How strong is your relationship ethic?
Many of us invest a lot of time and effort in our work and career; arriving on-time, working diligently, collaborating with others and actively listening to our co-workers and supervisory team. No wonder then it is common for us to come home exhausted at the end of the day.
What if we all invested as much time, effort and skill into our personal relationships? The world would possibly be a better place. If your relationship is as important to you as your work, then why not invest more time, energy and skill into it? Isn’t this is difficult to argue against?
Prioritising the relationship would mean coming home at the end of the day with energy left, having a daily ‘lets connect’ debrief ritual, and spending quality time together. You also need energy to do household duties and manage personal stress and spend time on hobbies. You can’t do it all every night.
Whether you do it consciously or not, you prioritise what matters to you most on a daily basis.
A recent study has recommended that couples develop a relationship ethic. The study measured the impact of attending a workshop on work-partner balance skills and strategies in 47 heterosexual couples. All couples took a pre- and post-test. Half of the couples attended the workshop before the training; the others did not attend the training until after their relationship skills were assessed. Couples who attended the workshop improved significantly in their ability to manage work-partner role conflict and other relevant skills compared to the other group, and they also reported a greater reduction in physical and emotional stress, as a result of the workshop.
A strong relationship ethic can lead to more satisfying relationships. If more couples committed to learning relationship skills, spending more time nurturing the relationship, and paying attention to and addressing issues early on, then we may just have happier people and happier families. Check out my online personal development program, including relationship topics, on www.mental-strength.com.
My book, ‘Closer', goes deeper into how to create better relationships. If you want to know more about how you can connect better with others and create stronger relationships, you will be interested in reading my book. Its available from Booktopia if you use this link; https://www.booktopia.com.au/closer-peter-charleston/prod9781760409890.html
REF: Jill R. Bowers, Angela R. Wiley, Blake L. Jones, Brian G. Ogolsky, Kathryn Branscomb. Helping Dual-Earner Couples Manage Work–Partner Interferences: A Program Evaluation. Marriage & Family Review, 2014; 50 (1): 55 DOI: 10.1080/01494929.2013.851054
If you would like learn more, do make sure to check out my Thrive Learning Program course which can help to improve your quality of life.
https://www.petercharleston.com/courses