- Working from home during COVID-19 increased quality time spent between spouses and family
- A Reddit user shared how WFH improved his marriage by allowing more daily connection with his wife
- They set clear work boundaries to maintain productivity and avoid interruptions during work hours
Working from home (WFH) became the new way of working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, it was believed that it would impact family-work conflict negatively, causing social isolation, but actually, the opposite happened.
Recently, a Reddit user opened up about WFH culture and revealed how WFH saved his marriage, as he mentioned that the "biggest change" for him was to spend more time with his wife. He also talked about the boundaries they set to make sure the work doesn't get affected.
"When people talk about working from home they usually mention sleep or commute, but the biggest change for me is how much more actual time I get with my wife now," he wrote in r/remotework subreddit, with the post receiving huge traction - more than 4,000 upvotes.
See the post here:
Remote work accidentally saved my marriage a bit
byu/v1ctoriSshade inremotework
"Before covid I would leave the house before she even woke up, come back around 7 or 8 already tired and we basically only shared late dinners and netflix while half asleep."
"Now my 'commute' is like 12 steps from the bedroom to the tiny desk in the corner of the living room. We made this silly little habit where we start the day with coffee together, I open my laptop only after we finish that first mug and talk about what the day looks like for each of us. Around lunch I block 30 mins on my calendar as 'focus' but in reality it is our mid day walk around the block or quick meal we cook together."
It is often believed that working from home impacts performance. To clarify this, the user said, "The funny thing is my performance at work did not tank, if anything it got better because I am not grumpy and drained when I sit down to do deep work."
"We still have to be careful with boundaries, like she knows that headphones on means please do not start random stories, but overall I feel like remote work turned our relationship from weekend only mode into daily life again," he said.
"Curious if anyone else noticed their relationship getting stronger just because you are simply around each other more during normal weekday hours."
Social media reaction
The post resonated with many users. "Kinda love this honestly... just being around each other in the small moments can fix stuff you didn't even know was breaking. Remote work lowkey gives you your actual life back tho," one user wrote in the comment section.
"This is why remote is the best for employees. We get to focus and work at our own pace while being able to go to medical appointments and enjoy coffee breaks with our loved ones. Life as it should be imo," another user wrote.
"I have three young kids. Working remote is the best for spending time with them. I can help out in the morning and without a commute I'm already home to spend time with them when I'm finished working," a third chimed in.
