Divorce rates are often impacted by someone’s employment situation. There are certain issues that can cause the odds of a divorce to go up.
For example, when someone loses their job, some studies have found that their odds of divorce go up by around 74%. Even when someone is just laid off, rather than being dismissed for cause, their divorce odds still increase, although not quite as dramatically.
There are many reasons why job loss affects divorce. For example, it could be a pattern of behavior where someone struggles to hold down a job repeatedly, and their spouse decides to move on from the relationship to seek a greater level of stability. Another potential issue is that job loss can create significant financial stress for the couple, which could then lead to a divorce.
A long commute
In some cases, even just taking a new job can increase the odds of divorce. For instance, when someone gets a new job that has a commute of over 45 minutes, studies find that the odds of divorce go up by about 40%.
While maintaining employment can alleviate a person’s financial stress, the issue with the long commute is that the couple spends less time together. This can be stressful for their personal relationship, and it can be especially difficult if they have children.
Navigating a divorce
Have you faced employment changes over the last year that have also affected your personal relationships? If you believe that you and your spouse are moving toward a divorce, be sure you know what options you have when it comes to property division, child custody rights and other critical issues.
