To ask those who WFH with a partner who also WFH if you have separate offices/spaces?

[HairyHocks]

DH and I have both been WFH for the last year and it's not obvious when either of us will be back in the office.

I've always had my own office in the past, and have struggled not being able to talk to myself, wander about when on the phone, and even just be quiet/still to think.

DH has always been in open plan offices and enjoys the company. He genuinely can't comprehend that I'd like my own space, and he takes it a bit personally.

We have a room that could be turned into a second study without it being a great loss.

Out of interest, how common is it to work in separate rooms?

YABU - partner and I work in the same room without wanting to work separately

YANBU - partner and I work in different rooms of the house (or absolutely would work in a separate room if one was available).

We are now both back in the office a bit (thank goodness). But have spent several months with me in the spare room and him in the dining room. We couldn't share because of the nature of the work.

@LizzieSiddal

In essence it is gross misconduct for anyone to have access to what you are doing if they aren't a co employee. I'd make sure your firms are aware of your working practices.

Not if the company hasn’t specifically told their employees not to share rooms. And if there are no separate suitable places, are employees going to provide extra money to allow them to move house?

Has the employee told the firm they are working in a shared space? There should have been a data protection risk assessment. If there are no suitable places in their home the answer is that they cannot work from home and should be back in the office.

At this stage I would be wary as the employee of making assumptions that the firm are ok with it. Legally they are on very dodgy ground.

OP, we had to move into a bigger rental since it was IMPOSSIBLE working in the same room, with a toddler in the house.. DH literally works through the day and (most of) night and life feels saner now that he has his own office. I got an office table and use the living room corner for my calls and appointments..

Yep two separate spaces thank god! If I had to work in the same room as him he would have been under the patio by April 2020. He is so goddam loud!!

We both have quite sensitive roles so confidentiality is an issue too.

He has a small corner office in the kitchen and is now only wfh a couple of days a week whereas I have a setup in the corner of the living room and wfh full time.

DH and I share a room... it works fine. We sit back to back... both usually listening to our own music or podcasts on headphones.
We work in similar industries. Both companies are aware we are in the same space..... I mean what difference does it make.... during the last lock down I wasn't working but DH was... he could still tell me/ show me stuff, I could still possibly over hear phone calls.

Has the employee told the firm they are working in a shared space? There should have been a data protection risk assessment. If there are no suitable places in their home the answer is that they cannot work from home and should be back in the office.

I can understand there will be jobs where data protection is paramount. Similarly there will be jobs where it is not an issue and sharing an office space at home will be absolutely fine.

We both WFH and have an office each
NFW could we work in the same room

What’s so irritating is that, had we known, we would have set the house up completely differently. And actually probably wouldn’t be living here, bought specifically for London access which we haven’t needed and looks like we won’t be needing in the same way ever again

Agreed. And whilst we’re all grateful to have jobs etc, it’s pretty galling to find that the house you’re working to pay for now has to accommodate two office spaces, meaning in our house, we now have one desk in the kitchen and the other in the living room. We can’t get away from work (multiple screens each, left out, not just a laptop to pop away at the end of the day). Every aspect of downstairs living is compromised and it’s worse when the kids come home from school (no after school club again as yet). We could move to somewhere bigger, but then we’d have to work even harder to pay for desk space for our employers 🙄 No chance of being back in the office for either of us. I feel like our home has been sullied!

I would strongly advise anyone still working from home first thing tomorrow checks that they are complying with their companies policy on data protection and home working.

If you are self employed make sure you are complying with client data confidentiality laws.

It sounds like a lot of people on here may be working in breach of contract / rules and regs and potentially leaving themselves very exposed legally.

An example of simple steps to take while you await a response from your HR / legal department

ico.org.uk/for-organisations/working-from-home/how-do-i-work-from-home-securely/

He works on his laptop using WiFi in lounge, often with snooker on.

I work on desktop using Ethernet & big screen in spare-ish bedroom. We both work quietly, but I couldn't concentrate with radio or snooker noise.

It would never even have occurred to me to work in the same room as DH - I'm in the corner of our bedroom using a bookcase as a makeshift desk! Partly we're both on calls all day (and we work for rival firms) but I also like to be able to do my own thing. We barely even see each other during the day - we just text each other to confirm who is picking DS up from nursery.

Fgs, there is nothing illegal about being in the same room as your husband while working for different companies!

That article is about good HR practice, not the law.

Data protection rules apply wherever you work re sharing data etc.

@Workingfromhomeishell that’s bullshit, stop scaremongering

I’d honestly throw myself out a window if I had to work in the same room as my husband. No thank you!

@LizzieSiddal

Has the employee told the firm they are working in a shared space? There should have been a data protection risk assessment. If there are no suitable places in their home the answer is that they cannot work from home and should be back in the office.

I can understand there will be jobs where data protection is paramount. Similarly there will be jobs where it is not an issue and sharing an office space at home will be absolutely fine.

All data is governed by data protection rules, regardless of whether an employee feels it is particularly confidential or not.

I would recommend that however you feel about the nature of your job you still ensure you are working within your company policy and your HR and legal teams are aware of your set up.

Don't make assumptions.

“Leaving themselves exposed legally” is rubbish

[quote Workingfromhomeishell]I would strongly advise anyone still working from home first thing tomorrow checks that they are complying with their companies policy on data protection and home working.

If you are self employed make sure you are complying with client data confidentiality laws.

It sounds like a lot of people on here may be working in breach of contract / rules and regs and potentially leaving themselves very exposed legally.

An example of simple steps to take while you await a response from your HR / legal department

ico.org.uk/for-organisations/working-from-home/how-do-i-work-from-home-securely/[/quote]
Melodramatic much?

Anyone who is subject to rules about this will already know. For the vast majority of people working in the same room as someone else is absolutely fine.

I agree that data protection applies wherever you work

But implying that everyone who WFH needs to get onto their HR or legal departments right now is completely over the top

[quote waterandlemonjuice]@Workingfromhomeishell that’s bullshit, stop scaremongering[/quote]
I'm afraid it's not BS.

Again, I would advise people to check they are complying with their companies and general data protection rules and regs rather than just making assumptions that no one minds about their husband etc.

[quote Workingfromhomeishell]I would strongly advise anyone still working from home first thing tomorrow checks that they are complying with their companies policy on data protection and home working.

If you are self employed make sure you are complying with client data confidentiality laws.

It sounds like a lot of people on here may be working in breach of contract / rules and regs and potentially leaving themselves very exposed legally.

An example of simple steps to take while you await a response from your HR / legal department

ico.org.uk/for-organisations/working-from-home/how-do-i-work-from-home-securely/[/quote]
That link even says that you may be sharing your home office space with another person!

I work in the attic conversion, it's been set up as an office /guest room for a couple of years. DH works at the kitchen table/wanders round the garden on the phone. No way we'd share a workspace.

@UrAWizHarry - I agree with you

[quote Workingfromhomeishell]I would strongly advise anyone still working from home first thing tomorrow checks that they are complying with their companies policy on data protection and home working.

If you are self employed make sure you are complying with client data confidentiality laws.

It sounds like a lot of people on here may be working in breach of contract / rules and regs and potentially leaving themselves very exposed legally.

An example of simple steps to take while you await a response from your HR / legal department

ico.org.uk/for-organisations/working-from-home/how-do-i-work-from-home-securely/[/quote]
You should be doing ALL of that in an office too. Please tell me you aren't one of those who even in an office walks away from their computer leaving it unlocked? You aren't safe just because it's an office building you know. Security still applies, sense still applies and being in a different building won't stop a ransomware attack.

OP, it’s not your job to make an ambient workplace for your husband, or to make your own work and wellbeing suffer by tolerating a shared working space.

He is choosing to get offended rather than consider your own need for a quiet and personal space.

We do a mix - we work in the same room but if DH is in a meeting, he'll usually move to the living room. I'm working from a desktop so I'm not as mobile! Probably 90% of the time that we're working in the same room we'll both have headphones in listening to something - I answer a lot of calls so I find that easier for picking them up, and we both find it easier to concentrate. We have lunch together and a tea break in the morning, so it's not like we're entirely unsociable!