Result of Survey About Love and Relationships

So I did this survey last week about love and relationships and got 58 responses. I was aiming for 100, but 58 is a good enough number to draw conclusions I suppose. Before I begin dissecting the data, let’s first look at the results:

• Out of the 58 people who participated in the survey, 50% were men and 50% women.
• 90% were within the age range of 18–35, while the rest were older.
• 66% were either married or in a committed relationship.
• 75% admitted that they loved their partner.
• 70% believed their partner loved them.
• 88% believed that love is necessary in a marriage.

I also had an open-ended question about the definition of a successful relationship. Some of the answers were short, with most people citing trust and respect as the definition of a successful relationship. We also got a few detailed answers where honesty, communication, willingness to accept mistakes and forgive each other were common themes.

The most interesting thing I got from this survey was that some people love their partner while believing in their heart that their partner does not love them back. 7 out of 58 people were of the opinion that love is not necessary in a relationship.

So how did this all start?

Let’s just say I was having an argument with the old ball and chain, one thing led to another, and I ended up posting a survey about it. The results of this survey aren’t groundbreaking or unexpected, but I was lucky to have exactly the same number of male and female participants.

So if everyone agrees that love, trust, respect, and open communication are needed to make relationships successful, then why is it that a lot of relationships don’t work out?

I think it’s goes to show that we all know what to do to make a relationship work, but when it comes to putting theoretical knowledge into action, only a few of us succeed. Being in a committed relationship is a lot of work, and to me, it is a lot like working a job. You put your nine hours a day at the office and try to complete all the tasks your job requires of you, and then you come home and try to do your job as a husband and a father. The job at the office has a clear description, and you know exactly what you have to do to not get fired and work towards that promotion if you are ambitious. You and your employer have a contract, you fulfill your responsibilities, and you get paid at the end of the month.

At home, the situation is a bit different. It is still a job, and you still have a clearly defined set of responsibilities, but the payout is never clearly defined. In fact, you are, in most cases, expected to exceed expectation and deliver excellent results without there ever being a payout, and that’s where things get tricky. Relationships may fail due to incompatibility, infidelity, bankruptcy etc. etc., but most relationships fail because they turn into thankless jobs. In my opinion, if both partners treat it like a business contract, and both have a thorough understanding of their roles, duties, goals, and rewards, they are bound to make it through.

What do you think? Should we treat relationships as a business contract?