Outline:
The traditional saying states: Money isn’t able to purchase joy. However, it can definitely influence the success or failure of a relationship.
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That’s according to recent research led by Sharmeen Merchant, a doctoral student at the University of Cincinnati, which examined the psychological impact of money in households where there are two income sources. Her team’s studywas recently published in the Journal of Business and Psychology.
“This is about the values of moneyand how we handle finances in our relationships. It’s not solely about the specific amount of money earned,” Merchant stated. “Do we view it as a measure of success? Do we consider it as being too focused on material things?”
Scott Dust, Ph.D., a professor in the management department at UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business and Merchant’s advisor, also contributed to the study titled, “Gender Differences on”Dual-Earners’ Moneyas Alignment of Achievements and Needs-Supplies Match.
The outcomes? A man’s satisfaction in his job is influenced by his partner’s perspectives on finances.
This research was the first to recognize that money is not generated in isolation. Money is created within a family unit,” Dust stated. “We discovered that you can’t truly examine money and its effect on work without taking into account whether employees are in a relationship. It’s necessary to look at the entire household.
Merchant and Dust collaborated with fellow Lindner doctoral student Sodiq Babatunde, Lindner assistant professor Laurens Steed, and Joseph Rode from Miami University to examine the perspectives of almost 200 working couples regarding finances.
By emphasizing money attitudes tied to achievement, the research demonstrates how men, in particular, incorporate their partners’ viewpoints when assessing their own professional accomplishments. This tendency was much less evident for wives and girlfriends.
Therefore, when a married couple shares similar views on the significance of money, the husband often experiences greater satisfaction in his job. However, if a couple holds completely differing perspectives on money, this sense of fulfillment in the workplace disappears.
Interestingly, Merchant observed, men’s satisfaction was lowest when couples had only slightly differing views on financial matters, rather than when their perspectives were entirely opposite. “This ambiguity regarding your partner’s values leads to a ‘messy middle,’ where apathy complicates the ability of couples to feel secure,” she explained.
Babatunde compared the process to the cultural norms surrounding marriage in his native Nigeria. Parents perform what he referred to as “background checks” on their children’s partners once marriage is approaching.
They examine a potential partner’s family—how they define success, how they view money, and how they handle life,” Babatunde said. “This research helped me gain a clearer understanding of why older generations approach relationships in that manner.
That’s the real-world lesson: pick your spouse carefully,” Dust said. “Your career choice will definitely affect your job satisfaction. However, your choice of a partner and their values can also affect how you feel about your earnings.
Mid-century expectations, modern pressures
Why was this outcome nearly absent for women? The data indicated that their partners’ views on money did not influence how satisfied women were with their jobs. The research group discovered that this might be because of enduring cultural expectations in a society that is evolving.
The traditional image of a husband as the primary earner and a wife as the caregiver is less prevalent than it was many years ago, yet these ideas still influence people’s views on work, particularly for men.
For men, there’s also this additional stress of keeping up with thisbreadwinner identityIn a society that is constantly changing, this identity remains highly significant to them, and they are attempting to deal with it within this shifting environment,” Merchant stated.
The merchant stated that today’s workforce primarily consists of individuals who have partners that also work for a living.
But the notion that men must be the primary earners is still widespread. It’s persistent,” Merchant stated. “Due to this, we discovered that aligning with their partners regarding financial matters can influence men’s satisfaction in their jobs.
From the classroom to advanced research
The concept for the collaborative research project between Merchant and Babatunde originated from a graduate seminar they both attended, titled Dynamic Relations, which explored the challenges of studying interactions among individuals in professional settings.
We entered the Ph.D. program as inexperienced students eager to dive into data analysis,” Babatunde said. “Our professors motivated us to explore innovative approaches to data, to uncover those intriguing, less-studied narratives.
Merchant and Babatunde exemplify the kind of high-quality research that the Lindner College of Business strives to achieve, which has a meaningful impact on the world,” said professor Dust. “It is well-conducted and methodologically sound, but what truly stands out are the research questions that are both engaging and significant for society as a whole.
More information:Sharmeen M. Merchant and others, Gender Differences in Dual-Earners’ Money Regarding Achievement Congruence and Needs-Supplies Fit,Journal of Business and Psychology (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s10869-025-10094-9
Supplied by the University of Cincinnati
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