4 Ways Relationship Issues Affect Your Company's Bottom Line Relationship issues can affect your company's bottom line because they impair emotions, physical health, creativity, and workplace productivity.
By Lisa Fei
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Picture a scenario where you're exasperated from a long and arduous work day. The phone keeps ringing, and you see that it's your significant other calling. As you immediately answer, excited to speak to them after a hectic morning, the sentiment is not reciprocated. To your dismay, you answering this call leads to an argument and before you know it, your heart is shaking and blood pressure skyrockets. Meanwhile, your team is waiting for you to meet a tight deadline, so you bite the bullet and try your best to keep it together.
If you've ever found yourself in a situation like the aforementioned, you're not alone. Juggling our aspirations, wants and needs while attempting to maintain our balance and composure during the craziness that we're often surrounded with is an everyday challenge for many, particularly those with grand dreams and ambitions.
If your love life is perfect and doesn't cause you any distress or anxiety, you can count your lucky stars. But for a good majority, dysfunctional or unhealthy relationships can influence all other areas of one's life—this holds true especially for those who are in high-functioning leadership positions. An unhealthy relationship induces high stress and is crippling to one's mental health and wellness, especially when you're already under tremendous pressure to perform and thrive amongst your superiors and peers.
Related: In a Relationship With an Entrepreneur? Here Are 10 Things You Should Never Say.
Regardless of whether you're single, in a relationship, or married, most of us can agree that your romantic relationships can make an immeasurable impact on you psychologically, emotionally, financially, spiritually and physically—all of which have a direct correlation to one's mental health and workplace productivity and in turn, your company's bottom line.
Let's take a look at the domino effect of your personal life that often perpetuates into your professional life.
Unhealthy relationships lead to more stress and depression
Companies benefit from employees who are strong and happy mentally and emotionally. Yet, seldom are today's relationships completely free of dysfunction in some shape or form. Safe to say, most of us have all witnessed or lived firsthand the plight of an unhealthy relationship. For highly ambitious people who are dedicated to the professional area of their lives, the art of balancing even a healthy relationship can often be challenging. The sacrifices made by many for the success of their careers, along with preceding absences or cancellations alone can strain any relationship and can lead high-performing individuals to spiral into a dark place.
Emotions influence work quality
Harvard Business Review shares a decade-long study on how emotions influence work quality and creativity. Positive emotions are often associated with better customer service and higher performance—this holds true for various roles and organizational levels across all industries. On the other hand, negative emotions like sadness, anger and fear can lead to high turnover and poor performance.
Impacts of physical stress
An 8+ hour work day can already be taxing on your physical health and may cause your mental psyche to deteriorate, which can manifest in your physical body. Over time, you may be led to experience dangerous pitfalls such as depression, anxiety, avoidance, substance abuse, body dysmorphia and even suicidal ideation.
The stress of feeling unloved or trapped in a relationship may inflict a multitude of physical maladies, including weakened immune systems, insomnia, intestinal damage, acid reflux, high blood pressure, stomach aches, nausea and even infertility. One's mental state can be compromised from overwhelming anxiety, which in turn leads to the deterioration of the physical body. Hence, a vicious cycle can therefore develop between the psyche and the physical body, and continues perpetually until changes are made.
Related: How Your Mind Can Better Manage Stress
Low self-esteem affects decision-making abilities
It's a given that the way your partner treats you can have an immense effect on your self-esteem and confidence. If your partner makes you feel good about yourself, you are so much more confident in who you are and in turn, you are able to make better decisions. Self-confidence is crucial for high-performing executives. You are presented with decisions to make on a frequent basis, and it's crucial that you trust in yourself to make the right call.
On the other hand, one can suffer from low self-esteem if their partner is constantly putting you down and making you feel hopeless. Hopelessness can lead one to catapult into harmful habits such as addictions, substance abuse to escape and may even lead to a lack of interest in being social. Needless to say, these factors will inevitably affect every aspect of one's life, no matter how unfaltering one may be.
Related: 5 Ways to Train Your Brain and Boost Your Self-Esteem
Clarity is here
When navigating the challenges of our relationships, a strong support system could make all the difference. With the right guidance and support, you may be able to swiftly navigate your love life with greater ease. Due to the lack of effective relationship wellness resources, I built Clarity, the app for your love life, which is dedicated to helping you throughout the ups and downs of your love life. Clarity's new "711 Hotline" operates 24/7, connecting you with a dating or relationship coach within seconds. With the right help and expert guidance at the tip of your finger, you can better equip yourself to face the everyday issues that may arise in your relationships.
