UPfront Relationship impacts @ work

If you’ve just had row with the spouse, chances are your work relationships could also suffer – an assumption backed up by recent EEO Trust survey of over 1300 workers.
Nearly three quarters of the respondents said they don’t work as well if they’re having relationship problems either with friends or spouse, and most (81 percent) reckon they’re more productive at work if personal relationships are going well.
The online survey was developed by EEO to explore how paid work affects relationships and vice versa. Amongst its discoveries were that work had been contributing factor in partner breakup for 39 percent of respondents. The main culprit was work pressure, exhaustion and stress followed by long or irregular hours, shift work and frequent travel.
Around two thirds (64 percent) said work negatively affected the amount of time spent with their partner, more than half said it negatively affected the quality of time and 38 percent said they or their partner had turned down job, promotion or transfer because it would impact badly on their relationship.
However, it’s not all bad news. At least 82 percent felt paid work had positive effect on their relationships and 60 percent thought their workplace valued and supported their relationships, according to the Trust’s acting chief executive Philippa Reed.
“Good relationships with workmates can also be important for workers and employers. We asked people how their workplace help them form good relationships at work. The most common answer was tasks that require interaction with other staff members, followed by social clubs, events that require informal interaction between management and staff, and fun activities.”