Partner Relationship Could Be A Buffer Against Work-Related Stress

By Staff

Friday, June 26, 2009, 15:05

A healthy relationship with a partner can act as a buffer for people who are constantly exposed to work-related stress. A marital relationship reduces the negative effects of work stress on couples. This is because the couple can transmit the positive energy to each other.

A positive approach and successful stress-management techniques also help to reduce the negative effects of work-related stress. People who felt that they had a good relationship with their partners enjoyed better health than those who had a more problematic relationship. They feel a stress free ambience in their work life too.

On the other hand, poor relationships will amplify the negative effects. When there are stressful experiences both at work and in the relationship, the risk of burnout and poor health increases dramatically. Women with a poorly functioning relationship experienced more anxiety, mental stress reactions and sleeping difficulties than women who had a good relationship. Men who had a mediocre relationship suffered a higher incidence of depression, anxiety, psychological and somatic stress reactions than men with worse or better relationships.

One explanation can be that people living with a mediocre relationship take more responsibility to improve the relationship, while those with poor relationships just admit it, and don't feel they can do anything about it.

Ann Christine Anderson Arnten, from the University of Gothenburg conducted this study in her new doctoral dissertation.