From a young age, many people begin imagining their ideal lifestyle. For some, the perfect life contains a passionate romance, successful career and spotless kitchen. Over the years, this optimistic expectation can turn into pressure. Couples can quickly grow dissatisfied with how the other person treats tasks in the home.
Household chores may seem too trivial to cause the end of a marriage, but they can. If you don’t think you can tolerate watching your partner leave one more dirty dish on the living room table, you are not alone. In a survey of newly divorced Americans, a fourth of participants said that housework-related arguments directly caused their divorce. Indeed, this issue is both common and powerful.
These disagreements become so serious because chores can create a high level of stress. One partner might sense that they bear a larger burden than their spouse. They feel like if they don’t wash the dishes, nobody else would. The other partner might think that their spouse is too uptight and should be comfortable living with a bit of mess. The center of the conflict is the couple’s expectation for the home and each other. Sadly, this fight can repeat with every new chore.
Researchers believe that they have an answer to save marriages from this battle; couples should outsource the work. Hiring a cleaning service may spare couples the endless fight over whose turn it is to vacuum and take out the trash. The stress and arguments may subside, leaving couples more time and energy to spend with each other. While cleaning services can be expensive, they are often cheaper than the alternative of splitting assets in divorce.
However, this problem might not be the only challenge a couple faces. Arguments may break out over other issues under the disguise of household chores. If there is a deeper conflict within the relationship, couples could prefer to opt for divorce with the help of a family law attorney.