7 Signs Your Career is Impacting Your Relationship

A high-pressure job cannot only impact your general health and personal happiness, but it could also be taking its toll on your relationship with your partner.

As few things will be more important than your other half, it is important to identify how your career could be affecting your love life each day so that you can take the steps to improve your connection.

Here are seven signs your career is negatively impacting your relationship.

You’re Failing to Make Time for Your Other Half

If you head into the office early and leave work late, it is a clear-cut sign you are neglecting your spouse. If you want your relationship to work, you must set time aside in your busy schedule for your other half.

Even if you have the most understanding partner in the world, you must leave work on schedule to take him or her out for dinner or to enjoy some quality time at home together. It will make your partner feel both loved and appreciated, which could strengthen your relationship while providing you with a greater work-life balance.

You Allow Work to Cause Conflict at Home

As your professional and personal life can often intertwine, it can be easy to take various pressures and stress home with you after a tough day at work. Rather than seeking comfort and support from your partner, you might lash out at them for a small mistake or vent about your job.

It is, however, important to bear in mind that it is your employer or a client you are really mad at and not your spouse. It might, therefore, be beneficial to find more productive ways to unleash your anger or stress.

For example, you could:

Join a boxing class
Sweat out your stress in a yoga or dance class
Run on a treadmill
Regularly treat yourself to a relaxing massage

The next time you find yourself snapping at your partner after work, apologize for your behavior, and confide in them about your tough day. A kind word or hug from them might be all that is needed to lift your spirits.

You’re Avoiding Your Partner with Work

If you are regularly immersing yourself in your career to avoid returning home to your partner, take it as a warning sign that there are serious issues with your relationship, which you must address.

If you are unsatisfied with your love life, you cannot use your job to avoid your other half, as it is not fair on both you or them to do so. While work might provide you with a temporary escape from a difficult home life, you cannot allow the problem to persist any longer.

Instead, you must discuss your problems with your partner to identify the best solution for the both of you, which could be a trial separation, regular date nights, or marriage counseling.

Your Relationship is Breaking Down

Different factors can cause a relationship to breakdown over time, and it might not necessarily be one person’s fault. If, however, you are taking your stress out on your partner and returning home late from work, it could be affecting your connection.

While following the above steps can help, it is also wise to ask your partner if there are any changes you could make to restore your loving relationship potentially. For example, they might want you to stop working from home on your days off from work, to avoid taking work-related phone calls every evening or to stop consistently talking about your job.

However, a relationship breakdown might be beyond your control, as you could read these tips to identify if your partner is being unfaithful.

Your Work Priorities are More Important Than Your Relationship

While you might tell yourself that nothing or no-one is more important to you than your spouse, you could unwittingly be choosing work over your relationship.

For example, if you are missing important milestones in their life due to attending client meetings or adhering to tight deadlines, it is possible you are choosing your work priorities over your other half. Sadly, this could lead to resentment and conflict, as they might believe your job is more important to you than they are.

While you might work hard every day to provide a better life for you both, your job should not come at the cost of your relationship. For this reason, you must aim to switch off at the end of a working day, so you can both spend quality time together and share in each other’s accomplishments.

You’re Relying on Your Partner to Make You Happy

If your career is grinding you down, you might rely on your partner for personal fulfillment. Consequently, when you clash or argue, you might believe your whole life is falling apart, despite it being a perfectly normal blip in a relationship. If this is the case, you must take it as a sign that you are relying too much on your partner for joy and support.

Instead, you must find ways to improve your happiness and fulfillment, which could mean widening your social circle, finding a new career, embarking on a hobby, or discussing your heavy workload with your manager to take some of the pressure off your shoulders. It can remove some of the responsibility from your other half and could improve your relationship and independence.

You’re Too Tired After Work

Unfortunately, a demanding working day could drain you of all energy once you return home to your partner. As a result, you might have little energy to talk to your other half or to enjoy a fun activity together.

Sadly, your general mood and lack of energy could affect your spouse, as they could feel unloved and unappreciated. If you are struggling with extreme tiredness after work, it might be time to schedule a few well-deserved vacation days to restore your energy levels and give your partner your undivided attention.