Effects of Traveling for Work on Marriage

Decisions Slowed

• Married couples often have to make decisions, from whether to buy a new television to whether to start a family. Since couples kept apart by regular business trips see each other less, the timeframe in which any big decisions are made is thus increased and the speed at which married life can progress is also slowed.
  
  

Responsibilities Unequally Split

• In a marriage where both partners are at home for roughly equal amounts of time, both individuals usually end up sharing responsibility and tasks almost equally. When one partner is traveling, that individual can do much less in terms of the responsibilities of married life, and the buck thus passes to the partner who stays at home. For example, the non-traveling partner might find he has to play the major role in the children's lives, as well as perform most of the housework.
  
  

Communication Problems Amplified

• Lack of communication, or failure to communicate effectively, commonly causes problems in marriages and can sometimes even lead to a breakdown in a relationship. When one partner is away often, this issue can be amplified, since regardless of how well the couple communicates in theory, the lack of face-to-face talking will take an inevitable toll. Communication problems can be lessened if the couple schedules regular times to speak by telephone or via an Internet-based video chat while one partner is traveling.
  
  

Emotional Divide

• Distance may make the heart grow fonder, according to the proverb, but it can also create an emotional divide between a couple. If the partners barely see one another, one or both may find themselves forgetting what it was that brought them together in the first place. Such couples need to set time aside when together to remember why they enjoy being married.
  
  

Loneliness

• When one partner is left in the marriage home and the other is regularly far away, a loneliness can develop in one or both partners. In extreme cases, the partner left at home may begin to feel left out or excluded from her partner's life, and perhaps even begin to suspect her partner of unfaithfulness or a similar crime while he's away.