Behaviour consultants Andrea and Jonathan Taylor-Cummings say senior managers are 3½ times more likely to suffer reduced performance because of a relationship breakdown at home. With staff expected to return to workplaces as the lockdown eases, the pair warn of the emotional dangers to both people’s mental health and a company’s bottom line.

Their book, The Four Habits of All Successful Relationships, makes the case that people’s success at marriage and work can be enhanced by learning key skills.

Pressing for profound change in how we approach relationships at work and home, they write: “People tend to wait until their relationships fall over [before] trying to patch things up with counselling, mediation or other late-stage interventions. For many, this reactive approach is all too often too little, too late… The financial and emotional impact is all around us in broken lives and broken people, and the model doesn’t give much hope for the next generation to do better.”

They highlight the corrosive effects of sarcasm and the need to learn to listen and build trust.

The ability to build strong relationships is increasingly important, they argue, “as the world becomes more cross-cultural and expectations of roles, responsibilities and behaviours shift.”

The authors conclude: “[When] we are each equipped with the skills to build great relationships, we turn up better in all our interactions and we each become better versions of ourselves – our marriages and partnerships are strengthened, our children flourish, our communities and workplaces thrive and our nations grow in health.”