THE IMPACT OF MARITAL SATISFACTION ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF EMPLOYEES

1.1 Introduction

Marital satisfaction is the subjective evaluation of one’s experience in their marriage, it is not a property of a relationship; it is a subjective experience and opinion (Baghipour, 2010). Communication skills are the ability to symbolically and efficiently transfer the meanings and messages one has in mind, when the couple’s communication is of a better quality, they can feel closer to each other, can share thoughts and feelings, can feel more intimate, and by prevention of any possible misunderstanding which is at the bottom of couple’s conflicts, the couples can more enjoy being together (Baghipour, 2010).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

The nature of employment of spouses is engaged also having significant influence on the marital conflict, schism and satisfaction. Comparing to the male counterparts females are have high degree of marital dissatisfaction in this regard. The factors that influences marital satisfaction has a double effect in the case of employed women. They are often stressed by the dual role in the office and home. Culturally and traditionally women’s are engaged in house hold labor and child rearing but the societal changes emancipated women’s to have employment in diverse fields. Although their role in house hold labor still have no marked changes and sharing of responsibility in the grounds of house hold matters is doesn’t actively practiced. Satisfaction with the division of household labor is a useful predictor of marital satisfaction, particularly for women (Stevens, Kiger and Riley 2001).

Marriage and established family life are the unique qualities of human being, which makes them to be an integral element of social life. Marriage as an institution has a crucial role in helping two individuals to have personal growth and enrichment from established family life. The structural change on gender roles and attitudinal alterations made women’s to access and accumulate employment in any field.

Women’s role as an employee and breadwinner is a positive change on the gender equity and participation but simultaneously it’s having implications on family life, especially in a society like India. Women, who are employed, have to face the problems of dual role and it has influence on marital and family life. Professionals like nurses are much prone to have dissatisfaction from marital relationship, as they are engaged in a stressful job which has complications in regard with shifts, long hours of duty and low payment.

This segment has been considering as professionals but the benefits in the form of kind and consideration has low, especially nurses who are employed in private hospitals. As of result of increasing reports of psychological problems reported by individuals who are married, this research has been undertaken to attempt to identify if marital satisfaction, or contentment in the marriage, alongside family relations are related to and can predict psychological distress amongst Nigerian married couples.

In addition, research has shown that the older a couple are, the less marital dissatisfaction they will likely experience (Bookwala & Jacobs, 2004; Henry, Berg, Smith, & Florsheim, 2007). This is probably because they tend to argue less often, and with the children preparing to leave the home, there may be little or no disputes about child raising strategies and issues, in addition to decreased financial burden which could be a major stressor in the family.

Furthermore, compatibility in social lives of couples a strong factor for marital stability and survival. When the social lives of couples are at variance, it may likely portend great threat to marital stability, because it takes time to come to terms with why some social outings and involvement are necessary. However, the realization of the salient influence of these socio cultural variables on marriage may likely be positive moment towards marriage stability in our society today.

Therefore, in Rivers State University where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the impact of marital satisfaction on the psychological well-being of employees.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that socio-cultural factors such as religions, age, socio-economic status, social class, educational background, personality, traditional values etc influence the marital stability of marriage among couples. And the factors are very important variables in marital stability which are seldom recognized by many couples, no wonder there are breakages in many homes as a result of no love, lack of understanding, lack of compatibility, disparity in age, in education, religion and social classes.

Many, for instance, have failed to realize that when couples are of diverse culture (inter-ethnic marriage), there is need to respect each other’s culture since this translates to respecting the person you married and subsequent marital stability. These days marriages fail due to lack of tolerance, lack of mutual trust, lack of patience, non-child bearing, no effective communication, lack of good marital altitudes, similarities between couples, lack of maturity and poor socio-economic status.

Finally, when couples are not from same socio-cultural background, and do not have the same value system and norms, they tend to vary in understanding of themselves and lack of understanding no doubt, creates conflict, and instability in marital union.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to examine the impact of marital satisfaction on the psychological well-being of employees in Rivers State University. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To determine the impact of differing work life balances on marriage stability.
2. To examine the impact of differing employees work life balances on children welfare and career growth.
3. To determine the relationship between marital satisfaction and psychological well-being of employees.
4. To investigate the effect of age and gender on psychological well-being of employees and marital satisfaction among married adults.
5. To investigate the factors affecting marital satisfaction on the psychological well-being of employees in Rivers State University.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Is there any significant relationship between marital satisfaction and psychological well-being of employees?
• Are there factors affecting marital satisfaction on the psychological well-being of employees in Rivers State University?
• Does age and gender impacts the psychological well-being of employees and marital satisfaction among married adults?
• What is the impact of differing work life balances on marriage stability?
• What is the impact of differing work life balances on children welfare and career growth?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There are no significant factors affecting marital satisfaction on the psychological well-being of employees in Rivers State University
• H1: There are significant factors affecting marital satisfaction on the psychological well-being of employees in Rivers State University

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no significant impact of differing work life balances on marriage stability among married couples.
• H1: There is a significant impact of differing work life balances on marriage stability among married couples.

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1.7 Significance of Study

The study will help the couples to understand the impact of differing work- life balances on stability of their marriages. Marriage counselors Government Citizens’ Mediation Centre also will benefit in that they will improve their methods of dealing with troubled married couples. The study will also benefit academics in providing literature for further study on the contemporary topic of work life balances.

Judges will gain better insight to aid in the administration of justice to affected couples, and for the judiciary for the promulgation of marital and family laws. Also employers of labour will see the need in introducing flexible working hours. The government will see the need to pass flexible labour laws. Marriage registries can also benefit for the purpose of counseling would be couples.

Finally, for the priest in worship centers, they will benefit in using it to counsel new couples and troubled couples also.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the impact of marital satisfaction on the psychological well-being of employees in Rivers State University.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Marriage: Is considered to represent a lifelong commitment by two people to each other and it is signified by a contract sanctioned by the state (and for many people, by God).

Work: Is defined as the carrying out of tasks, which involves the expenditure of mental and physical effort and its objective, is the production of goods and services that cater to human needs.

Work Life Balance: Work-life balance has been defined as “a satisfying, healthy, and productive life that includes work, play, and love.