Couples Working from Home Together – Boon or Bane?

Guest Post by the Team at Bonobology

Among all the things the pandemic brought into our lives, the “work-from-home” mode has probably had the most impact on our way of life. From a daily routine of wake up, bathe, eat breakfast and run out the door for a long day of meetings, presentations and targets; we suddenly had to adapt to a whole new routine of wake up, eat and turn laptop on for a day of unending video meetings and zoom calls. This raises the question if work from home is affecting your relationship?

Undoubtedly, this model of work has been met with mixed feelings and emotions by different people. While some found it comfortable to work in their PJs from their couches, others hated the fact that this style of working has blurred the lines of previously specified office timings, in turn taking over their personal lives.

The New Normal – Couples Working Under The Same Roof

In most modern couples, both partners are ambitious, hard-working individuals who are passionate about their jobs. However, with employers around the world adopting a work-from-home approach to keep employees safe in the current situation, these individuals are being forced to share space under the same roof all day, while juggling their professional and personal lives. On one hand, it is nice for couples to be able to spend more time together through the day; but on the other, the stress can be overwhelming if one doesn’t have his/her personal space for a long time. Specially, with each person needing a specified room to concentrate on their work or making sure their zoom meetings are uninterrupted, managing space and chores can be a difficult proposition for most. Hence, as with most things in life, this situation too has its pros and cons as may be observed through examples of real-life couples living this new way of life. Let’s examine them to assess if work from home is affecting your relationship.

Pros:

• Being able to spend quality time with your loved one – time which would earlier be spent in commuting to office and back, or on work trips.
• Communication has improved between couples working from home as they are able to talk to each other more and discuss things which they couldn’t before due to a lack of time.
• The ease of dividing chores between the couple, so that one person does not have to take the stress of managing the household. This pandemic work-from-home situation has surely made couples more organized and sorted about household responsibilities.
• It can be less stressful to have someone around to share worries and concerns with. Even if you are having a bad day at work, you can vent to your partner without having to keep feelings bottled up inside for long.
• Grabbing lunch together in the middle of a workday used to be a thing of dreams in the past. But now, it’s one of the pleasant times of the day when you can spray on some pheromones for men, enjoy some quality time together and feel rejuvenated before heading back to your respective rooms, desks, or workstations. Those quick kisses or hugs between calls are an added bonus! 

Cons:

• Being under the same roof 24/7 with another person might get too overwhelming for someone who needs their own space. You may need some ‘me’ time or time alone, which is difficult when both of you are at home all the time.
• City life often means couples don’t share big houses or have access to ample space to create their own comfortable work environment at home. The constriction of both physical as well as mental space may result in compromising on productivity or mental peace.
• Maintaining a balance between one’s personal and professional life gets difficult when your home becomes your workplace. Work stress or tension with colleagues might spill over on to your personal interactions with your partner and create a negative vibe at home.
• Getting to know each other’s work personas can be interesting at first, but might soon get annoying, specially if you don’t like the way your partner scolds their juniors or if you feel the other person talks too loudly during their video calls.
• Couples working from home both use the Wi-Fi connection all day long. As a result, internet signals may not always be strong and smooth. Specially with both partners scheduling back-to-back zoom calls or video meetings, one person’s connection might sometimes get affected if the other is working on something that runs on a high bandwidth.

Back in the day, we would have done anything to get some work-from-home days from our employers, but now that we are living in this new reality, going to office is a welcome activity, especially if that means not having to stay at home with another person 24/7. This mode of working has definitely brought couples closer and strengthened many relationships. But a breather from the forced company of your partner is definitely needed from time to time, for physical and mental respite. Whatever you may feel, work from home is definitely affecting your relationship. With the pandemic still at large, staying home means staying safe – so the best way forward is to keep communicating with each other clearly, have designated workspaces and be compassionate and understanding in order to co-work peacefully under the same roof.

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This is a guest post written by the team at Bonobology, which is a couple-relationship destination for couples everywhere! Through the expert team of panellists at Bonobology, you can access the best counsellors for clearing marital / relationship discord, in addition to accessing relevant and well-researched content on this subject.

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**Copyright in pictures and content belongs to nooranandchawla.com and cannot be republished or repurposed without express permission of the author. As I am a copyright lawyer by profession, infringement of any kind will invite strict legal action.

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This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and me, and SPONSORED BY Bugshield Clothing – Enjoy Outdoors More!

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This post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter