When Your Spouse Struggles with a Work-Life Balance - Crosswalk PLUS Marriage Devotional
When Your Spouse Struggles with a Work-Life Balance
By: Vivian Bricker
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
It is very common for at-home workers to struggle with navigating a work-life balance. My mother worked from home from the time I was a baby, and she often struggled to separate work life from home life. Due to working production and being severely underpaid for her work, she was constantly in a state of anxiety, checking her computer, and seeing if any work had come in. This continued for the rest of her life, and she never got a chance to truly enjoy her hard work.
Many of us find ourselves in the same place. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have reverted to working from home. Over time, working from home became more comfortable, yet it comes with its own struggles. One of these struggles is finding work-life balance. If your spouse is struggling with a work-life balance, don’t take it out on them.
Chances are, they want to cultivate a better work-life balance, too. The good news is that if they are willing to make the necessary changes, it can improve your marriage. However, if they are not able to make the changes right now, don’t see it as a “game over'' card to your marriage. Work is difficult, and we have to be flexible with our spouses when they have deadlines or work-related stressors.
This is why it is vital to maintain a healthy work-life balance. If there are some days when your spouse literally cannot be pulled away from work, don’t treat it as a good or bad thing. Choose to neutralize it. This will help your spouse not feel guilty about having to work overtime or after hours. Many of our spouses have these types of jobs, and we need to be aware of this ahead of time.
If our spouse is able to, we can start creating boundaries with their work. Maybe this is helping them to know their work hours are 9-5, and everything after this time is home-life time. If this is not an option for your spouse, try to make smaller windows. This might look like 8-12 is work-time, 12-3 is home-time, 3-7 is work-time again, and 7 onward is home-life time.
Being flexible and moving around the schedule can help home life be included. While everyone wishes they could work a 9-5, not everyone has this privilege. Be understanding of your spouse and try to help in ways that you can. Be graceful, compassionate, and forgiving when your spouse has to change plans at the last minute or when they are called for a conference call during lunch.
It is understandable that we want to spend home time with our spouse, yet we cannot magically make more time grow. Instead, we have to make the most of the time we are given. For our marriage, this looks like being flexible around our spouse’s schedule, creating boundaries, and prioritizing time together. Maybe your spouse has to work on the weekend, but you can go out for a date night on a Tuesday or a Wednesday when they have off.
Choose to be flexible and soak in all the quality time you can. Remember that your spouse is not choosing work over you. Rather, they are working in order to help pay the bills and build a future for your family. Everything they are doing is out of a heart of love. Reflect on this when you are growing frustrated or impatient.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” As this Bible passage tells us, there is a time for everything. In the context of what we are discussing today, there is a time to work and a time to rest. We don’t need to neglect our work-life, nor do we need to neglect our home-life. Instead, there needs to be a healthy balance.
God can help your spouse achieve this balance. Turn to Him in prayer and ask for His divine help. We never need to underestimate God, as He can do things far greater than we could ever imagine.
When you ask Him to help your spouse with their current work-life balance, He could open a door to a new job with a set schedule, allowing your spouse to relax at the end of the day. Never doubt God’s blessings. However, even if God doesn’t answer your prayer in this way, know it will be answered in accordance with His will.
Let’s Pray:
“Dear God, my spouse is having a hard time navigating their work-life balance. I want to spend more time with them, but it feels as though they are always working and never have enough time. Please help them to do better with their work-life balance in order for us to be able to have more time together. Also, help me to be a source of support and kindness to them. I know You can do great things and I trust in You. Amen.”
Application: How can you show more grace, patience, and support when your spouse’s work schedule interrupts your time together?
Challenge: This week, have an honest and loving conversation with your spouse about one small boundary or schedule adjustment that could help create more intentional time for rest and connection with each other.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/monkeybusinessimages
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