The work wife work husband trend is lame and the fact that it’s normalised is even lamer.

[joseline]

I am not married but I am around lots of married people at my current job and I’ve been around lots of married people at my last jobs.

those married people are always touchy feely and way too friendly with their coworkers.

it’s specially common with married women. Married women being all sweet and sappy with their male coworkers and even go on coffee dates.

me on the other end, I don’t know for sure but people could possibly describe me as the work place bitch. I don’t talk to anyone and when I do, I only talk about the tasks at hand and don’t interact with coworkers (specially men) outside of brief good mornings and have a good evening take care.

I am not rude to anyone but I am not friendly at all.

when did having a work wife or work husband normalised ?

This. I am a woman and my work wife is a woman! We often make each other lunch/breakfast

The work wife / work husband thing is cringe, but I disagree with pretty much everything else you've said. I spend 8 hours a day at work, it's much more enjoyable if I'm friendly with the people I work with.

Aside from 2 of my best friends who I've known since school, pretty much every other friend I have (both male and female) is someone I or DP met at work.

Being 'not friendly at all' by your own admission is the thing that's really lame.

Are your colleagues not just work friends? You don't seem to understand the value or concept of work friendships.

That doesn't mean you get to call married women 'sweet and sappy' because they are friends with opposite sex.

Sexist load of bollocks.

Firstly, their marital status is none of your business. Secondly, if you don't want to be friends with anyone why do you care what they do?

It would be so boring not to be friendly with coworkers. My days pass by so much more cheerfully when I can have a chat with workmates, play cards on our coffee break, help each other out with tasks, that kind of thing. The young people at work even invited me to their workmates 'friend evening'

Work wife/husband sounds a bit grim but I've never seen it in real life, just people being friends regardless of sex.

My work place have put a stop to this we also have a no physical contact policy there were new laws brought in a while ago about work place harassment don’t get me wrong in our own offices so in my office there are 5 of us male and female and we are friends and we do have a laugh we need it to get through the day but we certainly don’t have the flirting behaviour I find it very childish if I’m honest and disrespectful to your actual Partner/wife/husband

Wow, I bet you're an absolute delight to work with....
While I agree the term "work wife/husband" is silly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being friendly with your work colleagues. I enjoy my days at work because we all get on really well, we have a bit of a laugh, and if someone is having a hard time, we help out if we can. I spend 40 hours a week with these people, if we weren't friendly, it would be awful.

I had a 'work husband' a few years back but with none of the touchy feely stuff you talk about.

Just. Very close friend (we are still mates 25 years later and socialise with him and his wife too) .

It's was a life saver having someone who went though the same work shit as me. I was really respectful of his wife at all times. We drove to and from the office in his car (with others as well). We had breakfast lunch and dinner together when we worked away. I was at pains to be open with his wife about our relationship so that she had full transparency.

There was never anything sexual or inappropriate though and if I'd had a whiff that he fancied me I would have immediately distanced myself. I heard that a few of the work blokes
Joked that we were having an affair - but then they were the types to frequent strip clubs when working away. So
I took no notice as they loved their lives in a totally immoral and disgusting way as far as I was concerned.

I think that anti no work wise that blurs boundaries in a flirty/sexual way is suspect and to be avoided.

I would never use the term “work husband” but if I reflect on my career so far, I have warmed to some (young, male) co-workers more than others over the years. I like to think I’m not inappropriate nor that I make them uncomfortable in any way, but there’s definitely favouritism on my part. I think you just click with some people more than others, and as someone who feels young for my age, I really click with men in their early 20s.

Never taken it further than work friendship / happily tell DP about my latest ‘muse’ (not in a “mentionitis” sort of way).

These phrases have been around forever but certainly used to mean whoever was responsible for whipping your arse at work or organising you - and nothing flirty or lovey-dovey.

I've not been in a work relationship where people act the way you describe, although people have lots of friendships and of course go for coffee etc. with each other.

No physical contact? So you can't even give a workmate a hug if they're having a bad day? Sounds miserable

I'm going on holiday with two of my work colleagues next week. We are meeting up with someone we used to work with. I'm really looking forward to it as it was such fun the last time we did it.

Oh what nonsense! I'm on a senior leadership team and until recently they were all male except me! The whole "work spouse" thing is rather silly, but so is the idea that you can't be friendly with work colleagues of the opposite sex without it being problematic. I would never have had company at lunch or coffee breaks on leadership days, meetings etc if I'd taken that stance, and I'd have come across incredibly rude to a team I had to work very closely with, and I doubt I'd have lasted long in the job.

I am friendly with the majority of people I work with. I don't think it's a badge of honour to be unfriendly and stand-offish. The terms work husband/wife have been around for years, and don't signify a romantic relationship, and going for coffee with a colleague is not a date.

This is Mn, where not answering the door and not having friends because they involve 'drama' is a badge of honour.

I've only come across this once - I was new to the team and this pair were addressing each other as 'husband' and 'wife'. I thought they were actually married but luckily found out before I said anything to that effect.

How unutterably cringe.

Yes, I cringed when I thought they were a married couple, and cringed even more when I discovered they weren't 😆

Never heard of such a thing anywhere that I’ve worked (since 1979).

Sounds very odd.

I have friends outside work but also at work

i have heaps of friends from previous jobs too who I’ve stayed in touch with

id find it depressing to spend 40 hours a week in a place I have no friends to talk to, get lunch with, go for coffee!!

a group of us go to a spin class once a week and I go to the gym with a girl in work most lunch times

God, I'd hate to think I was known as the office bitch. You say that like is something you're proud of?

I noticed Valentine’s cards for work husband/work wife yesterday in the card shop in town!

I have lots of work male & female friends that I would call them now friends for life. We have changed jobs and we are still super close, we go on holidays altogether every year without our partners and kids, go for drinks etc They all of them came to my wedding and we also all mingle as couples. I am not sure what’s wrong with it and why not develop deeper relationships if you are married. I guess depends on your personality. I am super outgoing so it’s part of my life & gives me energy to constantly be around people and meet new people. Has life stopped for you since you got married?!

The only thing I abhor more than work wife / work husband is work mum. But agree that the rest of your post is somewhat extreme and take issue with the statement that 'married people are always touchy feely and way too friendly with their coworkers'. That's just objectively not true.

Agree with you that some behaviour really crosses the line. I am married myself for 13 years and I wouldn't be happy if my husband behaved that way nor he i. I know he has lots female friends in work which is fine but I would hope he keeps things respectful. I am friendly to everyone but people are my colleagues not my friends.

And this is why your single.