If You're Doing Well at Work, Here's Which Family Member You Should Thank

Impact

The news: Did you just receive a big promotion at work? Earn the praise of your boss? Thank your spouse: New research suggests that a conscientious spouse has a positive impact on income, promotions, and job satisfaction. 

The science: A recent study from the of Washington University in St. Louis examined over 4,500 married people between 2005 and 2009, 22.7% of which lived in single-income homes. The researchers examined whether "Big Five personality traits" — openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism — of participants' spouses related to three measures of participants' occupational success: job satisfaction, income, and likelihood of being promoted.

So what does this mean? Having a supportive and conscientious significant other allowed employees to enjoy their home life, which translates into a better performance at work. This conclusion may seem intuitive —when you're not a crying, frantic wreck on the inside due to a bad relationship, you're able to focus more on work — but it also highlights the importance of mutual respect and support in building a happy and prosperous household.

Think twice before swiping left. Our culture is becoming increasingly focused on finding hook-ups. Maybe we should spend time searching for the right person instead, because science says it will quite literally pay dividends down the road.