Too Much Togetherness? Dual Career Couples Working From Home

The coronavirus lockdown in China has had many repercussions—one of which is a spike in the divorce rate. Now, millions of dual career couples around the globe are navigating uncharted waters, with both partners working full-time from home—often caring for children at the same time.

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Jennifer Petriglieri, an associate professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD and the author of Couples That Work: How Dual-Career Couples Can Thrive in Love and Work, says that couples who survive stressful times, even crises, make it a priority to discuss and agree on certain practical principles. Among the issues couples should address now:

• What matters to you most during this period? Beyond the health and safety of loved ones, what else is a priority: Is there a project that needs completion, is it time to focus on career transition, are you most concerned with facilitating your children’s education?

• What is the relative priority of your careers over the coming months? Do you have a pre-existing deal in which one of your careers takes priority? Do you try to maintain a 50/50 split? Are there certain weeks when one partner will need priority?

• What are your parenting principles during this period? If partners are on the same page and can communicate these principles clearly to their children, it will make keeping the peace at home—and the boundaries—that much easier.

• What are the things that worry you most? Are you anxious about job security, illness, money, shifting responsibilities, cabin fever, quality relationship time? Understanding each other’s key concerns is critical, because it makes us more attentive and empathic. 

• What do you need from each other to make this work? Partners may need different things from one another. Adapting to your partner’s needs demonstrates the requisite support and affection needed to make it through tough times.  (Tweet it!)

Are you part of a dual career couple working from home? What are some of your challenges and how do you navigate them?  Is there an upside to your situation? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

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