From the Desk of Janet Barclay

I haven’t made an official announcement here on my blog, but over the last few months my husband Scott has been working with me at Organized Assistant. It’s a perfect fit for him, since he has Microsoft Office Specialist certification in five programs and is naturally organized.

Most people, when I tell them the news, think it’s a wonderful set-up, but others express concern, saying that they could never work with their spouses. The thing is, Scott and I actually met in the workplace and worked together at another organization for several years, so we’re well aware of the potential problems – and the benefits.

We’re not prone to arguing, which seems to be what most people are worried about. Maybe because we’re so close, we’re more apt to say what’s on our minds if we’re annoyed or upset about something than we would with others. Then it’s out in the open and we can move on, instead of keeping negative feelings bottled up inside, leading to more serious problems. One of the things I really like about working with Scott is that we know about and are interested in each others’ work, so we don’t have to be polite and pretend we can relate to certain issues that we really don’t understand.

I’ve done a little research on the subject, and it seems that the majority of experts agree that any potential drawbacks are outweighed by the advantages. For example, in her article Marriage Advice From Couples Who Work Together, Beth Levine talks about being able to spend more time together, sharing a passion, and being aware of each others’ strengths and weaknesses. In The Rules of Engagement, Fast Company’s Linda Tischler credits a woman who works with her spouse with saying "Knowing your best interest is in the forefront of every decision being made without you is really comforting." And in Working couples in small business, Philip M. van Auken indicates that working together may enhance a couple’s sense of intimacy. I’m not disputing that there are challenges, and each of the articles mentioned suggests strategies to deal with those.

Knowing that we are not alone in this, I set up a Facebook group for Couples Who Work Together and was amazed to discover that nearly 10% of the people in my existing network work with their spouse, girlfriend, or boyfriend, in either a traditional workplace or home-based business. If you’re in this situation, I hope you’ll join the group – we would love to hear about your experiences! Of course, you are always welcome to post your comments here on the blog.