Hear Susan Wise on 101.5 LITE FM and LiteMiami.com weekdays 5:00-10:00 a.m. ET
  • E-Mail Susan

  • Wednesday, August 1, 2007

    Do you have a work spouse?

    Sometimes I call Jeff Martin my work husband.


    With a work spouse, you know each other's favorite food; gripe about co-workers; confide about personal issues; and support each other during good and bad times. The main difference? There's no canoodling.

    With a 9-to-5 marriage, a "couple" gets support without the hassle of a romantic entanglement. After all, with the amount of time we spend at work it's not unusual to become close--if not intimate--with our colleagues.The term office spouse has become so prevalent it made its way into a poll last year on attitudes in the American workplace. Of 750 respondents, 17% said yes, they had a workplace spouse, according to the Harris Interactive poll. Marital status didn't seem to matter. Singles and married folks reported to having an office spouse at the same rate. Plus, research shows having close ties at work is good for employees and the employer.

    Hey Jeff, you have something in your teeth...while you're up can you grab me a coffee and pick up my dry cleaning tomorrow morning and ......

    3 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    This is sooo true. I am a single woman and I do have a work spouse. We even argue sometimes like we've been married for years :-)

    Susan Wise said...

    But they can be really supportive at times too. I've heard of married people with work spouses too.

    Anonymous said...

    Frankly, I feel more like a slave especially when you make me fetch your morning coffee and wash and wax your car every Wednesday.

    Let's see if Bryan schleps you your coffee when I am on vacation the next few days.

    What the heck is a wildebeest?
    :-)