My partner (22NB) and I (23NB) have very different work ethics. How do I help them?

My partner (22NB) and I (23NB) just moved to NYC. I'm Black and come from the Deep South with a not-so-supportive family; they're white with a wealthy and very supportive family. I have been working multiple jobs and involved in multiple extracurriculars since I was 15. I am used to waking up at 6 AM, exercising, going to work, cooking, cleaning, studying, and repeat (currently a full-time master's student). My partner and I have been together for about 3 years, and I recently learned how little they are able to get done in a day and how little they have in terms of work and life experience.

Honestly, I don't think a 22/23 year old should have THAT much life experience but since they were never really pushed to work very hard and they have little history with long hours of laborious work, they are seemingly being swallowed up by the city and its competitive job market. I was able to land a decent full-time job (with a fast-track to promotion) within my first month of moving here. My partner, on the other hand, took a really long time to start applying to jobs and can only apply to 2 - 3 jobs a day.

I should also clarify that they are neurodivergent (most likely OCD). I've tried to help them by sending them jobs, drafting a new resume and cover letter template for them, creating a job tracking sheet, and more. I know the job market is awful right now, so I'm not upset that they don't have a job, but it's getting difficult knowing that they just seemingly cannot apply to more than 2 - 3 jobs in a day. I think my distress stems from growing up in a household where everyone had to have a job and my family's catchphrase was, "Idle hands are the devil's work."

I just want to help them. Is it worth it to push them on this or should I just offer my mental bandwidth where they have none (or is that too patronizing)? Or is this just an internal thing I should work on?

Note: We live together & I split rent with their parents, so at the moment, we are not in a dire financial situation.

Posted Oct 7, 2023, 8:18 PM UTC

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