Marriage life important to business life

story and photo by Linda Kaufenberg

Gary Oliver explained to a leadership group that marital ups and downs can have a direct impact on the workplace.

Oliver, executive director of the Center for Relationship Enrichment and professor of psychology and practical theology at John Brown University, said during the 360 Leadership Series luncheon Thursday (Feb. 4) that marriages matter to a company.

“For many years, corporate America has functioned as if the (personal) lives of their employees have little impact on each other,” Oliver said. “However, based on recent research, we know now that they have a major impact on each other.”

Oliver listed several facts that should be important to business owners and managers.
• United States has the highest divorce rate in the developed world.
• Arkansas has the second highest divorce rate in the United States.
• Divorce and un-wed child-bearing costs Arkansas taxpayers more than $471 million per year.
• In the year following a divorce, a worker loses 168 hours of time on the job. This equates to being gone 21 workdays or more than four weeks.
• Work loss associated with family stress, marital problems and parenting issues translates into a loss of approximately $6 billion per year for corporate America.
 
“Unhappy married employees decrease profitability while happily married employees increase profitability,” Oliver said. “As you can see, marriage and relationship wellness is corporate America’s business. Divorce and failing relationships impact how an employee performs at work and costs employers money.”

Oliver said a healthy marriage uses the same skills that make a more effective employee. Those skills include: Emotional Relational Intelligence (our relationships with others); valuing differences; communication; listening skills; and conflict management.

JBU’s Center for Relationship Enrichment exists to assess, educate and provide resources, which strengthen and enrich individual, family and marriage relationships for a lifetime.

Oliver has more than 30 years of experience in psychology, theology and marriage and family therapy. He is a licensed psychologist in Arkansas and Colorado and has authored and co-authored 22 books.