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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

DH working from home ALL the time; feeling absolutely drained by him

531 replies

Gotitthanks · 15/07/2026 16:25

That sounds horrible but hear me out. DH is disabled. It’s fairly recent and we’re all still adjusting I dare say.

Work has adjusted to him working from home permanently. Because of his disability he has to sit in a specially adapted chair. There’s no room for it in any of the bedrooms upstairs so he’s in the lounge.

Since he’s sleeping badly at night he is working when he can. He was working until 8 o clock last night. We have young children and I am sick to death of having a husband who is there in all but name.

I know there’s no easy answers. I’m just sharing because it’s so difficult to talk about in RL without sounding an arse but truth is I’m sick of the sight of him!

OP posts:
Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 09:11

IcedCoffee26 · 16/07/2026 22:24

If you think he will regain some mobility once he gets in a treatment plan that is great. This is what happened to me. I was basically paralysed for over a month. Then I got started on medication and was very lucky that it worked quickly and I started to be able to move again.

Like your husband, my condition is painful, disturbs sleep and causes immobility and stiffness if not controlled by medication. In the period between diagnosis and starting medication, the terror of it not working, the sheer effort to do things that everyone else takes for granted, and the horror of feeling like you might "become useless" or "become a burden" is horrendous. Throwing yourself into work so you are NOT useless is normal and as I said before better than taking to your bed and ending up with depression. Some of the "consider leaving him" posts on this thread confirm the sociopathic nature of some people that they would suggest that a few weeks after your life being turned upside down, at the moment when you most need support, that you should be cast aside. And they confirm the fear of many disabled people - that people promise to stick by you if you get sick but when it actually happens, they don't.

Cut your husband some slack. Take the children to the park. Ask to set a time for a chat about how best to organise everything moving forward to make it as comfortable as possible for everyone.

And I'm afraid that to those who had an issue with me pointing out the key difference between being a single parent and the OPs situation, I stand by it. He is working full time and providing a full time income to the family. She is working part time and parenting without having as much help as she used to have. If she was a single parent - she would be doing everything for the children and would need a full time job and probably a second job to be able to pay for the childcare to be able to go to the main job. Guess how I know. So it IS different, very different and to suggest otherwise is a)nonsense and b) unhelpful. Her husband is there. He is working. He is contributing. And he needs support. Maybe OP does too, that's fair. Talk to friends, get a therapist, blow off steam there is fair enough. But you are not alone. Your husband has not ceased to exist because he is disabled.

Edited

I don’t know. There’s too much uncertainty.

take the children to the park great. From what time, every day, to what time every evening? Are we allowed home to eat or do I have to take our breakfast, lunch and dinner to the park as well?

This is exactly what’s so miserable; not being able to be home is the pits.

OP posts:
Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 09:13

And @ThreadGuardDog that is not entirely accurate either. The pain has been hovering in the background for a year or so but has been crippling / unable to do normal activities since about May. Not that it matters but it didn’t suddenly come on in May.

I am not leaving DH, but I I am in a difficult position here.

OP posts:
Hohumbrumbrum · 17/07/2026 09:14

Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 09:11

I don’t know. There’s too much uncertainty.

take the children to the park great. From what time, every day, to what time every evening? Are we allowed home to eat or do I have to take our breakfast, lunch and dinner to the park as well?

This is exactly what’s so miserable; not being able to be home is the pits.

Why do you need to go out all the time? They're have been about a dozen practical suggestions mage to balance him working from home and the rest of the family.

AnNonnyMouse3 · 17/07/2026 09:17

OT here 🙋🏼‍♀️.

How is he currently mobilising around the house? How does he manage stairs up/down to bedroom & loo? Does he use a walking aid I assume?

Given he can mobilise around the inside of the home & tackle stairs, he should be able to mobilise across garden to his garden office. If uneven ground is the issue - get a landscaper or gardener to level/pave the path. If navigating any garden steps in more of an issue than navigating the indoor stairs then put a simple hand rail up.

If the threshold to the garden is a problem (some back doors / French windows have a raised threshold) you can get small ramps or wedges to make the threshold accessible.

You say he needs to be in the house to access his meds? But meds are portable. The routine should be: DH instead of mobilising down straits and into the lounge to work he mobilises downstairs and into his accessible home office to work. He takes his dosette box with him (a little box of his daily pills) in a small rucksack, along with nice flask of coffee, some snacks, and a book for any breaks. He does his work then mobilises back indoors.

ScaredButUnavoidable · 17/07/2026 09:23

Hohumbrumbrum · 17/07/2026 09:14

Why do you need to go out all the time? They're have been about a dozen practical suggestions mage to balance him working from home and the rest of the family.

Because as OP has said, her DH is plonked in the middle of the communal living room working ALL the time, sometimes up to 8pm.

She has two young children (both under 3 I think), how is she supposed to care for them properly and play with them in that situation?

Are they supposed to just live their lives spending their time between the park, the garden and their bedrooms if it’s raining outside? Children that age need time at home to relax, as does OP, ideally in the living room!

itsallcheese · 17/07/2026 09:25

Can your children share a bedroom and make one an office?

Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 09:28

Quite @ScaredButUnavoidable 🤦🏼‍♀️

@AnNonnyMouse3 please can we stop pushing the fucking garden office?

It is a big garden and to get to it he’d have to walk through the house, up some steps, across stones, down a narrow path, into the garden office which is filled with bikes, old toys, general junk and who is going to clear that out, clue not DH. Then when you’ve mastered those obstacles and got DHs special chair through the house and up the garden and into the garden office DH has to hobble BACK to the house when he needs the toilet etc.

And it also further isolates him from us. He is undoubtedly in the worst position here but it isn’t fun for anybody.

OP posts:
AnNonnyMouse3 · 17/07/2026 09:28

itsallcheese · 17/07/2026 09:25

Can your children share a bedroom and make one an office?

But they already have a ground floor office and ground floor loo. And a job that DH has been able to remain in, WFH rather than losing his job. I’m an OT and have put in some practical suggestions to enable DH to easily WFH in his purpose built ground floor garden office, with full access to work area, special chair in situ, meds, and loo.

All this talk of their DC’s having to share a room or OP feeling she needs to go out all day are bonkers knee-jerk overreactions, IMHO

Hohumbrumbrum · 17/07/2026 09:29

ScaredButUnavoidable · 17/07/2026 09:23

Because as OP has said, her DH is plonked in the middle of the communal living room working ALL the time, sometimes up to 8pm.

She has two young children (both under 3 I think), how is she supposed to care for them properly and play with them in that situation?

Are they supposed to just live their lives spending their time between the park, the garden and their bedrooms if it’s raining outside? Children that age need time at home to relax, as does OP, ideally in the living room!

Yes, lots of us WFH with kids around (and sometimes in the lounge). There are lots of options here:

  • them agreeing hours for him to work in the lounge
  • turning the garden room into a lounge/play area, works for the next couple of months anyway
-moving bedroom furniture so there's to room for him to work in the bedroom
  • moving the toddler temporarily into either parents room or siblings room
  • adapt the garden path so he can work in the garden room
  • just getting on with family life around him, no being quiet because he's working etc.

Here are a few that have been suggested. There are many others

Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 09:31

itsallcheese · 17/07/2026 09:25

Can your children share a bedroom and make one an office?

We have an office downstairs. They don’t need to share a bedroom. The reason he isn’t in the office is because he’s on a particular chair.

It isn’t just about him working. It’s hard to explain. There’s no line between work and home any more; the two are blurred since I suppose there is only one chair he can comfortably sit on and since it cost nearly £2000 we aren’t buying another one. So it’s in the lounge as that’s sensible. But it does mean he’s there all the time.

Others get it and others just don’t! I know that sounds like I’m being difficult which isn’t the intention but I do think some posters see it like a mathematical equation. Problem - DH wfh; solution, remove DH from the home. But it isn’t like that. It isn’t two pieces of information and needing a third; it’s multiple layers of emotion and complexity.

OP posts:
Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 09:32

It isn’t wfh with kids about though @Hohumbrumbrum , and if you don’t understand this you’re not understanding at all. Not even slightly.

OP posts:
Proteinpudding · 17/07/2026 09:34

AnNonnyMouse3 · 17/07/2026 09:28

But they already have a ground floor office and ground floor loo. And a job that DH has been able to remain in, WFH rather than losing his job. I’m an OT and have put in some practical suggestions to enable DH to easily WFH in his purpose built ground floor garden office, with full access to work area, special chair in situ, meds, and loo.

All this talk of their DC’s having to share a room or OP feeling she needs to go out all day are bonkers knee-jerk overreactions, IMHO

Surely as an OT you would know you can't give a plan for someone you don't know, to a house you've never been to.
The OP wrote ages ago that a) she's not looking for problem solving and b) that her husband needs to minimise his movement due to being in significant pain and c) the primary thing she is struggling with is feeling that he is withdrawing from her and the children.

parachutegirl · 17/07/2026 09:39

Gotitthanks · 15/07/2026 17:24

@Araminta1003 mybheart goes out to him but I can’t pretend it’s not massively affected me as well, I’m afraid. And selfish as it may sound please appreciate I’m spending every day running round after him; this is for me, my space.

Wouldn’t have thought so @Ooofbananas , although should be able to access PIP. We’ll know a bit more next month.

@Datafan55 yes we can resurface the path but he still has to walk on it. Making someone walk for whom walking is unbelievably painful kind of isn’t up there with the whole love and cherish thing. I know that sounds a bit terse but you know …

But he’s managing to walk upstairs for a rest throughout the day?

This sounds horrendous for you (I hated my own husband wfh all the time and he was sat in an upstairs office so I can only imagine what it’s like for you)

He really needs to be made aware of how much this is affecting you and your own MH, and be open to suggestions.

You said that the chair couldn’t fit upstairs - do you mean it wouldn’t go up the stairwell or it wouldn’t fit inside a room? If it’s the former is the window big enough in the upstairs room to fit the chair through if you get it removed? Plenty of people take windows out to get beds in and out.

parachutegirl · 17/07/2026 09:41

Apologies, didn’t see your last update about an office being downstairs.

Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 09:51

Thanks. Sorry for being snappy - it’s just some posters are really fixated on this being a wife slightly irritated by her husband working from home all the time (and this subject divides MN; some like their partners wfh and others do find it slightly invasive and oppressive and I am in the latter camp, but this really isn’t what this is about.)

To be honest it isn’t just about work. I understand why he’s continuing to work but when he’s sat there frowning at his laptop at 7 in the evening when ds is trying to talk to him it is not healthy for anybody. More generally though DH is just there, present all the time. He has a hospital appointment next week and may or may not need to stay over and I’m kind of hoping he does, awful as that may sound! That’s the other thing tricky to manage: lots of hospital appointments and no childcare isn’t a great combination either.

Our lives have massively changed and everyone is in a period of adjustment and while we adjust things aren’t going to be great I guess.

OP posts:
ThreadGuardDog · 17/07/2026 09:55

saraclara · 16/07/2026 23:19

Why do you keep turning this into a competition?
Being a single parent, and being a parent and carer for a recently disabled partner are not the sm comparable. You are comparing apples with oranges.

Actually there are some very good points in that post, and they come from experience. I asked OP upthread to provide some details that weren’t too outing for context - how long ago, whether it was an accident or the onset of disability, and if disability, is it permanent/degenerative. All of these things are crucial to know because they have an effect on how he will handle the psychological effects. An accident or illness having short term/temporary effects won’t be as hard to process as a permanent disability and if it’s degenerative that’s a huge mental load to process. OP ignored that post and the details I asked for are being drip fed in response to other posters.

What we know so far is that the symptoms of pain and discomfort started in May and the diagnosis came in June. I’m going to get flamed for this but we’re still only mid way through July, so exactly how long has this poor bloke had to come to terms with the changes in his life before OP is on the internet making it all about her ? Six weeks maybe ? If that.

We still don’t know if the changes are temporary or permanent, or whether he has a degenerative condition - not sure why OP is reluctant to share this information because it’s very relevant.

I was a disability support worker for over twenty years, and am significantly disabled myself, so this is not coming from nowhere - l have extensive experience of supporting newly disabled adults, and for someone to go from able bodied to disabled, in a such a short space of time, in pain and reliant on others can be utterly devastating. If he has something degenerative the impact on his mental health will be huge because there will be the added stress of knowing he will have to watch himself deteriorate and be ever more reliant on others.

If OP is just here sounding off to cope with the stress, that’s more than understandable, and she’s already indicated that she’s not leaving him, which is a huge commitment, so she and her kids need support themselves. But she appears to be floundering with the fact that her DH is not engaging on any level. What l’m saying is give him time. You can’t expect someone to bounce back and be ready to face new challenges and consider how their situation affects others. until they’ve come to terms with it themselves and six weeks is a drop in the ocean.

OP if you haven’t already, contact social services and ask for a carers assessment for yourself and a care provision assessment for your DH. That’s the starting point. From there you can ask for local authority OT to visit the house and assess what needs to be done. There’s some equipment you’ll get free and that can be helpful, but ultimately it sounds as though major changes are needed to improve things, and for that it’s a disabled facilities grant. Not sure if you have a stairlift, but if not there are private companies you can rent from. Lots of info on Google.

DFG is assessed on joint income and savings/capital and there is an AI online tool that can help you calculate how much help you’re likely to get - just google it - but from experience it’s very difficult to secure unless you’re in LA property or on means tested benefits, so when things settle a bit you may want to consider whether a move to something more suitable would be better than the cost and upheaval of adaptations. If DH is amenable I would also suggest looking at wheelchair use if walking is painful/difficult. It can help enormously with independence, but again, it takes time come to terms with the nee for it. Your GP can help with a referral to local NHS wheelchair services for an assessment.

OP l know this is so hard to come to terms with, but it’s very early days and your DH needs time to process what’s happening to him before he can appreciate the effect on everyone else. Maybe give him a bit of space and if things don’t improve, contact your GP to see if they can offer any help.

Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 09:59

@ThreadGuardDog i don’t find it helpful to be told to take the children to the park and that I’m not a single parent. If I was, I wouldn’t have to take them to the park.

OP posts:
ThreadGuardDog · 17/07/2026 10:13

Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 09:59

@ThreadGuardDog i don’t find it helpful to be told to take the children to the park and that I’m not a single parent. If I was, I wouldn’t have to take them to the park.

Where did l say any of that ?The poster l referred to was posting from experience and a lot of what they said made sense. AIBU is brutal and people will say what they think, so you have to be prepared for that. I think the poster had a point in that this isn’t quite the same as being a single mum, but you are also the main carer for your DH too, and that can be rough.

Can l ask, how much care you provide ? If it’s significant then both a care assessment for him and a carers assessment for you may be appropriate to try to lighten the load. Is this a permanent disability ? Is it likely to get worse ? If so, when things settle a bit, you need to look a bit to the future to be prepared, and that will be hard for all of you. It’s early days and the (very hard) trick is not to panic, but take things step by step and be open to suggestion.

AnNonnyMouse3 · 17/07/2026 10:14

Proteinpudding · 17/07/2026 09:34

Surely as an OT you would know you can't give a plan for someone you don't know, to a house you've never been to.
The OP wrote ages ago that a) she's not looking for problem solving and b) that her husband needs to minimise his movement due to being in significant pain and c) the primary thing she is struggling with is feeling that he is withdrawing from her and the children.

I was giving ideas and suggestions. Brain-storming. Working with the positives and suggesting some workarounds rather than seeing only the barriers. As were many other people on here.

I feel that would be more helpful than just going “yes it’s awful and will always be so”.

AnNonnyMouse3 · 17/07/2026 10:19

Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 09:28

Quite @ScaredButUnavoidable 🤦🏼‍♀️

@AnNonnyMouse3 please can we stop pushing the fucking garden office?

It is a big garden and to get to it he’d have to walk through the house, up some steps, across stones, down a narrow path, into the garden office which is filled with bikes, old toys, general junk and who is going to clear that out, clue not DH. Then when you’ve mastered those obstacles and got DHs special chair through the house and up the garden and into the garden office DH has to hobble BACK to the house when he needs the toilet etc.

And it also further isolates him from us. He is undoubtedly in the worst position here but it isn’t fun for anybody.

I’m sorry you felt so italicised and sweary about my helpful suggestions and tips as an OT. I felt that mentioning ways to make the home office assessable (such as levelling the path and sharing some advice such as handrails etc) was intended to be helpful

But as it’s clearly angered you to the point of swearing, I’ll bow-out now and be hiding this thread. I hope you find a solution for the problem you’re facing, with or without OT input.

Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 10:25

@ThreadGuardDog you described a post in which I was rebuked for saying I was like a single parent (It’s a simile people; if you say someone played you like a fiddle no instrument is involved) and told to go to the park as ‘helpful’ and I responded it was not a helpful post.

@AnNonnyMouse3 in all honesty while it will not always be awful it will never be what it was. Life has changed and the life we all had has gone forever and that does take a certain amount of adaptations which are more emotional than practical. DH does seem in slightly better spirits and that’s helpful, it was Tuesday when he was sat slack jawed at the laptop for hours and I wanted to push his head through it!

And I do get italicised and sweary, or as I’d put it, frustrated and irritable, when I’ve explained multiple times, double figures, that DH is not going into a garden office.

OP posts:
AnNonnyMouse3 · 17/07/2026 10:30

Gotitthanks · 17/07/2026 10:25

@ThreadGuardDog you described a post in which I was rebuked for saying I was like a single parent (It’s a simile people; if you say someone played you like a fiddle no instrument is involved) and told to go to the park as ‘helpful’ and I responded it was not a helpful post.

@AnNonnyMouse3 in all honesty while it will not always be awful it will never be what it was. Life has changed and the life we all had has gone forever and that does take a certain amount of adaptations which are more emotional than practical. DH does seem in slightly better spirits and that’s helpful, it was Tuesday when he was sat slack jawed at the laptop for hours and I wanted to push his head through it!

And I do get italicised and sweary, or as I’d put it, frustrated and irritable, when I’ve explained multiple times, double figures, that DH is not going into a garden office.

Yes. I understand about the big adjustment (although we’re still unclear what prognosis / timeline / adjustment we’re talking about here), having lived through similar with my ex-DH, and having worked for 20+ years with people with both long term physical and MH difficulties.
I am a MH Occupational Therapist of 20+ years, and help people adjust and adapt to big changes in their functioning, taking into account things like getting healthier routines and boundaries in place, improving sleep/wake cycles, activity levels, work reasonable adjustments etc. I am also a disabled worker myself.

I’m sorry you found my professional, OT, and personal suggestions frustrating. And I feel suitably snapped-at and sworn-at, for supportively suggesting grab rails, ramps and dosette boxes. It was good advice, which my profession would give to many people citing the challenges you’ve cited. It was borne out of wanting to help you get some edges in place and reclaim your living room and clearer demarcation between DH’s work and your family evenings.

I’m sorry I have frustrated you and pissed you off. I’ve had my fingers well and truly burned. I’m out. Carry on as you are.

Proteinpudding · 17/07/2026 10:31

AnNonnyMouse3 · 17/07/2026 10:30

Yes. I understand about the big adjustment (although we’re still unclear what prognosis / timeline / adjustment we’re talking about here), having lived through similar with my ex-DH, and having worked for 20+ years with people with both long term physical and MH difficulties.
I am a MH Occupational Therapist of 20+ years, and help people adjust and adapt to big changes in their functioning, taking into account things like getting healthier routines and boundaries in place, improving sleep/wake cycles, activity levels, work reasonable adjustments etc. I am also a disabled worker myself.

I’m sorry you found my professional, OT, and personal suggestions frustrating. And I feel suitably snapped-at and sworn-at, for supportively suggesting grab rails, ramps and dosette boxes. It was good advice, which my profession would give to many people citing the challenges you’ve cited. It was borne out of wanting to help you get some edges in place and reclaim your living room and clearer demarcation between DH’s work and your family evenings.

I’m sorry I have frustrated you and pissed you off. I’ve had my fingers well and truly burned. I’m out. Carry on as you are.

Edited

I hope you listen more to your clients in real life than you do to people on Mumsnet.

CRCGran · 17/07/2026 10:32

OP.... what is it you're actually looking for in this thread? You began by stating your total resentment of not only the situation but your husband too for being so detached. But any criticism of your husband by us is met with snappy retorts. Every single suggestion made, that's being made in genuine support and help, is shot down in flames. You bark at people saying you're essentially a single parent, yet it was you who said you felt like one. This chair you keep saying can't be put anywhere else at all in the house, especially a downstairs office..... why not? Is it really that huge it won't fit? Or is there another reason? I just don't know what it is you want. You keep saying you want understanding.... but most posters have given you that, but you are still jumping down everyone's throats. Sorry OP, but I have no idea what you want anyone to say. I have no idea how your poor kids are living in such apparent turmoil. And I've no idea why you're so resistant to everything that is suggested. I have previously stated that I get that your situation is extremely stressful, but I am now utterly confused.

UpDownAllAround1 · 17/07/2026 10:34

Maybe the only solution is selling and rebuying a work chair and into the office. Mobility scooters areN’t cheap and neither are specific work chairs for disabilities