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As the title ask are there any SOSO, spouse or significant other, teams? How do you fare at working together?
I can see the upside in that she has a different point of view and a skill set I do not have. But I can see the downside of two type A personalties working closely on the same thing.
I think it's very important to sit down and talk about what you both want from the working relationship, its limitations etc. For me it's very important that I'm not 'the wife who helps out', I want to be an equal partner. I mean I didn't spend over 6 years in further education to assist my husband in his business, I do this because I find it interesting and because my skills are relevant.
At first it didn't matter as much, but the last couple years i've started to worry about what would happen if i were in an accident and suddenly died or something. I now feel sure that she could run things just fine without me. It has really given me peace of mind.
I just wish we would have started together back in 1994. We could be lightyears ahead right now!
I showed her enough to be dangerous when she wanted to make a site for a group she's in. So how quickly she picks up would not be an issue but we found out early on that it is best if we don't teach each other, I sat in on one of her tutoring sessions for Calculus one time and she earned the nickname Lil' General...not easily takin to being in the students seat.
I don't know, nothing is final yet but I'm thinking hard about it. It would be nice to both be working from home.
Years ago, I used to participate in road rallies. You could always spot the husband/wife teams - they were the ones shouting at each other as they exited the car: "You missed the turn!" "I wouldn't have missed it if you had told me to look for it!" "I DID tell you, you weren't paying attention! You never listen!" ... While other teams made errors, too, in most cases they were civil to each other; there seemed to be less of a barrier for married folks to be overtly critical of each other.
We know this because we've discussed it. Discussing it is important, as is being entirely up front and honest with yourself and each other about every aspect of the whole procedure. If there are going to be problems with silly emotions like jealousy, pride, etc., it's important to know; you can't help silly emotions no matter how silly.
So... you need eyes to be wide open, and discussion open even wider.
All in all it works pretty well. Cabin fever starts to set in by Febuary when the snow is over our heads and the temp. is -40c.
We do a pretty good job of keeping business and home life as seperate as possible......She does her thing, I do mine. We feel real lucky to be able to both work from home, it's a real treat.
We find it best (probably since we have very different working styles) if we work in separate locations. He has his computers set up in one room, I have mine set up in another. Quite often, we don't see each other during the day - even though we are in the same house.
Good Luck
It is a ongoing process. We each have particular areas where we do the majority of the work, but we have some overlap as well. Take some time to think about how you want to do things, and put some basic systems in place to help you keep track of everything. Make sure you are in agreement on the division of labor - duties, responsibilities, etc. It really will make a difference.
You can do it, just go into it with open eyes and an open mind.
LisaB
Life is short. I want to spend my days with the person who loves me the most.
We are able to remain professional around others... I suspect co-workers sometimes forget we're married. I don't think we are any more or any less likely than any other co-workers to quarrel at work. We do sometimes message love notes and meet in the back hallway. ;)
I have twice known couples where it didn't look like it was working out for them. In both cases, though, it was one person working hard and the other not. That'll break up any partnership.
I'd say to go into it agreeing to scrap the plan if it interfered with your marriage, but speaking of failure and "Plan B" often leads to failure and "Plan B". Don't make a "Plan B". Plan to enjoy it. :)
We do end up discussing work all the time, but we like what we do, so it's the same as most people discussing their hobbies.
I doubt other people work the way we do, but my partner does all of the design/coding stuff and I basically read message boards for a living. ;) I find out information and she implements it. I know that must sound strange to other people - does anyone else work this way?
Makes "Sex in the office" that bit more acceptable and more often.
