Management Information |
Employers - Protect Yourself from Custody Battles that Hold Your Company Hostage
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
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:
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 the topic (640 pages, updated each year). For resources that put you in control and arms you for every step of your custody dispute, visit http://www.custodywar.com
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
Travel the World - for Free! I have been very fortunate to travel to several countries of the world while on business - countries I may have never visited on a holiday. There are pros and cons to working/doing business in a foreign country vs. Supplier Sees 53% Reduction in Out-of-Spec Orders Case Study The goal of perfection is a challenge. It is often viewed as an expensive process requiring large investments. Is Your Company in Need of Family Therapy? How Companies Are Like FamiliesLike a family, a company is a group of people who have an ongoing relationship with one another. Companies have several things in common with families:1. Make It Easy to Reply - Voice Mail That Works If you are like most business people, voice mail has both simplified and complicated your life. On the good side, it helps you exchange information. Five Steps to Successful Business Succession The great majority of family businesses in North America are still owned and operated by descendants of the founder. The business acumen that these first, second, third, and sometimes fourth generation managers possess largely determines how much longer the business will remain under family control. An Original Perspective on Waging Conflict as a Way to Promote and Restore Self-dignity Conflict is a fact of life for all of us, but too many painful consequences are generated by avoiding or managing it in the wrong way. When we deal with everybody else day after day in any capacity as leaders or team managers, is inevitable that we will be personally confronted with conflict. People Skills: Eight Essential People Skills Being able to communicate effectively with others requires people skills, and here's eight essential ones:1. Understanding people People not only come in all shapes and sizes, but they come with different personality types as well. Knowledge Management - Keys to Successful Communities of Practice (Networks) How can I make my community of practice truly effective?How can I prevent my network becoming a "notwork"?Communities of practice (networks) lie at the heart of successful knowledge management in most organisations. They are the lifeblood of informal exchanges of knowledge. Few Things Are More Destructive Than An Insecure Boss Few things are more destructive to a career than a boss who is insecure. Unfortunately, it is a near certainty that most people will encounter one or more such persons along the way. One Crazy Cookie In order to survive, you have to be happier than if you were in your right mind. Chinese Fortune Cookie When orienting someone new to the company, the last thing I tell them is to, "have fun. Bullying and the Not for Profit Organisation Where there is people there is politics! Bullying is now a major workplace issue that has invaded our not for profit organisations. Take the following example. Comparing Ancient Programs from the East to Modern Programs like Stephen Covey. Comparing Corporate and Personal goal attainment programs that have developed over thousands of years with those of modern day legends such as Covey - "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"In the 1990s Stephen Covey's name became famous through the publication of the "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". As many know the "7 habits" are not a group of new concepts but age-old approaches to success represented in a way that can be clearly applied to modern day personal and corporate development. What to Ask When You're Invited to a Meeting 1) Where is the agenda? A meeting without an agenda is like a journey without a map; it will always waste your time. Once you have the agenda, make sure that it consists of more than a list of words because this is almost useless. Five Ways to Turn Resistance into Opportunity Resistance. It isn't something people cherish or enjoy encountering. Effective Meetings Begin With a Real Agenda Everyone knows that an agenda is the key to an effective meeting. But an agenda that consists of a list of nouns, such as budget, software, and picnic, is useless. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Senior Management and Directional Change This article relates to the Senior/Top Level management of an organization, and how a huge vision of directional change translates into the day-to-day operation of the company. AlphaMeasure defines senior management as the team of individuals at the highest level who have the day-to-day responsibilities of operating the organization. Ten Secrets of Super Successful Meeting Planners Whoever said that being a meeting planner was easy, lied! Rather, it should be classified under the tough and demanding job category. But, along with being tough, it's also fun, exciting, exhilarating, stimulating, and never, never boring. Innovation Management - IBM Opens Lid On Its Treasure Chest IBM, which registered 3248 patents last year, has decided that sharing technology can sometimes be more profitable than jealously guarding its property rights on patents, copyrights and trade secrets (Herald Tribune, April 11 2005).International Business Machines have come to the above conclusion 205 years after the invention of electric light - thus clearly illustrating that even the 19th largest company in the world (fortune. 10 Ways To Work Through A Business Slowdown In running any kind of business, it's inevitable that sometimes business will slow down. This might occur due to an upcoming holiday, seasonal variations, or uncontrollable circumstances. Preparation: Your Companys Best Defense in Case of Catastrophe You've hung out your shingle and are ready for business. But what if something unforeseen were to occur? Is your business truly ready for all that being in business entails? It only takes one catastrophic event to adversely impact a once thriving business. |
home | site map | contact us |