Interesting article. I work very closely supporting a married couple who are both managers in the same corporation they own jointly. The lack of communication between the two of them completely astounds me. I have once, been dragged into a personal argument between the two of them, both via email and directly. I had to step in, unfortunately, and remind them that I had a right not to work in a hostile environment, and to please be professional within the workplace. It is certainly, a greater challenge being their employee than it is working in the same position with managers who are not married.

Comment 1 of 6

Working together can certainly be a risk for a married couple, given that the underlying reason for most divorces relates back - in one way or another - to money.

Comment 2 of 6

My partner and I have been working together in our own business for over 6 years and it's great. We are best mates, and compliment each other at work and home. We dont always see eye to eye, but who does. You work it out and get on with it. Our eldest child has also started working parttime with us and it's just one happy family..

Comment 3 of 6

I met my wide at a job I worked at over 15 years ago. Today we are business partners in 3 businesses that we run together. Our skills sets are very different and seem to be highly complimentary. There are 2 other partners in these enterprises - our 2 children 4 and 6. Pivotal to our success is: 1. Even though business is run from home, we totally separate home time and business time 2. We have defined work times and only work outside these time on very rare occasions. 3. Work space and home space, though we have a small home, is kept separate. 4.Keep you eye on the big picture and try and remmeber why you are doing it all for,and 5. Treat your partner with the same respect you would show any other partner or colleague.

Comment 4 of 6

Working and sleeping together is a dangerous decision to exercise, people see divorce as the final outcome when you have to work and live with a lover. Or one party is cut to the core and devastated when they find out their partner has been leading a double life with online affairs just to escape the person they live and work with 24/7.

Comment 5 of 6

We have been in our own business for 28 years, married for 40 years. In the workplace there is only one boss to answer to, as far as the employees are concerned. One has to learn not to take "home" problems to work. To present a united front and keep any disagreements private. We have ups and downs just as anyone does, we also have "time out", living and working together, that time apart is very necessary and refreshing. We have our specialised fields and we work together in other areas as needed. We go to and from work separately, as I have things to do on the way to work and it means we are not waiting at the end of the day for the other one. Our employees are long serving and happy to be with us. Being open, honest, trusting and respectful of the spuse/business partner goes a long way to creating a successful environment.

Comment 6 of 6