Married and Colleagues? Our advice for managing your romantic relationship at work!

Nowadays, it’s common to hear about workplace romance and marriage between colleagues. This topic sparks important discussions and questions about the link between professional and romantic relationships, especially for couples who work in the same office.

This can be difficult to manage daily, but not impossible. Our experts have put together some advice to help you balance love and work while keeping the spark!

1. Draw a clear line between personal and professional life

One of the first problems couples who work together should consider is how their marriage impacts the workplace – and vice versa. Think about how your interactions at home might affect your interactions at work. Do you spend time at work dwelling on a fight from the night before? Or do you spend time at work planning your vacation with your spouse? Sure, this spillover effect happens in all relationships, but it’s particularly difficult to avoid when you can re-engage your spouse in a dispute about the garbage every time you see them.

2. Don’t bring work home

Many organizations have human resources regulations that attempt to avoid these negative effects in the workplace, but it’s equally important to avoid them at home. Just as you don’t want to spend your day angry because of a remark from your wife, you don’t want to come home upset by a meeting that keeps her up all night. Since there’s no special human resources department for these kinds of situations, it’s essential that couples find solutions on their own and set limits to deal with workplace stressors. When you get home, try to limit yourself to 30 minutes of work-related discussion and formally prohibit any conversation on this topic beyond that time.

3. Maintain a healthy workplace

Professional conflict resolution guidelines illustrate the effects romantic relationships can have on your colleagues and the workplace in general. Indeed, these considerations are a main reason why many workplaces explicitly prohibit relationships between employees. Even if you manage to balance your professional and personal lives, your colleagues may not see things the same way. They often suspect couples of receiving special treatment from their superiors, whether it’s a raise or a simple favor.

For these reasons, it’s essential that the spouses’ coworkers, particularly those in superior roles, follow the work specifications. Avoid conversations about your relationship and be proactive: be visible when you use professional guidelines at work. If you have to make a decision regarding your spouse’s raise or promotion, be sure to involve your colleagues to help you make the decision. This will not only help you maintain objectivity, but other colleagues will know (and let it be known) that you haven’t played favorites.

The ReKrute Team