Married to the Job: Difference between revisions
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This trope is of the key reasons why [[Everybody Is Single]], why many characters find it difficult to make a relationship last [[Girl of the Week|longer than a week]], and [[Dysfunction Junction|is one of the key causes of TV Divorce]]. As such, it's a major source of angst and relationship tension.
In some cases, this concern is
In other cases, however, the complaining spouse's position is a little less clear-cut and righteous. While they might have a point about their loved one's spending too much time at work having a negative impact on their marriage / relationship, the fact is that some careers genuinely ''are'' demanding and their partner really does need to put in all that time at work in order to effectively do their job. In some jobs - medicine, for example, or the police - people really ''do'' need to work long hours, be on call 24-7, and / or expose themselves to dangerous situations, and lives genuinely ''can'' be lost if they aren't attentive to their work to a high degree, even if this means neglecting their relationships or families. In these situations (whether the writer intended it or not), the complaining spouse may come across as selfish, whiny and unfairly demanding, especially if it should have been obvious from the outset of the relationship that their loved one's job was going to demand a large portion of their time.
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{{quote|Oh Scott! My heart just breaks when I so pale, so shaken! If only I could comfort you with my arms ... my lips ... but I know I mustn't! As our acting leader, you've no time for thoughts of ... romance!}}
* In ''[[Dykes to Watch Out For]]'', Sydney, whilst researching polyamory, has the epiphany that she ''is'' in a polyamorous relationship already- her work is her primary relationship, while Mo is 'the other woman'. This also happens with Clarice and Toni, with Clarice's job as a lawyer almost immediately put a strain on the relationship.
* In ''[[Watchmen]]'', this leads to conflict between Rorschach's psychologist and the psychologist's wife, considering the more [[Squick
* You could say that the [[Superman|Kents]] are both [[Happily Married]] and
::There was a period, however, when Lois broke off the engagement because she couldn't handle being married to Superman, and wasn't sure Superman ''should'' be married when he had a world to protect. She said she tried thinking of it as like being married to a fire-fighter or a policeman ... but even they could take a day off. She came to terms with the situation eventually.
* [[Judge Dredd]] has no life whatsoever outside of his responsibilities and duties as a Judge. Even when other Judges may recognize a perp or victim as a celebrity personality from a vidshow, Dredd will not, nor would he care. Dredd is [[Celibate Hero|celibate]] and doesn't even celebrate his own
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* In the first season of ''[[24]]'' it was mentioned that Jack and Terri Bauer's marriage was strained because Jack Bauer spent too much time at work and would often spend months at a time away from home.
** And in season 7, President Taylor put her duty to her country over her family and {{spoiler|sent her daughter to prison for ordering a hit on Jonas Hodges}}, which was a direct cause of {{spoiler|her subsequent divorce from her husband}}.
* Leo McGarry's divorce in ''[[The West Wing]]'' was a direct result of this trope, as demonstrated in the page quote, and it's implied that Toby Ziegler's marriage ended because of his duties in the White House as well. It's also suggested, however, the devotion required and long hours spent working at the White House took their toll on ''all'' the characters and their relationships to some degree, as almost all of them barring the President and the First Lady were either single or divorced
Something of a [[Truth in Television]], with one possibly significant note; many observers have noted that in [[Real Life]] few of the people who hold the positions in the White House that the characters hold remain in them for as ''long'' as the characters hold them, with one of the reasons being this trope; working at the White House for so long tends to result in burn-out.
* In ''[[Numb3rs]]'', this seems to be true for just about everyone. David Sinclair and Colby Granger seem to consider this a badge of honor, or at least an excuse why they aren't in relationships, and Nikki is insulted when they imply she isn't her married to her job.
* Hugh Abbot on ''[[The Thick of It]]'' doesn't see his family much. Considering what his only distraction is, one supposes he really doesn't do much beside work. He's not happy about it.
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* On ''[[Glee]]'', Terri views Will is this, though her point (and her sanity) are arguable.
* Holmes in ''[[Sherlock]])'' explains to Watson that that's what he is (having misinterpreted Watson's line of questioning somewhat).
* Victor Henry is
* The usual gender roles of this trope are switched in ''[[No Ordinary Family]]'', in which it's the mother who is a job-fixated [[Workaholic]] who is never around and the father who's a bit pissed about it. Although during an argument, the mother does rather bitterly point out that working for eighty hours a week to support her family wasn't exactly how she imagined living her life either.
* Syd, Jamie's betrothed on [[Blue Bloods]] breaks up with him because he is too dedicated to being a cop and he is unwilling/unable to talk to her about what he does.
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{{quote|'''Carl''': ''(pumps shotgun)'' [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner|You will NOT bring down]] [[Serious Business|MY POSTAL SERVICE!]]}}
* Knuckles from ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' has complained about his boring life guarding the Master Emerald, but he takes his duty extremely seriously.
* Aveline from ''[[Dragon Age II]]''
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