Nov 22 2009

Don’t Work With Your Spouse

Many couples get together at work and then choose to get married. However, one member of the couple will usually resign and start a new job somewhere else so they don’t have to be together all the time Having time apart and working on different projects is generally the approach most couples take because it’s too stressful to live with someone and work with them.

Almost 50 percent of marriages end in divorce so why take the chance of working with your spouse? If things go bad it will not only affect your private life but also your job and even your livelihood. Just look at Frank and Jamie McCourt the separated couple that ran the Los Angeles Dodgers. Owner Frank McCourt and his wife ran the team but last month the husband laid off his wife. She went to court and tried to file a suit to get her job back but lost.

This is just one example of the problems a couple may face while sharing a house and the office. Working with each another can be exceedingly stressful. You are contributing extra stress besides the normal relationship because you’re also including finances and your career. Another couple that worked together has been divorced and remarried.

They have faced many negative experiences. They have had managers that tried to make them rival against each other, along with lots of bad rumors spread about them, and even faced accusations of partiality. They even have arguments about coworkers at work for the reason that one spouse doesn’t like some of the friends of the husband and vice versa.

Albeit there are lots of challenges, the couple has learned to work together but still struggles with daily issues at work and home. Another problem is that it’s dangerous to have both spouses working for the same company. With this rocky economy a company may face difficulty and be forced to dismiss workers. If that happens, one or both of you might lose your job.

Although many marriages have ended in divorce when spouses worked together many have also worked. One couple listed the secret to successfully working with your spouse. Each spouse should have responsibility over different aspects. There doesn’t need to be a power struggle so don’t have one significant other in a managerial position over the other.

By having individual projects and responsibilities they can still work together and love each other. Another recommendation is to leave work at the office. It can be easy to talk about work out of the office but you have to keep the relationship going and the romance thriving so forget about work.

The moral of the story is that working together can be difficult on your relationship and may put so much stress that you end up divorcing. However, many couples effectively work together. You will never know if you can work with your spouse until you try it. Nevertheless if you have a steady job that you enjoy don’t quit it in order to work with your spouse. For the reason that if you go to work together and it fails you may have a hard time locating another job, so it will influence your finances and your relationship.

Diane Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Utah. She likes to write about the news, politics, college degrees, Distance Learning, and the college experience.