7 Tips for Working from Home with Your Partner

We set up our shared office space about four years ago but until this year we rarely used it at the same time.

This has all changed with the spread of the novel coronavirus (hereinafter called ‘da rona) and forced telework. I am incredibly grateful that we are both able to work from home but it’s taken some time to get used to my new and singular coworker.

Here are some tips that have worked for us and I hope work for you and your partner.

Find & Designate a Work Space

If you have an office, great! But if you don’t you should find a space and designate it the office. It can be a small desk in your bedroom, your living room, a hallway or a spare closet! Be creative!

Whatever you choose, make sure that everyone knows & respects the rules when the space is being used. If you’re there that means you’re working and should not be interrupted.

Treat Your Spouse Like a Coworker

I’ve read some advice columns that say you should not treat your partner like a coworker but I think you should. At least—treat them like the coworkers you like.

Good coworkers respect boundaries, communicate clearly, are gracious, and great a positive environment.

These are good habits and traits to extend to your partner while you both telework. Just because you live with and love that person doesn’t mean you should act too casual at home during work hours, especially if they have work to do and deadlines to meet.

Coordinate Conference Calls & Learn to Use Mute Button on Your Phone

This was one of the hardest lessons for me! My husband has a pretty deep voice that I can ignore. My coworkers cannot. We would both be on separate calls and someone would inevitably say “….someone needs to mute their phone. “ That someone was always me. In fact, once my coworker texted me while everyone was on a staff call and said “We all know what your husband sounds like". So lesson: use the mute button.

We also both can’t be on conference calls at the same time in the same space. So whoever has the earlier call, gets to take the call in the office. The other person has to take their call somewhere else.

Use headphones

I am a speakerphone person. That doesn’t work when you’re sharing a space. Basic headphones with a mic do the trick.

Don’t expect them to work like you

My husband and I have different rhythms. He is a “no coffee, no talkie” type of person. I used to get offended like “helllooo I am talking to you!” I had to learn that it wasn’t personal and to move on. Learning to respect these differences will keep disagreements to a minimum.

Try to take breaks together during the work day where you do not talk about work

We’ve found that we tend to take less breaks working from home. I think everyone wants to prove to their boss that they are working hard at home. The breaks you would take at work just don’t happen at home. To combat this telework fatigue we try to eat lunch with each other a couple times a week. Sometimes when our schedules align and the weather is nice we take midday walks together to get some fresh air. It’s a nice way to bond.

…and lastly Communicate! Communicate! Communicate!