Divorce is one of the biggest hardships one can go through in life, topped only by the stress of dealing with the death of a loved one. When going through a separation, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to focus on work. While it is important to keep boundaries between one’s personal and professional lives, there are things that can be done to make the workspace feel a little safer when going through a marital split.

Though it is not recommended to tell a boss all the dirty details of a divorce, it may be a good idea for employees to give their superiors a head’s up if they are going through a separation. If there is absolutely no way that a person feels capable of handling a daunting task at work as a result of the turmoil going on at home, that person owes it to the company and to the clients or customers of the employer to be up front about this.

While some people have to drag themselves to work when going through a divorce, others throw themselves into their jobs as a means of escape. Though becoming a workaholic is better than some other vices or addictive tendencies, it is not a great coping strategy in the long run. It is a good idea to take a personal day off here and there when going through a divorce to avoid having a burnout or breakdown.

Coping emotionally with a divorce is hard enough, even without accounting for the need to appraise and divide property like a family home or other shared assets. While a therapist can be useful for talking through the emotions involved in a separation, it is important to have an experienced family law attorney in one’s corner to deal with the logistics of a divorce.