Our careers are demanding and challenging – forcing us to constantly bring our A-game. That being said, while it is a essential to be a competent employer/employee, it is also highly important to have a supportive partner that can add value to your career path.
Personal relationships play an integral part with making one happy. When you are around a positive and motivated partner, that synergy automatically resonates with you, giving you a positive aura. This aura trails you to the workplace and colleagues can sense a positive individual (the same way they can detect negative people).
It is important to have good relationships on a professional level and personal level. Power-couples like Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, Khanyi Dhlomo and Chinezi Chijioke, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates are examples of powerful and successful people that jointly worked hard at supporting each other.
Whether you need to made a decision about starting a new job, studying further, relocating for an international job opportunity and so on, your partner needs to play a role in your career decisions and help you to decide what is in the best interest for your career.
A relationship will work best when you have a partner that supports your career goals and renders support during tough career decisions. It is crucial to assess these attributes in your partner before you enter into a long-term relationship with him/her and assess whether you think that he or she will add value to your career.
It is also important for both partners to take interest in each other’s careers because this gives you insight into what interests your partner in their career and what are some of their daily challenges. This will allow for career enrichment for the both of you.
“The most important career choice you’ll make is who you marry…” This career advice comes from Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg. I can’t help but wholeheartedly agree with her advice so consider these words before you settle down with your partner.
By Olivia Eleanor Timothy, HR Manager at Werksmans Attorneys,LLB (University of Kwa-Zulu Natal) and LLM Labour Law (University of South Africa)
