the continued problem
behavior or performance.
- Controlling: Taking responsibility for their
performance by moving them to a less important job (or
reducing their obligations)
- Threatening: Saying you'll take action (ceasing to
cover up, taking formal disciplinary action) if they don't
improve."
Quoted from Win Your Child Custody War, Chapter 11.
Be Alert to the Company's Risks
The employer must never sacrifice company policy under such
circumstances. It should already have policies in place to
deal with these matters - and then stick with them. If the
personnel matters are mis-handled, even for well-meaning
reasons, the legal exposure would be costly in both dollars
and time.
And don't overlook the related issues which put the company
at risk: possible workplace violence (one need only pick up
the paper), compromised company confidentiality (as private
work-related matters are made public records through court
submission) and accidents, which are more likely when a
person is distracted. And that doesn't even address the
costs related to lost jobs. (It costs approximately $125,000
to hire and orient a new employee.) Custody matters often
trigger relocations or resignations.
No workplace is immune. Just because custody-related
problems haven't come up before, it's unwise to disregard
the headaches it can cause. Knowing the proper way to
support the employee and where to draw the line serves them
as well as the organization.
If you want to protect your business from being held hostage
when an employee goes through a custody dispute, you need
reliable information. Because the consequences to your
operation could be crippling.
About the Author
--Charlotte Hardwick, Author, Win Your Child Custody War, the most
comprehensive and respected guidebook on custody (640 pg,
updated yearly) Resources to put you in control, arming you for
every step of a dispute http://www.custodywar.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/314.html
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