Unemployment is one of the main causes of marital problems and divorce, because it is very demoralizing for your husband or wife to be laid off from work. Most homes today rely on two incomes to make ends meet, so when one income is lost it can place a lot of stress on a marriage.  The situation is made even worse when it is a one-income family and the sole income producer becomes unemployed.

Often it is the man of the house who feels he has let his family down by being unable to properly provide for their needs.  The psychological effects of unemployment include loss of self-esteem, anger over the injustice of the situation and fear about the future. These are powerful emotions that can cause marital problems and lead to divorce.

Becoming unemployed is a crisis and it needs to be treated like a crisis.  Too many people try to sweep the trauma under the rug and find themselves floundering.  The emotions triggered by the loss of a job can make it difficult to maintain a normal relationship.

Intense emotions also often lead to the wrong words.  It’s how arguments start and then take on a life of their own.  Unemployment is traumatic enough without making the situation worse at home with constant fighting over money problems.

What to do when your spouse loses their job

When one spouse is unemployed, the other spouse must provide the right amount of encouragement and love to help her spouse get through the crisis.  You and your spouse should sit down together and evaluate all of the opportunities that are available.  The discussion should include all options too so that the right choice is made.  It may be necessary to consider moving to another city for example.  Choices like these impact the entire family.

If your spouse has been unemployed and the two of you are arguing more and more, it is an indication of the escalating stress over the issues.  The longer someone is unemployed the more likely the household is bound to run into serious financial problems.  That triggers a whole new set of marital problems.  The one thing you cannot do is run away from the problems, especially if you have children.

The reason why job loss is one of the main causes of divorce is because being a supportive spouse is not always an easy task.  However, if you work hard at it, you can that can save your marriage from failing during crisis.