Angela Nuttle, a corporate talent expert at Corporate Talent Institute, attributes much of her success to her husband's personality mix.
"My personality is extroverted, big picture creative, with one speed-go fast," she says, but her husband is more one for analysis paralysis — overthinking things.
"My husband is an introverted, analytical in the weeds kind of guy who is ultra conservative," Nuttle says. "I consult with him before I put any type of program or workshop out, because he catches the nuances that I might not even think about. He looks over my contracts for details I might have missed, and he has even reviewed my first book since I am a first-time published author."
When highly successful professionals attribute their success to their spouses, or when celebrities thank their spouses at awards ceremonies, it may not be as gratuitous as it sometimes sounds. According to new research out of Washington University in St. Louis, conscientiousness in one spouse will boost the career of the other spouse.
"For both male and female participants, partner conscientiousness predicted future job satisfaction, income and likelihood of promotion, even after accounting for participants' conscientiousness,"the authors wrote. "These associations occurred, because more conscientious partners perform more household tasks, exhibit more pragmatic behaviors that their spouses are likely to emulate and promote a more satisfying home life, enabling their spouses to focus more on work."
According to this research, marrying a conscientious spouse may be a good investment in your career. Furthermore, being a conscientious spouse may further boost your household income.
"People with spouses higher in conscientiousness earn at least $4,000 more, and that number increases the more conscientious their spouse is," Brittany C. Solomon, a graduate student and lead investigator of the study told TheStreet.
The researchers used Saucier's mini-markers, which uses self-administered ratings on a scale of 1-5 on list of such traits as moody, bold, etc., to measure personality and gauge conscientiousness.
Another study in Germany found that a positive relationship was correlated with time spent on work, and, not surprisingly, a relationship filled with hassles was correlated with less time spent on work.
The authors of the German study noted that time spent at work is important for pursuing work-related goals and it was also important for the employee's private life.
However, it may be more complex in some companies than these studies may portray.
The larger corporate world requires not only conscientiousness but complex thinkers who can see subtle trends and incremental and disruptive innovation, among other complexities, according to Harvard Business Publishing.
Of course, more physical connection in a marriage — not just conscientiousness — may also boost earnings. According to a study from Nick Drydakis, a senior lecturer in economics at the Lord Ashcroft International Business School at Anglia Ruskin University in the U.K. and research fellow at the Institute for the study of Labor in Germany, having more sex than the once per week standard of a typical adult will boost earnings.
"For both sexes, we observe that an increase from sex weekly to sexual activity more than four times a week increases wages by 3.2%," Drydakis wrote in his report.
So want to get a raise? Boost your partner's conscientiousness and the frequency of your physical intimacy.
SEE ALSO: 6 money lies that can destroy your relationship
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