Work from home along with your partner on a Coronavirus epidemic is quite an exercise for all married men and women to be on a disciplined work mode status.

Neither I switched my job, nor added anyone to my team, yet I have a new co-worker. And I see more than anyone now.

My new co-worker is my husband. There are many people like me in working together with the community. They will be working from their respective home for the foreseeable future. It means that my workday is now happening in the same rooms as and sometimes right next to my husband’s workday. This new reality is teaching us all those things we never knew about our partner’s work-life, tasks and responsibilities.

There are several employees in many industries struggling hard through coronavirus-related shift cuts and layoffs. In this situation, we consider ourselves even luckier to be employed in industries that don’t require in-person attendance.

Eager to establish a sustainable working relationship with my deskmate/wife, I solicited advice from a few dozen people. Some of them have been working at home with their partners for years. And some are like me. They are swiftly learning what works and what doesn’t after getting forced to co-work for the first time. Here’s what experts say how to handle your working days along with your partner.

How to handle your Work from home along with your partner during the Coronavirus outbreak?

• We are all uncomfortable — and that’s OK

When you figure out your partner’s work schedule, you should change your work schedule accordingly. What a day at work looked like in the office hardly resembles what our new lives working from home have turned in to. And, that’s okay, we have to survive this situation. You have to accept reality and act according to that.

It’s completely understandable for many of us to feel like we’re out of our comfort zone. And to experience some ‘growing pains’ as we adjust to our new reality (for the time being). It makes it incredibly important to work as a team, directing your energy as a couple towards the common enemy (COVID19 related changes).

Having a morning meeting to discuss the plan for the day can be a simple way to alleviate some of the discomforts we are all feeling.

• Social distancing applies to your partner, too

It is crucial to have your own working space away from your partner if possible. Once you establish separate areas, it’s also necessary that couples respect the boundaries of that space during the workday. Creating baseline rules around when and how to interrupt each other during the day can go a long way to help preserve sanity as well. Also, while it may be tempting to take breaks together during the workday, taking breaks alone may be just as essential to maintaining sanity.

Distancing your work life from your home life as the spaces you are doing both become one is also important.

• Communicate, communicate, communicate. And then communicate again.

Ensure to do the best to avoid miscommunications about expectations while living in isolation. In this uncertain time, you can collaborate on a daily schedule that outlines both personal and professional obligations. Including things like outdoor activity and exercise is an excellent place to start. It gets everyone on the same page for how the workday will look different now that a commute into the office isn’t on the table.

It’s also necessary for couples to reconsider “who does what” during this time. For example, just because your partner was the one who did a majority of the cooking before the pandemic, re-evaluating those responsibilities will be key to staying productive during it.

• Give your partner some grace

Becoming more empathetic during this time may be the answer to a lot of the anxiety we are feeling. That especially applies to the person you are partnering with to get through the pandemic. Now more than ever, it is significant that we work together and practice ‘we ‘ rather than ‘me.’ With teamwork, we can manage this challenge and even come out stronger and better than we ever imagined.”

Give yourself and your partner some grace. These are unprecedented times, and we’re all dealing with a range of emotions about the current state of affairs. Be patient with your partner and yourself. And just remember that you are both doing the best you can, and these arrangements won’t last forever.

Bringing a bit of workplace like structure into the home can feel unnatural. But it still might help you keep yourself and your partner sane as you adjust to a new routine. Once you get adapted to your new normal, you will both be sighing with relief. And buy a new headphone. It won’t let you even hear each other.

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