It comes as no surprise that the relationship between life partners has an enormous impact on their professional lives. Sharing a life with someone entails that you are each other’s support system. Moreover, you must take your partner’s ambitions, needs, and wants to account when making decisions.
Career decisions affect how you manage your household. In Singapore, dual-career couples are becoming more of a norm. The Department of Statistics released a population census last 2021, which highlighted the current labor trends in Singapore.
The last decade has seen an increase in the proportion of resident married-couple households with working wives and an increase in households with spouses who hold equal qualifications. The proportion of resident married-couple households with spouses holding equal qualifications elevated from 44.3% to 46.6%.
Let us put our focus on dual-career couples. Dual-career couples were the largest group among married couples, increasing from 47.1% in 2010 to 52.5% in 2020. This significant increase was observed across all age groups. It is understood that resident married-couple households with both the husband and wife employed earned more. In fact, they earned a median monthly combined income of $11,101 in 2020. This is higher than the median monthly income of households with only the husbands were employed ($5,070) and those with only the wives were employed ($3,213).
As more households adopt the lifestyle of a dual-career couple, here are some helpful tips that can guide you through the journey.
#1: COMMUNICATE EFFICIENTLY
One of the main ingredients of a successful partnership is communication. Communication may take different forms for every couple, but it ought to be personal and practical. For day-to-day activities, you need to talk about the actions that will make your household run smoothly. Who will take charge of the household chores? Who will pick up the kids from school? Discuss feelings, ambitions, and challenges in a respectful and intimate manner. This will allow you to know what is going well and what is not.
#2: LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE
When you make decisions, it is important to look at the bigger picture. For instance, a mother decided to quit her job to take care of her kids due to the excessive costs of childcare. However, this decision can decrease the net earnings of the household and affect their overall financial status. On the other hand, taking a short-term financial hit to pay for childcare may increase the earning power potential of the couple in the long run. Think about your current situation and examine the best options for your future.
#3: CONSIDER ALL THE PARTS
A partnership incorporates two people’s needs and concerns on the table. Moreover, you must include the needs of your family as a unit. Listen carefully to your partner and reach a shared understanding of each other’s goals. Doing this will help you strike a balance in your life as a spouse, a parent, and an employee/employer.
#4: SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP
Let us face it! Communication does not come naturally to every couple, and that is okay. It is essential to acknowledge this and find other ways to communicate formally. For starters, a counselor can help you work as a couple to ensure that you are being equally heard and that you are developing your goals with consideration for one another.
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If your issue is finding time to communicate, you may ask a trusted family member to help lessen your workload at home. Seek part-time help while still meeting the needs of your household and your children. Seeking help can give you the physical and mental space to re-connect to your partner.