Kev Kennedy's Blog

Redundancy and your relationship

There's an interesting stat come out that you are 70% more likely to experience a divorce within a year of being made redundant than if you weren't made redundant. It doesn't matter if you're male or female, the stat is about the same. The figure may well be higher if you're living with a partner and aren't married.

Depressingly, if you're in your 20s, you may be at real risk of redundancy during a rescession. Last in, first out and all that. So, the warning to us 20s and 30s is clear. If redundancy is on the cards, it's worth taking steps to protect our relationship.

But why does redundancy have this effect? I can imagine that the pressure to find a new job can become all-consuming, and as a result you neglect your partner. Obviously if you're depressed it may be difficult to talk about anything positively and cheerfully. Other, powerful emotions come into play - like 'survivor guilt', resentment, envy and so on. Life can become a heady cocktail of emotions for both of you.

Trying to put your partner first and give them support when your self-confidence has been shredded isn't easy. But partnerships need two-way input. Your partner may be struggling too. They may need you to be there for them. And if you can manage that, then a) you're a super human who deserves to be loved the way you are, and b) you've got a much better chance of avoiding becoming a 'break up' stat.

Read Looking at Life's advice for job hunters

Created on Mon 18th May 2009 11:43