Partnership status and satisfaction with work–life balance

Abstract

ABSTRACT Does entering a romantic relationship enhance or detract from employees’ work–life balance (WLB)? While different theoretical predictions can be made about how being in a relationship contributes to employees’ satisfaction with WLB, the literature lacks a robust investigation into this question. Using longitudinal data from Germany (n = 609; k = 2,358), this research examined if and how transitions in and out of non-marital relationships over six years relate to employees’ varying levels of satisfaction with WLB. Results showed that employees were less satisfied with WLB when they were romantically partnered (vs. unpartnered), which contrasts previous cross-sectional findings. In an additional study (N = 779) validating the first study’s measures using a similar sample, and comparing partnered vs. unpartnered employees cross-sectionally, we found that partnered individuals feel more, not less, satisfied with WLB. Taken together, these findings suggest caution in interpreting the effects of time-varying variables in cross-sectional studies. When examined longitudinally, taking on a partner role was related to reduced satisfaction with WLB, highlighting the need to attend to the variability in needs and challenges unmarried individuals face in work–life interface research.