You as his wife have a great opportunity to be your husbands’ helper and encourager when work starts becoming stressful.
Recently my husband switched jobs, and life started becoming a lot more stressful for him. Starting a new business is hard, and not for the faint of heart.
Learning how to encourage your husband when work is stressful will help your marriage.
I read a quote recently that stuck. “Change is hard. If it wasn’t, everyone would do it.”
I pondered the truth of it.
I resist change as much as possible. I love my comfort zones, and would willingly be stuck in them.
But change is necessary in order to grow. When my husband wanted to take a leap of faith and start his own business, I tried to be supportive on every level.
Sometimes you need to chase your dreams, be it hard or not. We prayed about this decision and felt it was the right thing to do.
We were financially able to handle it, but it was also a decision that would take us away from our hometown for a time.
I always want to support my husband, but I often don’t do a very good job because fear tends to creep in.
All the ‘What Ifs’ hinder me too often.
I wanted to let that fear go, and trust the Lord to lead us.
It has been a difficult journey in the last couple of months. A stressed-out husband plus a stressed-out wife makes for a stressed-out family.
Does your husband find his work stressful at times?
Being an encouraging and supportive wife when work is stressful can make a big difference in your husband’s life and his decisions.
God created a woman to be a helper to her husband, and this can look different in different situations.
Helping your husband cope with work stress will help him to manage it better. Two are better than one, and a three-fold cord is not easily broken.
How To Encourage Your Husband When Work Is Stressful
Be supportive.
It’s important to offer support for the decisions your husband needs to make.
Maybe he needs to make a career change, or maybe just have a talk with the boss. There might be times where the workload is causing stress, and he is having a hard time managing it.
Show your support.
Your husband should know that his heart is safe with his wife. Don’t try to lessen his problems and feelings by comparing them to yours or others.
Help him to see the good things about the current situation, but also show that you care about what he is going through.
Lighten his Load
If the demands of his work are causing him stress, see where you might be able to lighten his load.
My husband was unable to take care of our yard like he usually would when he started with his new job.
My son and I did our best to take up the jobs that would usually fall on him. He appreciated it when he could come home to not just another responsibility, but that was already taken care of.
You probably won’t need to or be able to take care of all his responsibilities, but do your part.
Work won’t always be stressful, and when they settle down, your husband will have more mental energy for other things.
Help Him To See The Whole Perspective
Look to the good. It’s too easy to get sucked down into the negativity train, and looking to the good can alter our perspective of hardships greatly.
Ask good questions that will help your husband think through things.
Don’t belittle his problems, but we all have blind spots where a different response might be appropriate.
My husband and I are completely different in that perspective. I will mull over things for days…and then end up not acting on what I should do.
My husband will make quick decisions at times when he should sleep on it. Encouraging each other in our strengths and weaknesses helps us balance each other out.
Lend an Ear
Be willing to listen. Talking about our problems often helps to lighten the load. Put away any distractions, and pay close attention.
Your husband needs your empathetic ear. He might just want to talk it out. You don’t always need to offer advice. Just let your spouse be heard.
Encourage Outside Friendships and Interests
You cannot be the sole outlet for your husband’s stress, less you become too stressed about it too.
I know I very easily take on the emotions that my husband is feeling, and then we have two people that are feeling discouraged instead of just one.
Encourage your husband to talk to a good friend (outside of work), which will offer another perspective.
I know a close friend asked my husband how his week had gone (he had had a pretty rough one), and then said “Why am I even asking? I know the first week is always rough.”
That comment gave my husband the comfort that, yes, it’s normal to struggle with change.
I often fail at being the support system that my husband needs, and I can’t do it alone. I am thankful that God gives us strength.
So many times, when my husband was feeling stressed about work, I was given the strength to be an encourager.
Then when I was really struggling with change and the stress of starting a new business, my husband was given the strength of a steadfast and rested mind.
You are a team. We can be so incredibly thankful to a God that knew we needed each other. Such a life of loneliness we would live if we did not have our spouse to support and be supported from.
Don’t rush to solve your husband’s problems, but be an encouragement to him when work is stressful. Your support means a lot to him.
These tips on how to encourage your husband when work is stressful will help your marriage remain strong in the midst of a trying time.
