W ORKING COUPLES

The simple life of coming home after work and spending time with your family seems impossible now, as work emails and phone calls come in and marriage gets put on the back burner,” says a wife.

Taurus

APRIL 21 - MAY 20

You need a break from day to tensions and the way to cope up with stress is to meditate. You must create an environment of understanding at home. You will succeed in any sort of examination if you put your heart and soul to it. Promotion can be expected even if other are not.

Cancer

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

You care about you lover but somehow hesitate in expressing that care. Don’t make friends for money and status rather make friends who will stick with you forever. On social front, you may have to spend some extra money in buying gifts for someone for some specific occasion.

Virgo

AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23

You are a pro in your field and none can beat you. You give tough competition to people. Many people get inspired by you. You will get special treatment from your dear ones. Take stand where you need to, don’t run in the same direction where everybody else is going.

Scorpio

OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22

You make sure to make things work your way. Never demotivate someone even if someone is not capable of doing something. You are most wanted by your friends. You can have romantic affair in office and a serious one. You will invest money in clothes and accessories today.

Capricorn

DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20

Scrumptious food is what you are craving for today. You always maintain cordial relationship with everyone. You workout daily to keep yourself fit. You may start a side business to earn extra money. You are not a jealous kind and you feel happy for others.

Pisces

FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20

Spend time talking with likeminded people as it will make you feel good for now.

Boisterous behaviour is what everyone needs right now, do whatever you can do to cheer everyone up. You will feel financially comfortable. Your personality will attract many eligible bachelors.

“Your partner is usually the first one you neglect because you think, she’ll understand. She will forgive me. I can spend time with her later,” says a husband. Technology can blur the line between a job and marriage. The employer, workmates or clients might expect one to be available 24/7, making it difficult to achieve a work-life balance.

Each call, email or text one receives off-hours can lead to what seems like a fire that needs to be put out immediately. The balance can be achieved by creating a reasonable separation and prioritizing between one’s job and other aspects of life, including marriage.

Some companies feel that because they pay, they can reach you whenever they need you.

“Recognizing that my family needs me, I tell them I’m not available on my days off. At times, it is best to decline or delegate some of your work,” expresses one husband.

When couples earn two incomes, it can produce stress and strain. It is wise to count the cost – financially, emotionally and physically. One of the cold facts of life is that it costs money to earn money – transportation, clothing and miscellaneous expenses.

Many wives can juggle a job and home duties; her doing so, nevertheless, entails tradeoffs and costs. A working wife simply may not have the time or energy to devote to the house or to prepare tasty meals.

Marital strain is another work expense. Wives often resent having to bear an unfair share of the housework. Husbands may likewise resent being asked to help. Some even complain, as did one husband. “I feel left out. She comes home tired and upset. She’s always busy. I appreciate what she does, but fatigue doesn’t make me feel any happier about it.”

Some men are moved to help when they realize that there is a need while others become quite depressed or critical, grumbling that their wives have become too independent or that their home is neglected.

Not all working couples have a grandmother or a friend to take care of their children. Parents can accomplish much by way of training their children if they are there for them.

The biggest source of stress among working women is guilt over not doing enough – of not being as good a wife and mother as their mother was.

A wife, after quitting her job, says, “I have stopped saying, no, not this afternoon, I have to work or no, not now, I am too tired. Having paycheque.”

Of course, not all wives can quit their jobs. And some even say they feel bored or unfulfilled if they had to be at home all day. Said one working wife, “I need more in my life than just cooking.” bored or unfulfilled home all day. Said one more in my life than just

Some imaginative women are starting business enterprises. And others are doing part-time work that enables them to arrange various responsibilities easily with less time pressure and tension.

To balance one’s work with home life, one needs to take the initiative. If a plan is not there, one’s job is most likely to intrude into one’s marriage.

When the workload is heavy, that is the time when one needs to create time for one’s partner.

A wife who faces office deadlines says, “Usually when everything hits at once, I and my partner agree on a time – a dinner or a walk, to have some time together.”

Some feel obligated to stay connected just in case the boss or a client needs them. But others turn off notifications on their phone to stop work at a set time.

A couple said, “Keeping our life simple has been a great help towards keeping things in bal- be availoffice or she be available after office hours. Partners can avoid being overly demanding and be more considerate of each other’s workload.

The thirst for ‘fulfilment’ will never be fully quenched by either housework or profes- never be fully housework or profes-