Research: Divorced parents are more likely to get a profitable job

The upward trend in divorce rates in the United States and worldwide is becoming increasingly alarming. However, the main harmful effect of legally complex divorce proceedings is on the emotional and mental state of the former spouses.

 

Like all subsequent necessary procedures, preparing for a divorce is a stressful event. And as is widely known, psychologists place the level and nature of the stress people get from divorce just after the death of a loved one.

 

At the same time, few people pay attention to other factors and new circumstances that appear in men’s and women’s lives after a divorce. It may seem strange, but such a stressful event in life can unconsciously become a kind of stimulus for personal and professional growth.

 

Contributor John Saunders compares such a phenomenon with some actions in the boxing ring in his article for London Loves Business. Saunders states, “When people get tired, they lose their concentration, and then their coach gently, but offensively hits their head. It is very sobering. People often become more successful because of anger and resentment.”

 

This artistic juxtaposition is undoubtedly bright and interesting, but if we abstract from associations with sports, the decision to break off long-term family relationships is “sobering” and “shakes up” the way you look at many things.

 

Is there a connection between divorce experience and career growth?

The latest research conducted by a popular divorce site has shown that divorced parents tend to obtain a more well-paid job. The power to earn more is immense so that they can do their best to feed their children and be an excellent example of a person who wants to achieve something.

 

According to the study results mentioned above, more than 20% of respondents in the survey noted that the stressful changes they experienced in their personal and family life ultimately positively influenced their professional achievements and, as a consequence, provoked career growth and promotion.

 

Of course, it can be argued without reason that moving up the career ladder after divorce may be due to indirect causes and consequences. But in reality, people who survived divorce become more focused on professional success and more often think about financial security.

 

Involuntary self-motivation for professional success: how does it work?

There can be two main reasons for such dramatic and biting changes in behavioral patterns, attitudes, and priorities, regardless of the person’s character. The first is the awareness of a greater degree of responsibility towards children, relatives, and one’s own well-being compared to the previous accustomed family life together with a spouse.

 

Indeed, the responsibilities are becoming more, because you have to be independently responsible for communication and raising children and pets, financial and credit obligations to banks, housekeeping, etc. At the same time, it is essential not to forget about your own health, mental and emotional balance, personal and professional growth, and development.

 

Thus, the degree of responsibility increases directly proportional to your desire to earn more and feel more confident professionally. At the same time, your career growth may become an unexpected result of your internal forced self-motivation. One of the factors that will spur you to work better and harder is the sense of duty and desire for financial stability.

 

The second version of the logical explanation of the relationship between the stress experienced during a divorce and a career breakthrough is an equally common situation. It often happens that a person unconsciously tries to independently compensate for emotional pain, stress, and suffering by switching focus and concentrating on tasks from another area of life.

 

For example, people who have lost their careers or businesses compensate for their losses by redirecting their creative energy in a different direction. They may start doing housework, breeding pedigree dogs, landscaping and planting in their yard, or revisit favorite activities from their youth.

 

And in the case of a person who has failed in family life, everything can happen exactly the opposite. There are many examples when one puts increased demands on themself in the form of more time and effort devoted to working tasks to compensate for the painful experience of divorce.

 

Of course, in both cases mentioned earlier, the balance of work and life can become tipped too far one way, which is not good. In this case, a person’s main task is to try to get the most out of the situation.