“Being an ambitious, hardworking woman, married to an ambitious, hardworking man means that we both understand when the other is focused on work and can respect that,†Tonya Lewis Lee told Madame Noire about her supportive husband, Spike Lee. Finding a spouse that understands your career goals and drive can be difficult, but depending on the extent of the situation, it doesn’t have to be a deal breaker. Below are three signs your spouse may not supportive of your career and solutions to help fix the problem:
Your spouse always schedules dates around the same time as a work event: You’ve reminded them several times about the date of your must-attend work event, yet they continue to schedule romantic outings on the same day, making you choose between relationship and work. Next time, rather than simply telling them the date and time of the event, invite them to be your plus one. They’ll be able to spend extra time with you and they’ll get a peek at how things are ran at your professional events.
Your spouse gets annoyed when you take a business call outside of work hours: Many careers require professionals to work around the clock and be on call even after they have left the office. One of your spouse’s biggest pet peeves seems to be when you take a business call outside of business hours. Instead of letting that call cause strife in your relationship, let the call go to voicemail at the dinner table and make a personal reminder to handle your business affairs afterward.
Your spouse gets annoyed whenever you vent about your work day: All careers come with their fair share of ups and downs and it’s usually when we get home where we release all of our concerns. However, you notice that your spouse hates when you bring up any issue related to your job. Instead of talking about all of the stress that comes along with your work day, maybe try to focus more on the good rather than the bad and see if your spouse is more open to hearing about the details of your day.