A lot of people tend to think that working with their partners could be easy for them. Well, if that Is what you have been thinking, then you are almost always wrong. Think of it like this – You are in the same office as your husband, you work together, you eat together, you smile, laugh and converse to people whom you both know. Wouldn’t you feel like you are being suffocated by the thought that you are always around each other? Does it actually help you to live with your husband in both office and workplace? I think most women would say no to this. Well, if you work in the same office as your husband, then there are things you might have to consider.
There is a thin line between having a professional relationship at work and making the professional workplace, personal. When you work with your husband, almost everyone definitely knows that you are married and your husband is right there in the next cabin. There are many advantages of course! NO one will tend to flirt with you, you have a familiar face always around you in troublesome situations and you can actually sometimes chill and not be bothered that you are going home late. But there are so many more hidden disadvantages as well. So, to clear the air and to just put a better understanding on the same, let me tell you the various things you can consider when you work with your husband.
Top Things To Know When You Work With Your Husband
Fix your boundaries
Yes, setting rules and boundaries actually make it easier for you and your partner. When you work with your husband, there will come a point when you might have to let go of the little flirting your colleagues might do. This is no only for him, it could come up for you as well. That is when you should be clear about what are the things that are allowed and what are the things that are not allowed. You could discuss this at home and keep a set of things you think might be okay for you and him. Flirting isn’t wrong at all.
Everyone flirts nowadays and people do it sometimes to get their work done as well. So, don’t take that to be a big deal at work. When you fix your boundaries and set some groundrules, it gets easier for your husband as well. At least he will know what is acceptable and what isn’t.
Work is different from personal life
Your work life is totally different from your personal life. You have got to make sure that you keep a relationship at workplace no matter how many people know about you. Even if people know about you, a personal situation shouldn’t come up during work. You should believe in the fact that you both are separate individuals working for the same company, under the same roof. That is something you should definitely keep in mind. Try to differentiate your relationship. If you fought at home, don’t show it in the workplace. You cannot discuss home matters at a workplace.
Don’t ask him about dinner or don’t bring up why he didn’t do the dishes topic at work. If you tend to do that, your colleagues tend to have opinions about you guys separately or as a couple itself. This isn’t very pretty at a workplace.
Go home and never talk about work
You have the entire day to talk about work and like I said, you needn’t talk home stuff at work. That’s the same rule that has to follow when you go back home. No matter how crappy your day was, there is a limit on sharing that to your husband. He was right there and he knows what happened. You don’t have to explain everything to him. This could be a disadvantage and an advantage to you. So, try to keep conversations about work minimum back at home.
Of course you could give suggestions about work or you could ask for help if you need something. But extensively discussing about the same time will eat up your private life. Remember that you have other people to whom you can talk about work too. So, don’t eat up your personal life just because you guys work together.
Also know – Tips to maintain work life balance
Don’t announce it
Your friends at work, the close ones are fine. But you don’t have to announce it to the entire office that you are married to so and so person. When you try to keep a professional environment happy, don’t involve your personal relationships with the professional people. This might sometimes turn on you. They might think that you get special treatments if your husband is the boss of you or if you are his boss. So, try to always speak about your partner in the passive sense and keep it a personal thing.
[Also Read – Habits that make you look Unprofessional]
What if the marriage ends?
There are always chances when things may not go the way they seem. It could be difficult for you to comprehend the fact that your marriage could be over. So you have to consider that your marriage life could be rocky or not go as well as you imagined. So, when you work with your husband, also keep in mind that this could be a very light chance and you have to handle it professionally.
Keeping professional and personal life separate is the best way to work out things between you and your husband if you work under the same roof. You will have peace and happiness if you stay like that.
-Pavithra Ravi
