You Should Be More Important than Your Partner’s Job
Findings from empirical research and how to apply them to your dating life
To all the men and women who are in a relationship with a partner who is always busy with work, I want to remind you of one simple thing: You deserve to be more important than your partner’s job.
I’ve seen countless couples whose relationships are void of intimacy and emotional closeness because one partner, often the man, is too consumed by their job while the other partner continually justifies their partner’s unavailability and convinces themselves they’re perfectly happy. Not surprisingly, the more emotionally involved partner is unhappy and dissatisfied.
This isn’t just my observation. In fact, a few studies into heterosexual relationships found that the men often gave priority to work and lacked emotional commitment, leaving the majority of emotional work to their women. These women were deeply disappointed with the lack of intimacy in the relationship and expressed a desire for an empathetic partner. What’s interesting about these studies is that they were actually published back in the 1990s and 2000s and the reason why these women accepted coming second to their partner’s job was largely because they were dependent on their partner financially.
