Being with someone who travels a lot for their job has its fair share of challenges. You have a lot of time to yourself, and it can be easy to fall into loneliness. Being physically separated can wreak havoc on relationships especially when partners do not work on keeping an open line of communication, when they are not honest with what they are thinking and feeling in their alone time, or when they are not proactive in creatively fostering the relationship.
As someone who has a partner that travels for work, there are a ton of things you can be doing to make sure your relationship is strong despite the distance and the separation. This also goes for those partners who are away from home, working on the road, or abroad! Check out these awesome tips for maintaining a long-distance relationship when work takes someone out of town!
#1: Be a Good Listener
When you are with someone who is away a lot of time because of work travel, you are naturally going to miss out on what they do or experience throughout their day because you are not physically there to see them. A lot of long-distance relationships are kept alive via phone, video chat, or texting. When the time comes to talk with your partner, this is your time to shine and to be a good listener!
Take the time to actively listen to what your partner shares about their day. Showing your partner that you are interested in how their day went is a great way to display your love and devotion to them. Even though you may not be there physically, you are still there in a way because you are being kept in the loop on what is going on and happening with your partner.
#2: Be Understanding
Doing a long-distance relationship has its fair share of difficulties and that is why it is important for both partners to be understanding of where each is coming from. The partner who is away at work needs to be understanding of the loneliness or frustration their partner might be feeling being home alone. The partner who is at home needs to be understanding of their partner’s workload and availability to talk.
Being understanding is also a great way to showcase patience and respect for your partner in moments when things are tough. When your partner knows you are understanding and they know that you have their back, it’s going to reaffirm to them in a major way that they made the right choice in choosing you to do life with!
#3: Keep Your Partner up to Date
Because you are not able to spend as much time with one another, it is important to keep your partner up to date on what is going on in your world. Let them know what goes on in your day-to-day life, just as you would a partner that you would see every day. This can help your partner to feel more a part of things back home. They could be away and feel guilty for not being there or feel like they are missing out on precious moments.
Keeping your partner up to date on things might help them to feel more a part of the action.
You can always keep an open line of communication going through the day via texting, but it might be a good idea too to try and do a phone call once a day or every few days depending on their trip, the nature of their schedule, or any time zone issues. As mentioned earlier, video chatting can be another good method for communicating that goes a bit further than texting and can make your partner seem as if they are not all that far away!
#4: Be Honest
When someone is away quite a bit for work travel, it can be easy and even tempting for both partners to keep important things from one another. Perhaps one partner is falling for someone else and trying to conceal these actions from the other. Or maybe one of the partners is not being honest about the loneliness or frustration they might be feeling doing the long-distance thing.
Because you do not see each other as much as some other couples, you are not able to pick up on these things as easily as you could if you were around each other more. This is why it is important to not only keep your partner in the loop about things that are going on but to also be honest about things as they come up.
#5: Take Advantage of Technology
New technologies have it possible for long-distance relationships to flourish in ways that they simply could not in the past. Texting allows people now to send quick little messages at any point in the day. There is Snapchat and FaceTime. You can even do audio-recorded messages or a good old-fashioned phone call.
The point is that technology nowadays can really soften the blow of the bad parts of a long-distance relationship. Obviously, there is no substitute for being with each other physically, but new technologies can make your partner seem like they are not that far away!
#6: Make Special Plans for When You Reunite
You can make the time that you actually have together with your partner even more special if you make some special plans for when you see them next! This could be a nice romantic evening over a candlelight dinner, or you could spend the day doing something that they love to do in their free time. This can show your considerate side and make your reunion time even more memorable!
#7: Have Fun When You Are Alone
Because your partner is busy traveling for work, you are naturally going to have a lot of alone time. And although you might feel lonely at times, any good, healthy relationship allows for each member to have time for themselves. So in your alone time, do things that make you happy!
Long-distance relationships have their rough patches and things can get really hard at times. That is why it is so important to take care of your other needs as long as you have this alone time available. Everyone needs friendship, familial love, and time to get out and enjoy the aspect of life outside of their partner.
#8: Join Your Partner on Their Trips for Time to Time
If you are able to, plan on spending some time with your partner by going on one of their business or work trips! A trip like this can provide you with a change of scenery and could serve as a little vacation for the both of you! You might get the chance to meet some of the people that they work with and get a little glimpse into their day-to-day work world. You will definitely get a chance to see your partner in a different context. You might even see a side of them you have never seen before!
So instead of always being the one waiting around for your partner to come back home from their work trip, be proactive and suggest going along with them for the ride! If they truly love and care for you, they will definitely be excited and energized by this idea, a prime opportunity to spend some much needed time with you!
