We, as a society, rely on our jobs. We rely on them to provide us income to sustain our lives and the lives of those we support. The stability of our jobs can be a reflection of the career path we have, and similarly, one’s marriage can be a reflection of the stability of the relationship.

For individuals with a high turnover rate on their jobs, this can cause a higher turnover rate in one’s marriage, according to recent research.

The study

Studies done at the University of Maryland have revealed that a couple’s stability and the turnover rate of a job are linked. The study measured data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the American Community Survey (ACS), testing the association between job turnover, a contextual variable, and divorce at an individual level.

The results of the research found that individuals who work jobs where there is a high turnover rate, are more likely to experience a divorce.

The high turnover rates imply that they are not working one year later. There are many types of explanations for this type of turnover in a job, one of them, detailed in the study, being that people exposed to lower levels of from employers causing their employees to exhibit lower levels of commitment to their own marriages.

The study, done by Phillip N. Cohen, references Alison J. Pugh’s “The Tumbleweed Society.” In it, Pugh finds the relationships involved in commitments more complex and that neither the relationship between employer and employee, nor relationship between spouses simple enough for sweeping blanket statements.

The limits to the calculations involved in the study are set at 20 weeks in the previous year and more than 20 hours per week. These individuals have set themselves up to work just enough that the stability of their lives would be affected by any change made, just as any marriage that has existed for a period of time. Your life will be affected in either scenario.

Careers and demographics

The research shows that job industries with lower turnover rates are disproportionately in the public sector, as well as construction. They also are shown to be male-dominant, aside from school teaching, and middle/working-class jobs. Conversely, the ones with higher turnover rates are female-dominant positions and are in the service industry, aside from light truck drivers.

The results of the study highlighted the demographic breakdowns and how often they are affected by the connection between job turnover and the occurrence of divorce. Divorce is more likely for those whose most recent job had a higher turnover rate, and turnover rates are higher in jobs held by women, younger people, individuals married more recently, individuals who have been married a few times, those with an education level less than a Bachelor’s degree, Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and immigrants.

Understanding the data

These demographical breakdowns highlight the importance of a stable income in a marital relationship. Countless marital conflicts can be attributed to spending habits and employment status, and it is no wonder that the turnover rate of many careers can be linked to the divorce experience.

When deciding to pursue a relationship with someone, you can’t help but look into the future, and a stable future is created through the income provided by a stable career. If the career does not provide a stable income, then it can jeopardize the long-term viability of the marriage itself.

For adults, one of the first questions that individuals who are first dating ask one another is about their professions. Many people look for stability in their partner’s income, and while there are people out there that may look to exploit a potential partner’s career stability, the majority of individuals are looking at from the perspective of future stability. They are looking at how that career and that income could benefit a potential family that you can build together.

In the same vein, understanding this research allows society the ability to further understand the breakdown of both careers and marriages as a whole. What goes into the end of a job and the end of a relationship are never simple and do not necessarily reflect the individuals involved all of the time.