The job market remains volatile, and some industries are harder hit than others. For people in relationships, when someone is laid off, the dynamics can change seemingly on a dime. From a trusting relationship to one full of doubts, self-esteem challenges, and financial conflict, your bond may be shaken by someone’s loss of employment, which is normal. It is a significant life change. However, many people benefit from couples therapy in Maryland to address the lost trust and confidence caused by a layoff and learn strategies to rebuild.
For many couples, maintaining their emotional connection during this career transition is one of the most challenging parts of overcoming a layoff. Therapists can share specific therapeutic approaches for supporting the laid-off partner and their significant other, including communication techniques, financial planning strategies, and methods for rebuilding confidence as a team while traversing this difficult life change.
The Job Loss to Relational Dysfunction Pipeline
A person’s job is often an integral part of their identity. It is normal to describe friends and family as “Ryan the teacher” or “Nadia the accountant” because an individual’s personality, interests, and strengths often relate to their work, so the two become intertwined.
While this deep connection can result in personal satisfaction and fulfillment from work, it can also have the opposite effect: if a person is laid off, they may lose their sense of identity, purpose, and fulfillment.
When an individual struggles with these core principles of personhood and joy, the effects can (and often do) spill over into their relationships. Their self-esteem takes a substantial hit, leading to a demand for greater emotional support from a partner who is not equipped or prepared to provide it. The financial stress of one fewer household earner can increase tensions, and shifts in the previously established power balance of the relationship can leave one or both people feeling confused, burdened, ignored, or resentful. Studies show that job loss is a significant contributor to relationship dysfunction and dissatisfaction, and being sucked into this pipeline can be difficult for couples to avoid.
How to Maintain Your Connection
If one person in your relationship has recently been laid off, what you do next can lay the groundwork for either a successful relationship into the future or one that falters in conflict and challenge. Therapists can help you maintain your connection, supporting the person who was laid off and their significant other. Both individuals will be dealing with particular challenges. Some of the areas that therapists often target include:
Communication Techniques
Before partners can address any difficulties between them, they must be able to communicate their issues. Therapists provide a safe place where you can voice your thoughts and concerns. Sometimes, the home environment does not allow these conversations to be productive, or you may know what you want to say but not how to say it. Therapists help to guide these conversations toward a productive end.
Therapy also equips you and your partner with tools to maintain communication over time. This may include setting up weekly “meetings” to check in with each other or placing boundaries on certain types of communication (e.g., no texting the employed partner during work hours unless it is an emergency).
Financial Planning Strategies
A household’s finances often change drastically when someone is laid off. It is normal for you to be stressed about the new money strategies you must use until the laid-off partner finds work again. Therapists can help you create a plan and build the skills necessary to work together during money challenges, not against each other.
Building Together as a Team
Relationships are based on trust and vulnerability. If you cannot trust that your partner is not spending your money, applying to jobs as promised, or taking care of household tasks, recovering from job loss is difficult. Therapists assist vulnerable couples, encouraging them to be intentional and honest in their conversations. When you both come at the problem from a place of transparency and teamwork, it is much easier to accomplish your goals.
Start Rebuilding with Couples Therapy in Maryland
Being laid off is not your fault; it is an unfortunate situation that can temporarily create difficulties in your relationship. If you struggle to maintain a trusting, effective bond with your partner during this time, a therapist can help. Contact Village Counseling to start couples therapy in Maryland and see how both of you can build new skills to get you through this challenge!