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Dating A Workaholic (13 Tips To Make It Work)

October 29, 2024

Dating a workaholic is extremely difficult, even if you’re an independent person that also leads a busy life and doesn’t need a lot of attention. If you’re dating a workaholic, you will most likely be completely used to having one main conversational topic (you guessed it...work!), you’ll be used to having plans canceled because of a work emergency and you’ll be used to dealing with stressful behavior.

Unfortunately, people working too much is actually a reason that a lot of relationships break down. However, as long as you know how to handle this situation, there’s no reason for you and your partner to be going separate ways.

In this article, we’re going to share the 13 things you need to do to make the relationship with your workaholic partner a success. Just remember, your relationship is something that you and your partner should be working on together, it’s not all up to you, even if you’re the one that’s dating a workaholic, they’re the one that’s like that.

What Is A Workaholic?

How do you figure out if you're dating a workaholic or your partner simply has a great work ethic? We’ll tell you!

A workaholic is someone that is pretty much addicted/obsessed with their work, whether that be their own business or their job. These people tend to also place their job above the rest of their life, they’re always saying yes to taking on more, they’re spending long hours at the office, they seem to have high self-esteem only when it comes to work-related things, and nearly every thought or conversation they have will be about their job.

These kinds of people will dedicate pretty much all of their life to work, and they won’t be able to see that life isn’t all about work! Obviously, it’s clear that dating a workaholic is a hard job (pardon the pun). So, if you’re dating one of these people, let’s dive in and take a look at some of the things you need to do to make sure your relationship is a success and not a failure.

13 Tips To Make The Relationship Work

1. Accept your partner for who they are

Accept your partner for who they are

One of the very first things you need to do, without even involving someone else, is to accept your partner for the person they are. You shouldn’t ever try and change a romantic partner, so you’re going to need to accept them first before you do anything else.

2. Try to understand why your partner is so obsessed with work

As well as accepting your partner for who they are, it’s really useful to try and understand why your partner is so obsessed with work. Are they extremely passionate about their job? Are they starting their own business? Do they see money as a driving factor in life? Once you understand why your partner is obsessed with their work, you’re going to be way better equipped to move forward.

3. Support your partner

You should always support your partner, especially if their work is actually something that they feel very passionately towards. Don’t try to discourage your partner from working hard, but support them instead - positivity is always better than negativity in relationships.

4. Get your partner to understand how you feel about their work

Now that you’ve taken the time to try and understand your partner, it’s important that you get your partner to try and understand you and why their dedication to their work-life affects you so much. Voice your emotions in a clear and honest way with them, and try to get them to see things from your point of view.

5. Practice clear and honest communication, always

Practice clear and honest communication, always

Make a pact with your partner that you will always practice clear and honest communication. If you’re going to move forward and try to better the relationship between the two of you, you need to communicate honestly, openly, and without fear of judgment or conflict.

6. Spend quality time together in free time

Although you might not be able to spend lots of time with your partner, make sure that the time that you do spend with your partner is quality time - quality over quantity, always! Plan fun dates together, indulge in treats together, and really connect with your partner when you’re spending time alone without other people around.

7. Set boundaries

For a relationship like this to be a success, you need to make sure that you set boundaries so that the work-life of your partner doesn’t take over the love life you share together. Whether it be committing to turning emails off at a certain time in an evening or no talk about work in the morning, it’s essential that you set your own specific boundaries together so that these lines never get crossed.

8. Create, and stick to a schedule together

If your partner spends a lot of time at work, or they’re always canceling plans due to work-related events, it can be a great idea to create a schedule together and stick to it. Create a joint calendar and put everything on it, from workdays to date nights. 

9. Realize that there are benefits in this kind of relationship

Although you might not think so, there are actually benefits to have a partner that’s obsessed with their work. The most obvious one being that you get to live as independently as you like, and you can spend the time your partner is working, doing productive things to forward your own personal life. 

10. Let your partner motivate you to work harder

Let your partner motivate you to work harder

See the fact that your partner works so hard as a positive and let it motivate you. Have you ever wanted to start your own business? Do you want to work towards a promotion? Do you think it’s time for a career change? Use your partner’s motivation for work to motivate you in your career!

11. Think about the longevity of the workaholic situation

Going forward, it’s essential that you know how long your partner is going to be a workaholic. For example, you might be completely fine with your partner being work-obsessed until their new business is off the ground, or until they get that certain promotion, but you might not be comfortable with them being so obsessed with work their entire life.

12. Make sure you’re not getting taken for granted

Although your partner most likely won’t be taking you for granted, it’s something that you should definitely think about. Is your partner’s main priority always going to lie with their job and never going to be you? Do you feel like you’re just something your partner enjoys alongside their work-life?

Make sure you’re one of your partner’s top priorities and that you’re not being taken for granted

13. Figure out whether you can deal with this moving forward 

The final decision as to whether you stick in this relationship and try to work through the problems or whether you leave is completely up to you. So, you need to think about whether you’re actually happy and if you can deal with the relationship being this way forever. If you can’t, it’s time to cut ties.

FAQs

Can you date a workaholic?

You can date whoever you want, so of course, you can date a workaholic! However, the underlying question is probably, “can you date a workaholic successfully?”. The answer to this is also, yes! You can successfully date a workaholic, as long as both of you are on the same page and make an effort to set boundaries and create time for each other.

Can a workaholic fall in love?

Just because someone is obsessed with their work, it doesn’t mean that they’re not a human being anymore. So, of course, a workaholic can fall in love. However, it does take someone really special to get a workaholic to fall in love with them, because workaholics always tend to put work as their number one priority, with no time for dating or falling in love.

How do you deal with a workaholic partner?

The 13 tips in this article should help you if your significant other is a workaholic. Most importantly, you just need to make sure that you and your partner communicate well and understand where each other is coming from. In addition, make sure a work schedule and a free-time schedule is confirmed, make an effort so that the time you spend together is quality time, and set boundaries.

How do I deal with a workaholic girlfriend?

As mentioned above, all of the information in this article should help you to deal with a workaholic partner. It’s essential that you and your girlfriend communicate well so that both of you feel understood and respected - that’s the first step! After establishing that good communication is key, try to make a schedule together, set boundaries, spend quality time together, and realize that there are certain benefits to being with someone like this.

Use this tool to check whether he actually is who he says he is
Whether you're married or have just started seeing someone, infidelity rates are on the rise and have increased over 40% in the last 20 years, so you have all the right to be worried.

Perhaps you want to know if he's texting other women behind your back? Or whether he has active Tinder or dating profile? Or worse yet, whether he has a criminal record or is cheating on you?

This tool will do just that and pull up any hidden social media and dating profiles, photos, criminal records, and much more to hopefully help put your doubts to rest.

Can working too much ruin a relationship?

Working too much is one of the many reasons that couples might decide to split up and go their separate ways. However, it doesn’t have to be the reason that your relationship breaks down. Relationships in which working too much occurs can be saved, as long as you’re both willing to put in the effort to save it. If you are, use the tips in this article to help you out.

The Bottom Line

After reading this article, you should be all set to make your relationship with your workaholic significant other work. Over anything, it’s vital that you and your partner establish clear and honest communication so that the relationship is ultimately built on honesty and compromise.

Did you like this article and find it useful? Let us know in the comments and feel free to share with someone you think needs to read this!

Utilize this tool to verify if he's truly who he claims to be
Whether you're married or just started dating someone, infidelity rates have risen by over 40% in the past 20 years, so your concerns are justified.

Do you want to find out if he's texting other women behind your back? Or if he has an active Tinder or dating profile? Or even worse, if he has a criminal record or is cheating on you?

This tool can help by uncovering hidden social media and dating profiles, photos, criminal records, and much more, potentially putting your doubts to rest.

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