"Work Spouse" - I came across this word( s) or concept few years back in one of the episodes of "Grey's Anatomy". Though the fancy words amused me I thought its just a fictional concept in a fictional world. Not until I discovered that my husband has a work spouse and his name is "Seenu". He is so caught up with this guy, and talks so much to him, that even at home he addresses me "Seenu". Entertain your wits to guess what my response was to my husband when I was called "Seenu"; -) .
Quoting form Grey's Anatomy:
- ADELE WEBBER: What I want is for you to tell me the truth. Are you having an affair with my husband?
BAILEY: I am not having an affair with your husband!
ADELE WEBBER: I saw the way you handled him just now.
BAILEY: Handled! I did not. handle. there was no handling. we work together.
ADELE WEBBER: You spend every waking moment together, you finish each others sentences, you read each others minds. You're more married to that man than I am.
CALLIE: Yeah, but that's just because they're husband and work-wife.
BAILEY: Excuse me?
CALLIE: The Chief's your work-husband and you're his work-wife. You look out for each other, you take care of each other, there's nothing wrong with it, it's like me and Sloan.
MARK: Excuse me?
Anyways, so I started digging into this a little. And voila, there are so many articles mentioning this concept. Rules of having a work spouse, Risks and Rewards of having a work spouse and should I be jealous of my wife's work husband and such. You do not find the meaning for this phrase in usual dictionary, of course Urban Dictionary has everything. It seems this has been around since 1930's when a novel has this title. And which was later made a movie( https://imdb.com/title/tt0021197/) too. And such concepts only come out in public, in the west and though we do not admit I am damn sure such thing exists almost at every work place.
So what does a Work Spouse mean? It is a fancy term used to refer to a co-worker [, usually of the opposite sex], with whom an employee shares a close and platonic relationship. And this person can be the one with whom and only whom you go for lunch or coffee breaks, who looks out for you, advices you, a caretaker and a patient listener. This is the person you connect with, talk a lot to, relate to at par or better than that of your spouse at home.
Quoting from an article on the internet:
- "* Having someone you trust completely in the cubicle next door certainly has its advantages. That sort of close colleague may understand situations and anecdotes in a way your non-work friends or actual spouse may not.
It allows you to share and bounce ideas off somebody you trust, " says Karsh, noting that someone with a work spouse may think twice before leaving that employer for a competitor because of the power of that relationship. "Coworkers are the unsung heroes of employee retention.* "
Knowing the disadvantages of it, like say inappropriate sexual behavior, getting too personal and exclusive, being the office gossip am glad my husband's work spouse is of the same sex: -) .
And studies have shown too that around 30% of people have work spouses. Wow! Like I said before there is a theory or an explanation to every possible thing on earth. If not a theory there is a fancy term.
