People do not stay in romantic relationships to avoid "the trauma of getting dumped". They stay because their partner is who they are looking for, someone who enriches their life. Healthy people sting for a bit when dumped, but they get over it and find someone new.

Also, the boyfriend/girlfriend stage doesn't match up with what I've seen: people who dump their boyfriend/girlfriend "because someone better comes along" usually find that the new person isn't better at all, and in the meantime they've labeled themselves as fickle and capricious in the minds of friends and prospective dates. Rather, it's time to end a relationship when your continued partnership is making you unhappy, regardless of whether there is someone better out there. And as long as you are happy, you are unlikely to be more happy with someone else.

I'd argue that even with these corrections, viewing work like a romantic relationship still makes no sense. The cornerstone of romantic relationships is equal emotional investment, and the idea that beneath all the trappings, we're fundamentally all just people. Business is different because:

1. There is an inherent power imbalance between employer and employee. A company is never going to love you back, nor will you ever fulfill as important a role for it as it does for you.

2. Companies will and should respond to changing market conditions. Those changes sometimes mean that whole roles disappear, and employees who want to perform those roles can and should go elsewhere. A romantic relationship is hopefully based on qualities more fundamental than "what professional role do I want to occupy?"

3. If a company refuses to make hard choices about employment and market positioning, the market makes it for them, with the result that everybody is hunting for a new job.