夫妻幹同行更易產生矛盾

It could explain why Richard Burton and Liz Taylor didn’t stay together – and may spell trouble for Jay-Z and Beyonce.

Couples who do similar jobs find it harder to maintain a proper work-life balance, a study has found.

Researchers looked at the lives of more than 600 academics, about half of whom had significant others working in the same sector.

They asked what hours they worked, how strong their boundaries were between work and home life, and how often one sphere affected the other.

The team found that those with a so-called ‘work-linked’ partner tended to struggle more to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

They also typically worked longer hours.

Study leader Professor Gail Kinman, of the University of Bedfordshire, said an ‘increasing number of couples’ have similar occupations – a situation that is ‘particularly common’ in education.

She added: ‘The findings suggest that doing similar work to your partner means that work issues are more likely to “spill over” into home life and threaten work-life balance.

‘Evidence was also found that having a partner who does similar work can be beneficial, as this can enhance mutual understanding of working conditions and increase support during stressful times.

‘Nonetheless, the findings suggest that work-linked couples may need more support to help them set boundaries between work and home.’

The study will be presented today at the annual conference for the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology, in Chester.這可以解釋爲什麼理查德•伯頓和伊麗莎白•泰勒沒能在一起，也許還預示着傑斯和碧昂斯面臨的麻煩。

研究發現，做相近工作的夫妻更難以維持工作和生活的平衡。

研究人員調查了600多位大學教師的生活，半數教師的另一半在同一領域工作。

研究人員詢問了他們工作的時間，工作和家庭生活間界限是否分明，以及工作和家庭生活是否經常相互影響。

研究小組發現，“工作相連”的夫妻往往更難以維持工作與生活的良性平衡。

他們的工作時間通常也更長。

該研究的領頭人、貝德福德大學的蓋爾•金曼教授說，越來越多的夫妻有相同的職業——在教育領域這一現象“尤爲普遍”。

她補充道：“這一發現表明，和伴侶工作相近意味着工作話題更有可能‘外溢’到家庭生活中，威脅工作與生活的平衡。”

“也有證據表明另一半是同行也是有益的，因爲這會增進雙方對工作環境的相互瞭解，在有壓力的時候給予支持。”

“然而，研究結果也表明同行夫妻或許需要更多的支持，來幫助他們在工作和家庭之間設定界限。”

這一研究結果將於今日在切斯特舉行的英國心理學協會職業心理學部年會上展示。