As someone who wound up marrying her best friend, I can tell you that marriage is pretty great, at least in my limited experience.
And luckily for me, a recent study on marital satisfaction released by the National Bureau of Economic Research and previously reported on by Business Insider suggests that the happiest people are those who are married to their best friends.
But this article isn't about me rubbing your nose in my smugness — in fact, it's about providing a balanced view of how marriage impacts your success, since we already looked at the positives.
So, without further ado, here are seven ways being married could make you less successful:
SEE ALSO: 7 ways being married makes you more successful
DON'T MISS: 5 ways being single could sabotage your success
Married people tend to be less social
Your network of relationships, among other things, can help you find jobs and make you happier happier, healthier, and more open to insights.
Unfortunately for married people, research suggests that, compared to single people, married Americans are less likely to support and stay in touch with their family or help, encourage, and socialize with friends and neighbors.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Time Use Survey, married people spend on average 7.8 minutes a day keeping in touch by calling, emailing, or mailing them, while single Americans spend on average 12 minutes a day staying in touch with other people.
Married people tend to have less time to themselves
New York University sociologist and "Going Solo" author Eric Klinenberg believes that, in the age of expanding digital media and growing connectedness, being single offers a clear advantage that married people miss out on: more restorative solitude.
More alone time helps people discover who they are and what gives their life meaning and purpose, he explains.
"Living alone helps us pursue sacred modern values — individual freedom, personal control, and self-realization — whose significance endures from adolescence to our final days," Klinenberg writes.
Married people tend to spend less time on leisure
Whether conducted in solitude or with other people, married people tend to spend less time on overall leisure activities than single people.
According to the BLS, married people spend on average 4.87 hours a day on overall leisure activities, compared to single people, who spend an average 5.56 hours a day on leisure.
Broken down even further, married people spend on average about 3 minutes less a day participating in sports, exercise, and recreation than single people, about 16 minutes less a day watching TV, and about 15 minutes less a day playing games and on leisurely computer use.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider