Can married couples work together?

The thought of a couple working in the same office send a chill down the spines of many traditionalist minds who find it unthinkable.

However, there seems to be paradigm shift melting through modern society as people slowly try to cope with new realities spurred by career demands as well as financial challenges and family responsibilities.

For some, the greatest challenge though is how to balance the equation, especially when the quest for money drags a couple into one office, raising the question of whether or not it is healthy for them to operate in the same work setting, or better still, the same department?

For Alfred Kumphasa, an accountant based in Blantyre, this is a path he does not want to travel again and would not encourage other couples to.

“It’s a tricky situation that tends to ruin your days with regularity. Mine was a tricky situation where my wife reported directly to me and you can imagine how things would be when, for instance, we had quarrelled at home, then have her bring me a report at work,” he states.

He recalls a worst case scenario where he was supposed to conduct his wife’s performance appraisal following a titanic quarrel over marital disagreements the previous night.

“It was terribly emotional and how I wished I could delegate the task to someone because I didn’t want her near me,” he says.

Kumphasa later asked his wife to change jobs, which she dully accepted.

“Now we live more happily together,” he says.

But a Blantyre-based human resource management expert Jallison Chaguluka says there is nothing wrong with a couple working in the same environment.

He advises such couples to leave their roles of husband and wife at the gate and treat each other as workmates in the office.

“What’s important for them is play their roles with maturity. Once in the office, they are workmates and colleagues.

“If they have quarrelled at home, I would suggest that they communicate through other staff members without necessarily showing they have a case between themselves. These couples should avoid washing dirty family linen in the public,” he says.

Renowned Chancellor College sociologist Jubilee Tizifa is of the opinion that is not appropriate for married couples to work in the same office as this could compromise confidentiality issues in the organisation, as secrecy may be difficult to maintain between husband and wife.

“In such cases, the couple may also find it difficult to respect organisational authority considering the nature of their relationship. For example, a husband who is lower in rank than the wife may find it difficult to take instructions from the wife who is senior,” she says.

Tizifa also argues that such arrangements may compromise professionalism since any quarrels in the couples’ home could manifest in the workplace.

“If the relationship is cordial, there may be collaboration between the two where one covers up each other’s weaknesses,” she says.

But for marriage counsellor Patrick Semphere, says there are no hard and fast rules regarding this scenario which he describes as “contentious.”

He affirms that there are both negative and positive sides to the subject.

“If there is mistrust between the two, it can be worsened by observations that seem to suggest that one of them is flirting with workmates.

“Assuming that one of the partners is in management, how can they fairly apply disciplinary measures on the other?” he wonders.

However, he believes that such a set up can enhance professional cohesion.

“Even if the husband is an accountant and wife a secretary, the fact that they are united by the same vision and mission statement of the organisation, gives them a common rallying point and help enhance their source of belonging to the same cause,” he says.

Nevertheless, Semphere concurs with Chaguluka in stating that failure to maintain a professional relationship can also mar the couple’s work and that disagreements have to be handled with maturity.

“You are employees first and spouses second when you are in the workplace. This order has to be respected. Disagreements at home can spill over to the workplace and this can be disruptive, so couples need to display maturity,” he says.