Posted by: Dr. Justin D'Arienzo, Psy.D., ABPP

The Effects of Relationship Problems

On Work Performance

The Effects of Relationship Problems was written by future Industrial Organizational Psychologist, Brandon Araujo, for the D’Arienzo Psychological Group in August 2014. D’Arienzo Psychological Group is a Jacksonville, Florida based Clinical, Forensic, and Industrial Psychology Practice that is uniquely qualified to assist staffing companies, human resource departments, and small business in providing psychological testing and evaluations to potential employees. D’Arienzo Psychological Group can assist you in selecting the very best employees for the clients you serve or for your business.

Is your work performance being effected by relationship problems? Many people struggle with relationship difficulties that can cause a significant amount of stress. This stress does not only affect the relationship but can also impact one’s ability to perform at work. In today’s work environment stress is becoming one of the largest problems for employers; “A study of personnel today and IRS Employment review found that more than 40% of employees had reported an increase in stress in the last year” (Jehangir et. al, 2011). According to Soares, Jacobs, and Adaramola (2012) these dramatic increases in stress will lead to poorer performance levels in the workplace due to their findings that stress has a strong curvilinear relationship with performance: as stress increases performance increases until a certain point then as stress continues to increase performance begins to decrease. Mirela and Madalina (2011) found that with increased levels of stress in the workplace there were higher reports of accidents that occurred causing a decline in revenue for employers.

Relationship difficulties are just one source of stress that impacts work performance but it is one of the most influential. Chaoping (2013) discovered that employees with a high level of relationship problems “are not able to exert any further psychological and emotional resources than they currently use to perform their tasks at work, making them less likely to develop an affective bond with the organization.” Chaoping also states that relationship conflicts “had a significant impact on work outcomes, including their affective commitment, normative commitment, and task performance.”

Do not let the stigma of seeing a psychologist prevent you from seeking marital therapy or couples counseling. We can help you or your employee get back on their A-Game, resolve their relationship problems, and improve their work performance.

Contact D’Arienzo Psychological Group if you have questions about how we can assist you with employee functioning and or psychological testing, interviewing techniques, or about our other business psychological services. We can be reached at 904-379-8094 or you can find us on the web at drdarienzo.com.