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Love Under Duress: How Burnout Mediates the Relationship Between Partner Stress and the Perception of Romantic Partner Support Cover

Love Under Duress: How Burnout Mediates the Relationship Between Partner Stress and the Perception of Romantic Partner Support

Open Access
|Nov 2025

Abstract

Employees face difficulties in the modern workplace that put a burden on both their professional and personal well-being. This study aimed to clarify the intricate interactions between romantic partner stress, burnout, and the support of a romantic partner in the healing process. The literature emphasizes the role of romantic partners as both resource givers and demand producers. This idea is based on the Conservation of Resources (COR) principle. We sampled full-time employees from various industries in committed long-term partnerships (N=277). Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to conduct our research, we provide support to understand the complex dynamics of romantic partner support in reducing work-related stress and its effects on burnout. Our results highlight how vital it is to comprehend how the supporting and demanding roles of romantic partners interact to influence burnout. We present our findings, discuss managerial implications, and outline recommendations for future research.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijm-2024-0006 | Journal eISSN: 2451-2834 | Journal ISSN: 1649-248X
Language: English
Page range: 3 - 26
Submitted on: Nov 4, 2024
Accepted on: Mar 23, 2025
Published on: Nov 18, 2025
Published by: Irish Academy of Management
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 3 issues per year

© 2025 Matthew J. Aplin-Houtz, Ifeyimika O. Ajaiyeoba, Stephanie Merrit, published by Irish Academy of Management
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.