Both of us working from home

[AFluffyCat]

DH has got a new job which he will start in a month. It is a WFH job. I also WFH as I am completely self employed.

He has never WFH before and I am a little apprehensive about us being in the same space all the time. Looking for advice from people who also WFH with their partner?

We currently don’t have an office. I switch between working from downstairs and upstairs, depending on my mood. I know this will probably have to change now. We have a dressing room, a bedroom and downstairs. Our downstairs is open plan though so no doors. We have a dining table down here.

DH will receive quite a large amount of equipment from his company to work with so I imagine he will be better set up at the dining table. His job role will be completely inflexible whereas I have complete flexibility. I’m wondering if I’ll start to resent him being in what I class as my space all day and if he’ll resent how much flexibility I have.

If you and your partner both WFH do you completely avoid each other all day? I really don’t want to start getting sick of each other. I like missing him in the day and seeing him come home from work.

We’re hoping to move house in the summer to somewhere bigger, so hopefully will have a separate working space each but for now we will have to cope.

We have 2-3 days per week when we're both WFH, obviously a few years ago it was a lot more.

First, if he has a lot of equipment and no flexibility absolutely do not let him commandeer any common spaces. In your situation ideally I'd turn the dressing room into an office, especially if it's just for the short term. You need to be able to have lunch, grab a cuppa, have a day off or a few hours out, deal with kids on holidays etc (if you have them).

For DH and me, we often don't have overlapping breaks etc - I'll grab lunch when he's in a meeting, or whatever. Sometimes we'll both have a bit of time and nip out for a quick lunch together or a walk at lunchtime which is really nice.

We both work from home sometimes. and I’m also PT. I would not be happy if he was set up at the dining table, especially if you’re Open Plan. It means that if he’s in Teams or a call you’ll feel awkward if you want to make lunch or put the waking machine on.

I think setting him up in a designated room upstairs sounds like the best option

We have a home office so one of us works there & one at the dining table. Generally we avoid each other apart from periodic asking each other if you want tea/coffee

I’ll be honest it is a bit annoying, not because we get in each others way but just because we’re both there all the time

We have a couple of days a week where we overlap at home. It only works because DH has a study that he can lock himself away in and I have a study area set up in our bedroom. We both have a lot of calls and Teams meetings so couldn’t be in the same space. There are a couple of times recently when one of us has had to work in our communal living area recently and it’s driven me mad.

If he has so much stuff then I’d put him away rather than hug a dining room table which presumably gets used.

We do, I hybrid, DH wfh since 2012 full time.

We already had his office set up, high in the loft so he is not disturbed from day-to-day noise.
When I started, I worked in the dining room, chaos, daily set up and take down to use the table, when DD was on school holiday or after school she had nowhere to eat (tiny galley kitchen), so we converted DH's bedroom (we sleep seperate) into a combo as he has a smaller bed than I, I have a tiny corner desk with my set-up there now.

We otherwise don't interact a lot, we don't have lunch together, we may chat if there is anything which needs to be done immediately, the same stuff we would normally use the phone/WhatsApp for.

He is more flexible than I but that's not new so I just go on with my work and enjoy the quite late afternoon while he is still on calls with the US.

We have 2 offices as we both fully wfh. We could not cope without this set up as we can work without interruptions and take calls without bothering each other. We do coffee at 10 if we can or we bring each other a coffee and lunch at 12:30. Other than that we see very little of each other.

Make sure you both have your own space and do your own things too or it could end up being very stifling (speaking from experience, I made DH go back to the office again as he was always at home)

DH and I both WFH, full time. We've managed for 5yrs, and this included 2yrs living in a caravan when renovating!

It depends on the roles, how well it can/can't work together. If either of you are speaking to clients/need confidentiality, then you'll need separate spaces. If someone is presenting/on lots of calls, again, separate spaces. If you are just working on your own things a not on calls and shared space could work- even if for just part of the day.

When he accepted the role- where did DH think he'd be working from? Could you fit a desk in the corner of your bedroom and put him there? Longer term, do you have a garage you could convert? Could you afford a garden room?

DH WFH near enough full time so he is set up with the desk in the dining room. I WFH usually once a week. I tried setting up in the dining room too when I had a week of online training but it didn’t work. DH has to answer the phone and I had to talk on Teams so we were ‘competing’. My job is more confidential than his but he WFH most.

I usually end up working in the lounge or our bedroom. Neither are great but hopefully I’ll have a better spot when we move.

In your situation, I would put DH in a static place and give yourself an equally good spot to WFH.