The Meaning and Implications of Responsibility in Relationships

Responsibility is an essential part of life and it plays an important role in all human societies. It is defined as something you are obliged to do or perform. Responsibility is different for everybody, but it's something we all have to agree on before the law can be changed.


Responsibility is an ethical or moral obligation to do something when certain circumstances occur or an agreement is made to do it. A responsibility may arise out of a system of morality or ethics, particularly in honor cultures. Some responsibilities are established by law, either as a codified obligation or penalty for wrongful nonperformance. Others are imposed by social pressure, such as those in families and professional organizations. Even the decisions we make in day-to-day life are responsible, since we make choices and not only blindly or by chance.

One of the most basic definitions of responsibility is that it is an obligation we are responsible for another person or entity. When you are driving a car, you are responsible for the actions of others around you. When you walk into your partner's house and get into an argument, both parties are responsible for what happens next time. In both cases, you are being responsible for another person or entity. This means you must recognize and attribute responsibility if you want to get home today instead of the next time someone forgets to cross the street or is injured in a traffic accident.

We all have various types of responsibilities. In the family, we have responsibilities to our spouse, children, parents, and so on. In the workplace, you have responsibilities to your employer, your coworkers, and the property around you. In the neighborhood, you have responsibilities to your neighbors, the schools your child attends, and so on.

There are two types of accountability: personal accountability and institutional accountability. Personal accountability is what you do to be responsible for something other than yourself such as your actions in the workplace, your family life, and your neighborhood. Institutional accountability is what one person in a group or organization faces as the basis of their responsibilities. For example, if an employee in a company has violated the company's drug policy, the employee is said to be accountable for that action. In the case of an individual, they would be accountable for whatever consequences come their way as the result of their actions.

The idea of responsibility is really a relational concept grounded in the belief that we are all responsible for other people and things. However, this responsibility does not absolve anyone from making changes or taking responsibility for their own actions. In fact, the more closely we wrap ourselves around this idea, the more resistant we are to accept responsibility for anything at all.

The problem with this idea is that it gives power to some to control others, whether it is in the workplace, in relationships, or in society as a whole. It also tends to create a sense of bondage where people feel obligated to take care of others just because they are potentially "ributable" (able to be responsible). Also, it tends to increase the stress level of those who sense that they aren't adequately responsible for their actions and circumstances. Those who accept responsibility are much less likely to need to find someone else to make responsible decisions for them. Thus, when they find themselves in a situation where they need to be responsible for their actions, they are often very resistant to accepting that responsibility.


Another example of a relationship with responsibility is the instance in which a friend in another relationship decides to end the relationship. In this case, the friend has chosen not to have an obligation to another person and so, when the obligation was determined, they simply decided not to fulfill it. However, it does not follow that the other person did not have an obligation to the friend in question. We have just found another example of a responsibility example.