Marriage plays a significant role in individuals’ lives. Marriage brings immense joy and fulfillment. Many are happy in their marital life, while many are not. But happiness in marital life requires a strong sense of responsibility from both partners — which entails being committed to the overall well-being of both marital partners, mutually contributing to the relationship and making efforts for the development and happiness of both individuals —in their married life. By understanding the importance of spousal responsibilities and fulfilling their responsibilities, couples cultivate a healthy and harmonious marital relationship that fosters happiness and strengthens their bond. Many play their spousal responsibility to each other leading to happiness in their married life.
But many male and female marital partners do not play their spousal responsibilities, leading to their unhappiness, which in turn leads to many negative impacts. According to multiple sources, the lack of spousal responsibility has far-reaching impacts on health and puts stress and strain on the relationship. When one partner neglects his/her responsibilities, it leads to feelings of resentment, frustration and imbalance within the marital relationship. It also leads to a breakdown in communication, trust and mutual support between the marital partners many times, resulting in a lack of emotional connection and a decline in overall marital satisfaction. Among others, the lack of mutual responsibility results in increased conflict between the partners and, even, a higher likelihood of divorce many times.
Social, economic and other factors put barriers to playing spousal responsibility. A lack of commitment to the marital relationship, a lack of understanding between the partners, cultural norms and expectations surrounding gender roles and a lack of understanding of responsibilities are some of the notable causes. In many cultures, there are rigid social expectations for how a spouse should behave or what their responsibilities should be. Additionally, inflexible work hours and/or work stress, financial difficulties and limited access to affordable childcare services often contribute to the lack of spousal responsibility for many spouses. Among others, differing expectations and priorities within the marital relationship and societal influences — which devalue or undermine the importance of shared spousal responsibilities — are notable.
There are legal and other steps that facilitate playing spousal responsibility in different countries of the world. While legal steps are mostly related to property division and financial obligations, there are flexible working hours policies that allow both spouses to balance their professional and personal lives effectively in many countries. Additionally, many countries have established other support systems including paid parental leave policies and affordable childcare options. Many countries in Asia, Europe, North America and other regions including, but not limited to, Sweden, Iceland, the United States, South Korea and Norway provide flexible parental leave. Among others, there are counseling services to provide guidance and assistance to couples in navigating their spousal responsibilities in many countries.
But efforts are less. Also, there are diverse flaws in the steps taken to facilitate playing spousal responsibilities. The lack of comprehensive support systems including flexible work hours and paid parental leave is a crucial flaw. Many workplaces still adhere to traditional work hours, making it difficult for spouses to balance their spousal responsibilities. Consequently, they often fall short in addressing the diverse needs and challenges faced by individuals in fulfilling spousal responsibilities in many countries — leading to difficulty in balancing their professional and personal lives effectively. But, importantly, there is a lack of efforts to raise awareness about spousal responsibilities.
It is vital for governments and other organizations to strengthen facilitative efforts by implementing policies that promote work-life balance, including flexible working hours and parental leave and provide accessible and affordable childcare options, along with providing counseling services. Legal steps are also imperative to address different issues related to spousal responsibilities. But, and importantly, it is crucial to promote mutual responsibility of the spouses in married life, mutual respect and a culture of appreciation, which are needed for marital partners to play spousal responsibility and make the marital relationship happy.
