So you know how good your spouse is at their job?

[GroundAlmonds]

A bit dark but I was reading about the Air France Flight 447 Disaster. The Co-pilot who was at the controls had his wife on board. She was a teacher so probably didn’t know much about aviation but it suddenly dawned on me that she probably felt extra safe with her DH flying. Like you do.

How accurately can you judge how good your OH is at their job?

DH does a completely different job role to me, albeit in the same industry. I don’t understand how his job is done. I couldn’t do it in a million years. It’s creative & technical. People say he is good at it so I assume they’re right but I don’t actually know that myself.

How about you?

[peaceanddove]

DH is the most intelligent, resourceful person I have ever met. He has only ever worked for himself and started his first successful business while still at university. He has been a genuine entrepreneur all his adult life and is incredibly competent at what he does. He is always pushing himself, learning new knowledge and skills, he always has a pile of text books on his bedside table and he reads them all. Just over a year ago he took on another small, fledgling business and revolutionised it, making it incredibly successful in just a few months. He adapted it to fill a niche that no one else realised was so necessary or so lucrative and in doing so won a huge contract which means we will never have to think about money ever again, and he is looking at retiring at 52, in three years time.

So, yeah, he's good at what he does. But, he also works himself like a dog, where 80 hour weeks are the norm - and he's dragged himself to an important business meeting having badly broken his shoulder only 18 hours earlier. He is a force of nature.

Turns out DD is exactly like him. Has worked 2 part time jobs since she was 14. Trades on Depop and Vinted and earns between £600-£800 a month! She paid to take me to Paris in the summer for my 50th! She's house captain at her school, tutors Yr 10 & 11s in Maths and is now Finance Director for the school's Young Enterprise Scheme. She's also a gym bunny who is training for a half marathon on behalf of the Cancer Trust in memory of her Granny who passed away 3 years ago. She'll be an early applicant next year for Oxford, but actually thinks she will prefer LSE. She is a force of nature.

In contrast I'm a very bright, but very lazy underachiever

[Valmur]

I’ve met former students of DW’s who credit her with inspiring them to go to university.

Incidentally, it’s really lovely reading a thread where everyone is being so positive about their DPs!

[MumbleJunction]

DH work is beautiful

[GroundAlmonds]

Incidentally, it’s really lovely reading a thread where everyone is being so positive about their DPs!

Isn’t it? The perfect counterbalance to the relationship board (and my depressing plane crash article).

[LionLily]

My dh is in the top 5 in the country at doing his thing. People refer to his thing as a 'Lionlily Dh' rather than what it actually is. People come from abroad to have him do his thing to their existing thing.

Unfortunately this doesn't translate to huge riches as it is so intricate and labour intensive he can only do about 6 a year although each one costs plenty. Also he's an absolute perfectionist so if he's not satisfied he just does it again. He won't employ someone to do what he does as they aren't skilled enough and the customers expect his handiwork. I have spent nearly 40 years trying to change his mindset...it ain't gonna happen.

However, he decided at 13 that he was going to do his thing and just went about establishing himself to do so, and he's the only person I know that after 40 years still loves the same job, gotta admire that.

[SunbeamShadow]

My husband's job results in something physical to look at so you can tell simply by looking at it. His work comes through recommendations, so if he wasn't any good I guess he wouldn't get any work (he's been doing it for 20 years too, so it would most definitely have been pointed out before if it was no good).

[Prokupatuscrakedatus]

He is exceptional at what he does - and that is not only my opinion. He's top in his field of work.
On the other hand he holds everybody to the same standards of quality and work ethics. So is not always easy to live with.

[emilyfrost]

Yes, because we work together doing the same job He is great at it, really great at it. Puts his all in everyday.

[GroundAlmonds]

My dh is in the top 5 in the country at doing his thing. People refer to his thing as a 'Lionlily Dh' rather than what it actually is. People come from abroad to have him do his thing to their existing thing.

😂

[Sexnotgender]

DH is very good at his job. He does a role within a community and they absolutely love him.

incidentally his brother is a pilot so can’t say him being the one flying would bring me great comfort 😂

[Yourpartjewishfriend]

My DH is an airline pilot, he has successfully landed hundreds of the things so I think he's good at it!

[helloxhristmas]

I don't think mine has a clue what my role entails day to day.

[Avelandra]

DP is a self employed builder, he builds houses completely from scratch. He has a waiting list of 4 years of people wanting to build their house as he’s so good at it. They are beautiful and he quite literally hand builds them brick by brick

[Trailing1]

Dh is in academia, working from home at the moment, seems like he does a good job, however all I know for sure from walking in and out of his office overhearing their Zoom meetings is that these people love to talk A LOT!!!! Its headache inducing.

[Echobelly]

DH is.... uh, variable.

He's technically brilliant, I think - but he's quite marmite and can be great with people or clash with them terribly. He mostly works freelance these days - he's had some contracts crash and burn and been fired/not made probation from some permanent roles, yet in those same roles had other people say he's the best person in that role they've ever worked with and in general had plenty of people happily offer to write him glowing recommendations LinkedIn, and he's now got a few people who have called him up and asked him to join a project with him. He's working on his own product in the hope he can just be his own boss and have some continuity!

I felt worried about it and like he was maybe in the wrong field, but I had a conversation with a friend who manages roles like his and just says they do easily go wrong if the balance of personalities isn't exactly right and that she fires people all the time and it's not unusual in the field.

But it would be good if he can get his own thing going so personality clashes are less of an issue!

[Randominternetbitch]

Promotions, awards and pay rises aren’t always about competence, sometimes they’re about how good you are at convincing others of how good you are, who you know and whether you’re well liked by the right people.

DH is in a completely different industry to me and in my opinion, far too good for his job. He works extremely hard, is honest and kind and does the right thing, every time, at times to his own detriment. He’s been with the same company 20+ years and worked his way up to a fairly senior level. Others have come and gone further in that time by virtue of being able to talk the talk. When shit hits the fan though, DH is often the one left picking up the pieces. He’s seen as a safe pair of hands. He should be earning more and be at board level with his experience but he refuses to play politics to get there and won’t leave out of loyalty to the company and his staff. Sigh...

[MarshaBradyo]

I think he is plus we met at work and you could tell who was considered good. Now he is in the top role in his section of company so I guess that’s a sign. Has been at same place for years, part of ownership etc plus what people say.

However my safety in no way depends on it!

[TheFlis12345]

I used to be DH’s boss so yeah, I can safely say he is very good at his job!

[weebarra]

DH is very well thought of in his industry. He's never been out of work since he graduated in 2000, and this is an industry which suffered hugely in the financial crash of 2008. He now works in a smaller version of his old work and was headhunted to work there. Strangely, one of his workmates at each company has always been the same guy from his uni course.
He also examines others in their professional competence.
We're in completely different industries. I wonder what he thinks of me!

[PalindromicUser]

I know my DH is excellent at some parts of his job and absolutely crap at some other boring but necessary parts. He’s very well regarded by his clients and colleagues and I have seen him “in action” so I know it’s true. I also know his PA would like to wring his neck sometimes

[Chamberlai]

Lolling at all the loyal wifies on this thread.

If you really want to know what your husbands are like at work - ask their female colleagues.

I've worked with sooo many over-promoted, over-paid men over the years. Getting bonuses and awards just means they're full of shit, normally.

[HerRoyalNotness]

He recently cracked a grade promotion which is notoriously hard to do as it leads to large bonuses based on performance. And right no the fact he has a job and in spite of thousands in our industry being laid off they found a way to eek out a few more months work for him, offered to put him on part time overhead and eventually found him a position in another division.

If he put as much effort into family life as his job we’d be well chuffed.

[MillieEpple]

This is tongue in cheek. My husband does long stints abroad. Everytime he leaves the uk our gdp figures for that period drop and the figures for the country he is in rise.
Its quite clearly him.

[MarshaBradyo]

If you really want to know what your husbands are like at work - ask their female colleagues.

I was a female colleague he was fine. It’s not a sexist place though the owner is female which probably helps.

[LaurieFairyCake]

Yes! My Dh is the best in the country (results wise at GCSE) for 3 subjects - different one every year