Guest Column: Continuing education pays off at work, home

Savvy employers know that business must change as well in order to remain profitable and meet the demands of 21st-century customers. But they might not recognize how making ongoing relationship education accessible to employees can impact profit margins.

Many employee assistance programs offer health and wellness education as an employee benefit. Classes include everything from smoking cessation to weight management, as well as how to construct a fitness plan around walking.

Some employers have begun including marriage and relationship education as well. One good example, Chick-fil-A, offers lunchtime relationship education sessions and marriage retreats for its 600 employees and 1,200 franchise operators. The rationale, according to Chick-fil-A CEO S. Truett Cathy, in a 2006 USA Today article, is that “You can’t expect people to do well in their business if they’ve got problems at home.”

Key relationship skills

Although relationship education can benefit individuals and couples at nearly any stage of life, there are some times when it is more critical than others, namely when people enter a new phase or stage of life. During these transitional periods, they are likely to be more receptive to new information, as well as experiencing more stress.

Consider, for example, the adjustment to marriage. Planning the wedding can create anxiety, not infrequently leading to a clash of values and families. Conflict may be inevitable, but studies show that couples who learn the skills to communicate well and manage conflict safely during this premarital period report higher levels of marital satisfaction and lower levels of domestic violence up to four years later. These skills are taught in relationship education classes.

Then there’s the transition to parenthood. Considering all the adjustments a new baby requires, it may not be surprising that beyond the first year of marriage, the highest rate of divorce occurs after the birth of the first child. Studies with expectant parents who participated in relationship education classes while anticipating their first child note higher levels of marital satisfaction and lower levels of separation or divorce than couples who did not receive the same intervention. Additionally, the children of parents involved with relationship education showed better health and adjustment at age 2 than children whose parents did not. It appears that when the couple relationship is happy and healthy, everyone in the family is better off.

In a study of preschoolers and their parents, researchers Philip Cowan and Carolyn Pape Cowan highlighted the importance of relationship education at the time preschoolers make the transition to kindergarten. Parents of 4-year-olds were randomly selected for groups receiving no intervention, consultation with a professional or parent or couple education. Children whose parents participated in education for their couple relationship showed lower levels of aggression in kindergarten and higher levels in academic performance well into first grade compared to children whose parents received any other kind of intervention.

Relationship education can be especially helpful to couples facing the challenges of forming a stepfamily. Given that 47 percent of all marriages in Missouri are remarriages, it is likely significant numbers of people are facing obstacles in stepfamily formation that might benefit from the support, information and skills training offered in relationship education.

Specialized training is available for these groups in programs such as Smart Steps for Stepfamilies and Survival Skills for Stepcouples.

Work-related stress

Couples in high-stress occupations with unusual work hours or required absences also are candidates for relationship education. The U.S. military recognized that the stress of military life and deployment was taking its toll on families and began a number of relationship education programs to help couples keep their love strong even when they are apart. Love Links, authored by John Van Epp, Ph.D., is one such program constructed to help couples connect emotionally and mentally even when they cannot be together physically.

Return on investment

According to the report “Marriage & Family Wellness: Corporate America’s Business”, when companies invest in the physical and relational wellness of their workers, returns on investment can range between $1.50 and $6.85 for every dollar spent on these types of programs.

Cost savings are realized in greater worker productivity and lower rates of absenteeism. When marriages fail, experts note that divorce can disrupt the productivity of a worker for up to three years. A 2005 Mueller study found that the average employee experiencing a divorce lost an average of more than 168 hours of work time annually.

Given the economic costs associated with relationship tensions and marital disruption, businesses might well consider how to increase their bottom lines in 2008 by investing a small amount in relational wellness for employees or taking advantage of locally available, federally funded programs designed to increase the skills and abilities to form and sustain safe and stable relationships.

Dr. Jennifer Baker is a licensed clinical psychologist, a licensed marriage and family therapist, associate professor, and director of the Marriage and Family Program at Forest Institute in Springfield. She may be reached at jbaker@forest.edu.