The Truth About Working Long Hours and How It Affects Your Relationship

If you've been attributing all your relationship problems to the fact that you're both working all the time, a recent study says you need to stop kidding yourself, Forbes reports. 

The study, which looked at 285 dual-career couples over the course of six months, found that couples who both worked longer hours actually tended to spend as much time with their partner as they could and then made up for that lost time by working long hours to try to create a sense of balance. 

The study also found that when people are working nonstop, they start realizing they haven't had a lot time for their relationship lately, which creates an "unpleasant tension" (aka they feel like crap because no one can work all the time and never see anyone and still be happy), which makes them want to use all their remaining energy on connecting with their partner. 

If anything, study authors found that couples who are using their scarce amount of free time to be with each other might end up being closer overall, because they're likely to participate in shared activities together as a way to optimize that precious time. 

So glass half empty, you can't blame your fighting on the fact that you both work all the time. Glass half full, if you're working all the time and your relationship is kicking ass, you're doing it right. 

Follow Lane on Twitter and Instagram.