Career and relationships have been a recent topic for most workers lately. It is a conversation that broadens between balance and trials. Some have mastered not allowing their relationship to affect their career, while some struggle to find balance.
It is even more crucial for married people because the men will have to work just to keep their family moving and financially free while the woman is more often at home taking care of the children.
However, recent studies have shown that women prefer to work than stay at home; they don’t like being called a housewife; they want to go to the office, work hard and make money for their family. In addition, some don’t want to keep their career behind to raise a home; they either do both or forfeit raising a home.
Career and relationship issues become more complex for married people, hence we will look at ways your relationship can affect your career path.
Let’s get started!
1. Financially
Relationships are expensive to maintain, especially in this era of hunger for social media validation. Women want the best date dress, the best restaurant, and the best of everything you can think about in a relationship.
Don’t get me wrong; I am not saying wanting the best isn’t a good thing; of course, nobody wants any mediocre stuff, but there should be a limit, know what you can afford and go for it alone, don’t stress yourself too much to impress.
Relationships require a great deal of financial responsibility and when you are unable to afford it, you may end up getting into a credit mess you may find difficult to pay off.
2. Geographically
Do you have a friend that’s into long-distance relationships? Or perhaps you are in one already. Have you thought about the effect distance has created in the relationship? If you have, then you must have a clear understanding of how geographical distance affects the relationship.
In a long-distance relationship, you will be faced with the challenge to do more, to provide more so that your partner won’t feel your absence, and you know providing more means you have to spend more money and time, and also in some cases sacrifice your career or your job.
Yes! People quit their careers just to get close to their partner; some quit their job. I know it sounds stupid, but it’s true, people do things for love, and we all understand the power of love.
3. Emotionally
Emotional support can affect your career in ways you may not believe. This is because our emotions fuel our day-to-day activities.
When you have a great morning filled with laughter and love while preparing for work, your emotions are filled with positivity, and that will be transferred to your workplace, creating a positive energy for you while you work.
However, in a situation where you wake up with nagging from your spouse or partner, you will be filled with negative emotions and negative energy, and when you get to your workplace with such emotions, you will find yourself becoming less productive.
This emotional crisis has become a concern for most employers and companies, and for that reason, they find a way to ensure that their employees are in good mental or emotional condition while at work; they do that without interfering with their worker’s personal life.
Therefore it is important to always build positive energy around yourself and avoid carrying negative energy to your workplace so that you won’t risk your career or job.
4. Priorities
Relationships will force you to make a choice; you will have to compromise at sine point because you may not be on the same career path or share the same career views with your partner.
At some point, your partner will ask you to choose between your career or him/her. You will be faced with the confusion of what to do. However, in cases like this, do not make a choice out of emotional blackmail. Let your decision be logical and not deviate from your goals and principles.
It is essential that you prioritize what you love and what you will not regret it in the long run. Relationships are complex and can come with serious challenges, but it’s a part of life you will learn as you grow.
5. Compromises
Relationships come with compromises; at some point, you may question your sanity at things you have compromised or want to compromise.
Your career may be going so well and beautifully until you see yourself in a relationship that demands your attention very often, you will be stuck with the problem of choosing your career or your relationship.
You have to be quite sensitive in what you think is what compromising; you must balance home and work; it may be difficult but not impossible. Sometimes you will need to let your partner understand how important your career is to you without making him/her less important. Also, sometimes you will need to know when to slow down with career or work so as to sustain your relationship.
Relationship is easier to sustain when both parties are filled with love for each other and great understanding for one another.
6. Work Time Management
There are lots of cases where people seem to place their job or career above their relationship, and there are also cases where some will choose their relationship over their career; both are excellent choices, but striking a balance will do you more good than choosing one over another.
One easy way people can say or prove you love them is through the time you spend with them. However, you don’t need to spend the whole day with them; you can manage the time and do something significant with those time.
Plan vacations, fun parties, bond together, and have a deep and insightful conversation with the time you have allocated for your partner. Make every second of the time count so that they won’t have much reason to complain when you leave them for your job or career.
Manage your time effectively, and balance it with your career, and you will have little or no problem with your relationships.
7. Different Long-Term Goals.
An ideal relationship is built on values and goals. The goal helps in shaping the relationship. If the goals are the same for both partners, there will be little or no problem; however, when there is a clear difference in goals, there will be issues, and this kind of issue develops negative energy, which can affect your job or career.
It is of great importance that you have an early conversation about goals with your partner. Be it career goals or personal goals. You both should have a set-out plan and work according to the plan. Doing so will avoid clashes that can breed negative energy and affect your job or career.
8. Physical Support
As a lady, you will be left with great responsibility when you are in a relationship; sometimes, this responsibility can be very much on you, and you will need physical support.
If your partner doesn’t provide this support, it will affect your work pace. In addition, you will find it challenging to manage the house chores and other physical responsibility that comes with a relationship if you don’t have a supportive partner.
A relationship should be a team effort working towards a goal, but when all the responsibility of achieving this goal is on just one person, it will become difficult to deal with and will affect the career or job of the person that carries the responsibilities of the relationship the most.
9. Insecurities
When you have a partner that has insecurity issues, you will have lots of troubles both in your personal life and career growth.
Insecure partners will find a problem with you having a good relationship with your colleague of the opposite gender; they claim it will lead to cheating. Some partners do not want to care if the relationship is solely on professional levels and beneficial to your career growth. In such a situation, you will have to make a choice.
In a situation like this, you will need to let your partner understand the importance of your relationship with your colleague and how it’s important to your career growth, you guys will need to develop that understanding, and you will also need to do things that won’t give room for suspicion.
10. A Codependent Partner
Do you feel your partner is abusive, has an emotionally destructive attitude, and acts one-sided or selfishly? Then you have a Codependent Partner.
It is not advisable to keep such a partner because he/she will destroy your career or make you lose your job and still emotionally blackmail you with it.
Once you notice that your partner has any of the attributes of a Codependent, call their attention to it and watch their reaction and subsequent behavior; once it is not suiting you, create boundaries and subsequently leave the relationship.
Final Thoughts
We have been able to highlight ten ways relationships could affect your career and provide some worthy advice as well.
Relationships are quite very difficult to handle with a career or job. Still, when you get an understanding partner with the same goals and aspirations, your relationship will be blissful in both your personal life and career growth.