For some, it’s like an I Love Lucy re-run. “Lucy, I’m home. How was your day?” For couples that work together, it can be entirely different.
Some couples that work together talk business at home while others avoid it altogether.
It’s all about setting boundaries, which is healthy in any relationship. What the boundaries look like varies with each couple. There are a few questions you may want to ask yourself regarding your boundaries for bringing work into the home. Are you both comfortable with your arrangement? Are you constantly talking shop at home? Are you connecting with your significant other, not just your business partner? Does it affect your quality time or romance?
What if you actually have a home office that you both work from? One suggestion would be to try and create protected workspace that is separate from the rest of your home. If your floor plan doesn’t allow for a separate room, consider using an attractive room divider that creates a visual and actual separation of space.
A colleague shared with me that she and her husband talk business at home all the time. As a matter of fact, she boasted that their best brainstorming sessions took place in the shower together and that she wished there was such thing as a waterproof dry erase board to capture all of their ideas!
If it works for you, great, but be sure you’re not crossing any boundaries that you and your significant other have established. I’m all for creative thinking in the shower, but must admit that if my husband were joining me in the shower, the last thing I’d want to do is discuss our business! Soap anyone?
For me and my partner, we limit shop talk at home. Whenever we have work issues to cover from home we retreat to our home office. There is especially no business discussed at the dinner table, in the bedroom or bathroom. I personally look forward to spending time with my husband, not my business partner, at home. For us, we’re able to recharge as a couple and be more productive business partners together.
Others may not feel having a separation of roles is necessary. What works for you? I’d love to hear from you.