There is a reason you feel so awful after a breakup: breakups are another form of loss. And even if the person didn’t die, it sure can feel like it. There will be a giant, gaping hole in your life that will make you feel like something is missing. And this hole doesn’t fill up over night! The healing process from a breakup, just like after you physically lose a person, can take quite some time. So it’s really quite unfair that you’re expected to be at work the following day, chipper as ever and ready to meet all those deadlines. Sure, you could take one of your sick days, but that won’t change the fact that your coworkers will think of you as weak for taking a sick day over a breakup. Breakups should be given their own separate leave of absence in the workplace and acknowledged as the grueling grieving process that they are. Here are 5 reasons why!
1. Quality is sacrificed
You just don’t feel like doing sh*t. But you have to, so you do your work anyway, but it’s just not up to par. Even if you’re trying your best. It’s probably your worst best ever. You may as well have not done it at all.
2. Productivity suffers
When you’re not trying your worst best, you’re doing nothing instead. This is the point after a breakup when you master the art of looking like you’re doing really-busy-and-important-stuff without actually doing it. It’s another skill for the set, but not necessarily something to be proud of. Long, vacant stares into the distance become your new signature “thing”. Or, alternatively, your thoughts won’t stop racing, so to quiet them, you binge-watch cute sea lion videos all day. They truly are the puppies of the sea.
3. Annoying coworkers
You’re already a little more irritable than usual at work, and your usually annoying coworkers seem more obnoxious than ever. They’ll probably deploy the usual post-breakup comfort cliches, like “there are plenty of fish in the sea” or “have you ever thought about dating *insert other coworker’s name here*?” They might even go as far as to ask you to get a drink with them later, to pull you out of the slump. Too soon! Sometimes you just want to stay at home and eat microwaveable ziti and listen to Ina Garten’s soothing voice.
4. Appropriate work attire? No thanks!
Wear a bra? No sweatpants allowed? No one has ever uttered more tragic words to you in your life. All you really want to do is cocoon in your bed for a few hours in your comfiest clothes, and you should be allowed to!
5. Heartless bosses
Your boss probably doesn’t care about your love life. Never has, never will, so your sudden heartbreak won’t change anything. You’re still expected to show up, look good, be happy, and get work done. But this is an unrealistic expectation! We’re human beings, not emotionless robots (at least, not yet) so there’s literally no way you can “have that thing on their desk” by Friday when you don’t even have your sh*t together yet! Hey, nobody’s asking for months off to wallow in self-pity, but a day or two off for mental and emotional wellness could be just the thing to help you bounce-back to your badass self and start slaying at the workplace again!