Life Happens (And Doesn't Pause for Tax Season)
Balancing transparency, professionalism, and humanity when work and life collide
A collaboration by Tiffany Huntington, EA and Thomas A. Gorczynski
Life happens. Unfortunately, it happens on its own time. It doesn’t care about our schedules. It doesn’t pause for tax season.
One day, you’re cranking out returns. The next day, your whole family is battling fevers, you’re dealing with a leaking roof, your computer has bit the dust, or a family member isn’t doing well.
When Life Collides with Work
We were recently on a call with a group of tax professionals when one of them shared what she was carrying.
Her office staff member lost a close loved one. At the same time, she was navigating her own family member who is in hospice.
Her team is grieving. Yet, it’s tax season.
They are trying to keep the business running, take care of clients, and support each other. All while wondering:
Do they explain what’s going on?
Will it sound like excuses?
Is it unprofessional?
Here’s the truth: “They aren’t excuses. They are exceptions.” (Credit to Matt Gaylor for this eloquent reminder.)
Transparency vs. Professionalism
In professional services, we’re often trained that we can’t let our personal and professional lives overlap:
Don’t share too much.
Don’t show emotion.
Don’t bring your personal life to work.
Yes, there is some wisdom to it (e.g., not letting your political or personal beliefs overshadow professional judgement), but that’s not what we’re talking about.
Our clients are paying for real humans and the value, experience, and care only we can bring. They aren’t paying for robots.
Honest communication isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of humanity. Humanity builds trust. It builds connection.
That doesn’t mean you have to overshare and disclose everything. It means acknowledging reality. If someone can’t be understanding of these exceptions, then they are not the right fit for you in the first place.
What Clients Want
At the end of the day, all clients want to know is they’re being taken care of. They want reassurance that you won’t forget about their needs:
Maybe the client has to wait one more week for their return to be completed.
Maybe emails aren’t responded to within your usual 1-2 business days.
Maybe you need to extend more returns so you can focus on your priority. Extensions exist for a reason.
These aren’t signs of failure. In fact, they are signs of strength, leadership, and taking ownership.
Example:
[Client name],
I’m reaching out as I’ll be taking some time off due to an unforeseen personal situation. I want to assure you that your return is a priority and we’re committed to completing it as soon as possible.
To ensure your return gets the full attention it deserves, I will be filing an extension. Rest assured that filing an extension is an industry norm that allows us enough time to file an accurate and complete return without pressure.
I appreciate your understanding and patience during this time. I’ll keep you updated as soon as I can.
Best,
Tip: Not in the right mindset to write a message? This is a great area where an AI tool can help you articulate what you want to say.
Grace
Many people are facing battles nobody knows about. When life happens, give yourself grace. Because if you can’t give yourself grace, you can’t expect it from others. When life happens to your colleague or client, offer the same grace.
Our industry has normalized constant pressure:
Work long hours.
There’s no time to take a break or time off.
We must push through until after the deadline.
Yet, realistically, tax season never ends. Client needs never go away. It all just rolls from one deadline or project to the next.
Here’s your reminder: you don’t have to live by those “norms”. You are allowed to create your own.
The Risk of Pushing
Pushing through doesn’t eliminate consequences (like getting behind). More often than not, it creates risk:
Room for error because you’re not fully focused on the work.
Burnout because your priorities are conflicting.
Poor customer experiences because your attention is divided.
Stained mental health because you’re juggling too many things at once.
Powering through can look like strength, but can be an exposure in reality.
Preparation Matters
The best time to plan for disruption is before it happens.
Do you have:
Client notes in a consistent location, accessible in case someone needs to jump in?
Up-to-date standard operating procedures (SOPs)?
A communication plan for clients if they need to be informed of delays?
A person in place who can cover things?
Being prepared doesn’t prevent life from happening, but it does prevent chaos when life comes knocking on your door.
Our Testimonies
We have both experienced many seasons when life and work collided.
Tom
I’m a two-time cancer survivor, and I’ll admit, I did not stop doing work either time. The first time, I had a (stressful) full-time tax job, and the second time, I was fully self-employed and building multiple businesses. Of course, it is easier to ignore the shock of a cancer diagnosis by working too much. My recovery likely would have been faster if I had taken time to heal.
Fast forward to September 2021, and I got COVID – a really bad case of COVID. I still had multiple returns on extension, and literally could not work. After 30 minutes at the computer, I had to take a nap. I emailed those clients two weeks before the extension deadline and told them I was very ill and physically unable to complete their returns, so I could not guarantee they would be filed by October 15. One person got very upset and left (and I’m OK with that); most went elsewhere; I lost the client; and two people understood and stayed (luckily, they had anticipated refunds). I have no regrets.
Tiffany
A few years ago, before I had my first child, I faced one of the most difficult losses in my life. After years of hope, then finally months of excitement, I miscarried.
I was truly devastated. But, it was March 3rd... I had returns to complete.
I took a few days off (only because I had to because of the procedure), but quickly went back to work. If I’m honest, I thought surrounding myself with my coworkers and being distracted by work was what I needed. But I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t present. I wasn’t focused. I needed time to grieve, but I also didn’t want to show weakness.
We have to be okay with not being 100%. We have to be okay with advocating for ourselves or others when they can’t. We have to be okay with taking time. It’s the best thing we can do for ourselves, our team, and our clients.
Our Reminder to You:
If you are walking through something, remind yourself that you are allowed to be human.
You can extend returns, reset expectations, ask for help, and take time.
Build a culture around honesty, support, and trust.
The work will always be there.
Life will happen.
— Tiffany Huntington, EA, and Tom Gorczynski, EA, USTCP
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I love that this conversation is happening. It’s so important that we allow ourselves the ability to take care of our own physical and mental health especially when pressure is high and coming from ourselves as well as our clients! Thank you both Tiffany & Tom!
Thank you so much! This reminds me that we do not have to live in fear. If we are honest people doing honest work for others, we can be honest about our humanity, too.