Working With Your Spouse: Top 10 Pros and Cons

A husband and wife working together in the same office have become a trend these days. But, there are some advantages as well as disadvantages of working in the same office.

A proper balance between professional and family lives need to be kept so as to make sure that there is perfect harmony in the married life of a couple.

A husband and his wife may establish a business and start working together. They may have met while working in the same company and may have married in due course.

Here we have tried to evaluate the two sides of the same coin trying to identify the pros and the cons of working with your spouse.

Merits or Pros of Working with your Spouse:

Many of the ills of a working couple are erased when the partners work together in a firm. Many times, couples that work in the same firm manage to take enough time for the family. This is a major benefit that ensures a balance of family and professional lives helping the marriage succeed.

A family oriented man may regard this as the best possible option. Here we have listed out few of the major merits of working with your spouse.

1. You get ample time to spend with your partner:

When you marry and settle down with another person, you make a commitment to take care of each other for a lifetime. If you work in the ample office as your partner, then you get the ample opportunity to spend with him or her.

As a result, both of you can understand each other in a better manner since both of you spend a large part of the day together both at home as well as the workplace. Therefore, you can develop a good understanding with your partner over time.

2. Carpooling:

Couples who work together can travel together from their home regularly. Doing so is ideal for professionals who work in different departments within the same organization and do not get the time to talk with each other.

While accompanying each other to the office, they get enough time to talk to each other, something which is not possible in the office.

3. Planning vacations together:

One plus point of working together is that they get the opportunity to share holidays and plan their vacations together. This is because it is easier for them to plan their holiday schedules, something which couples working in different offices cannot do.

4. Opportunity to help in each other’s growth:

When a couple happens to work in the same office, they exert a lot of time in helping each other in their official work. Therefore, they can help in each other’s career growth.

Couples who do not work in the same office do not have such an opportunity to help each other professionally. Therefore, both the husband, as well as wife, can progress in their respective careers and have a bright future in the long run.

5. A high level of understanding:

Couples who have known each other professionally for long have a better understanding as compared to those who don’t. So, they are more adaptable to changes in their work schedules and can ensure that whatever professional disagreements they have in the office stay at the office.

The same applies to couples who run a business together. They know what they are good at and therefore, can handle those responsibilities with a high level of efficiency. A good coordination with them helps in ensuring that their objectives are fulfilled and the business grows.

Demerits or Cons of Working with your Spouse:

As it is rightly said, there is a dark side to every arrangement and there is no exception in this case. While there are several aspects of working with a spouse that may help marriage and stability, there are some other aspects that may act against harmony and peace.

So before you consider working in the same firm as your spouse, do consider the cons of this arrangement. It will help you make a well thought and wise decision.

1. The absence of personal space:

Compatibility is no doubt an essential thing in a marriage. But there are times when an individual may like to spend his time alone. But that is not possible if both spouses working together in the same office.

Spending too much time together can, on the other hand, bring in a lack of excitement in their lives. Sharing a lot of time together is surely not an indicator that a couple is enjoying each other’s company. Quantity, cannot always make for quality when it comes to married life.

2. Boredom:

This is one of the major negative points of both husband and wife working within the same organization. As they both meet each other at the office on a daily basis, their routine shows no change.

After a period of time, a sense of boredom sets in as they have nothing to speak about since they spend a lot of time together. So, they will lack the interest in any type of conversation. This may lead to strained relationships in their married life after a point.

3. The rise in jealousy:

This is the biggest drawback of couples working together. Within the corporate world, performance alone cannot guarantee a promotion. There are a lot of other factors that come into play such as communication skills, the level of cooperative behaviour shown towards co-workers and crisis management skills.

It may happen that a husband gets promoted in place of the other. This may naturally cause a lot of heartburn and invoke the other person’s jealousy as he or she may feel neglected.

Normally, companies do not allow any employee to supervise their spouse. But the sense of resentment that the ignored person feels will ruin the atmosphere at home. Chances of the breakdown in marriage are also high.

4. Obtaining planned leaves become difficult:

When a husband and wife work within the same company, obtaining leaves together doesn’t seem as easy as it used earlier when they used to work in separate organizations.

The management is not likely to allow both members of their staff to go on leave separately. Therefore, you won’t have the freedom and opportunity to plan for family holidays together.

5. Lack of job security:

If husband and wife are working in two different organizations, then in case one loses the job, he or she can fall back on his/her partner for financial assistance for the time being. But such an advantage is clearly missing for couples who work in the same office.

Due to the volatile market situation in the job market, companies often resort to downsizing their staff. As a result, it might happen that both the husband and wife are sacked.

Dealing with such a crisis situation is very difficult unless at least one of the spouses gets hired somewhere at the earliest. So, the chances are fairly high that the couple may end up spending their savings during the period of layoff. This may undermine their financial plans for the future.

So What Do We Conclude?

Well, the moral of the story is simple. Whether you work with your spouse at the same or different office, the choice needs to be made carefully. You need to be able to understand your priorities and weigh the positives and negatives before you run into conclusions.

Here are some things to keep in mind if you decide to work in the same firm as your spouse:

• Make sure you have your space and do not let your hubby/wife intervene in that space.
• Set your career goals straight and look for alternative sources of income. Freelancing is a good option.
• Give your partner enough space and do not expect him to spend all the time with you even when you are in the same office.
• Maintain a professional attitude and do not cross your limits while helping your spouse grow in the firm.
• Keep professional jealousy at bay as it can wipe away your married life completely.

While there are many benefits of working in the same firm, very few are privileged to do so. Very often city dwellers travel to different locations for work. This prevents them from having sufficient time together. The gap also leads to misunderstandings and lack of bonding. Here are some tips for spouses who do not work in the same firm:

• Make sure you spend a weekend or a vacation with your family.
• Set aside some funds for vacations and outings.
• Set aside some time for conversations.
• Try to have at least one meal in a day together.
• Try to understand each other’s professional stress and frustration.
• Set a family financial goal so that together you can achieve it.

These simple steps will help to bind the family together. Common goals and meal time together can help to create memories and also teach each member to share and care. These are simple ways in which the most stressed out working couples can bring harmony and love back into their family lives.