Supporting Your Spouse When You Are Both Stressed

When both spouses have highly stressful jobs, it can be a marriage-straining combination.

But you can compensate and become happier both at home and at the office by being supportive of each other, suggests new research from the Florida State University College of Business. People who are highly stressed but buoyed by their spouses have 50 percent higher rates of marital satisfaction, are one-third more likely to have positive relationships with their coworkers, and have a 20 percent higher level of job satisfaction than those who aren’t supported, according to a study of more than 400 working couples.

But there are gender differences in the kinds of support that are most effective, according to the researchers. Women prefer cutting back on household activities and receiving warmth