{"id":2562,"date":"2016-07-12T12:58:23","date_gmt":"2016-07-12T07:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2562"},"modified":"2016-07-12T12:58:23","modified_gmt":"2016-07-12T07:28:23","slug":"work-spouse-work-wife-office-husband-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=2562","title":{"rendered":"A Love Letter to My Work Spouse in the Time of Work from Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I<\/span>n one of the greatest <\/p>The Office<\/span><\/i> pranks<\/span><\/a> in history, Dundler Mifflin <\/span>employee<\/span><\/a> and all- round cutie, Jim Halpert (the inimitable <\/span>John Krasinski<\/span><\/a>) tries tricking his idiosyncratic colleague Dwight Schrute into believing that the former possesses telekinetic powers. Sceptical as always, Dwight refuses to buy into Jim\u2019s claim and instead asks him to prove his mind-control abilities in front of the whole office. He dares Jim to move a coat rack before giving the camera a knowing look, fully aware that he\u2019s put Jim in a spot. <\/span>\n\nExcept, a minute later, Jim succeeds in moving the coat rack located right behind Pam\u2019s desk with just his mind.<\/span>\n\nOf course, Jim would have been in a spot without the contributions of his \u201cwork spouse\u201d, Pam (Jenna Fischer). A few minutes later in the episode, we learn that it was actually Pam who\u2019d helped move the coat rack with her umbrella \u2013 and it wasn\u2019t even planned. This was the kind of teamwork that didn\u2019t even need calculated plotting; it worked on the unspoken promise that one would have the other\u2019s back when shit hit the roof.<\/span>\n\nApart from being one of the finest couples in the history of <\/span>modern TV<\/span><\/a>, Jim and Pam are the kind of <\/span>work<\/span><\/a> spouses who give colleagues across the world #productivitygoals. Throughout the nine seasons of <\/span>The Office<\/span><\/i>, the duo \u2014 whose relationship transcended from being co-workers to husband and wife \u2014 have been the other\u2019s punching bag, confidante, <\/span>best friend<\/span><\/a>, partner-in-crime, and saviour. Jim and Pam\u2019s professional platonic pairing was their oasis in the face of work emergencies, challenges, and downright disasters. <\/span>\n\nThe two share a conditional bond that exists only because of the constraints of office drudgery. The term \u201coffice wife\u201d has been around since the 1930s, but its new-age currency in the cultural lexicon can be traced back about 30 years. In a 1987 Atlantic essay, <\/span>David Owen <\/span><\/a>first used the terms \u201cwork marriage\u201d, \u201cwork wife\u201d, and \u201cwork husband\u201d to denote \u201cclose but platonic relationships that can exist between coworkers of the opposite sex\u201d. These are <\/span>characterised<\/span><\/a> by \u201ca close emotional bond, high levels of disclosure and support, and mutual trust, honesty, loyalty, and respect.\u201d Basically, a work BFF. <\/span>\n\nPop culture<\/span><\/a> is rife with <\/span>examples <\/span><\/a>of the coolest work spouses. There\u2019s the complicated yet endearing work marriage of Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy in <\/span>30 Rock<\/span><\/i> that involved her using Jack\u2019s swanky office as her personal problem-solving zone. The surprisingly thoughtful bond between Ron Swanson and Leslie Knope in <\/span>Parks and Recreation,<\/span><\/i> where his grumpiness balances her infectious energy. And then there is the unforgettable camaraderie between Walter White and Jesse Pinkman from<\/span> Breaking Bad<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>\n

Having a work spouse meant having a safety net even when you\u2019re comfortably sheltered; sort of like being gifted a colleague with endless benefits.<\/blockquote>\nWhile most of my beloved TV characters stumbled upon their future work spouses by chance, I met mine during <\/span>college<\/span><\/a>, a few years before we shared an <\/span>office roof.<\/span><\/a> Despite being in close proximity during those months, our friendship wore a mask of measured distance. In college, we were close acquaintances at best and it wasn\u2019t until I joined the workplace he called his own, that our friendship got its wings. We had finally found what we\u2019d been missing all this while: common ground.<\/span>\n\nIf you ask me now, I couldn\u2019t pinpoint the exact moment when I knew he was the one. Maybe when he insisted that I stick with an idea that I came close to ditching because it had stopped making sense to me. Or when he covered up what could have been a work mishap without me having to ask him. All I knew was that I had a professional <\/span>wingman<\/span><\/a> bolstering every move of mine. Because of his constant presence, no situation could arise that I wasn\u2019t suitably equipped to deal with. I easily fit into the new workplace as much because of its placid environment as for my friend\u2019s thoughtful priming. <\/span>\n\nWithin a few months \u2013 just after the alienness of a new <\/span>workplace <\/span><\/a>faded and right before the monotony of a work routine set in \u2013 he and I took our friendship to the next level. <\/span>\n\nOur conversations transitioned from <\/span>small talk<\/span><\/a> to divulging work secrets, fears, disappointments, and the rare success. Within no time, we developed eye-to-eye communication, and celebrated every new development by exchanging a flurry of urgent texts. As it turned out, there was no shortage of topics for us to opine over, laced with generous helpings of cheerleading and tough love. <\/span>\n\nConsidering the deadline-laden stressful <\/span>work environments<\/span><\/a> that we have to manoeuver and the ready <\/span>round-the-clock availability<\/span><\/a> that modern jobs demand of us, I wondered how any of us even survive or excel without these professional fairy godmothers? Who\u2019d be there to calm you down when you overthink the consequences of a cryptic mail or pad up your harebrained ideas? As I learnt, having a work spouse meant having a safety net even when you\u2019re comfortably sheltered; sort of like being gifted a colleague with endless benefits. <\/span>\n\nA few months ago, shortly after my friend quit, it dawned on me that we\u2019d shared something undefinable; it\u2019s too intimate for us to be \u201cjust friends\u201d and too practical for it to be anything more. But most importantly, our shared work woes had manufactured a <\/span>friendship <\/span><\/a>that might otherwise have never existed. <\/span>\n\nAs his friend, now that he has a new job (and possibly a new work marriage), I can\u2019t be anything but excited for him. But as a jilted work spouse, I wish he\u2019d stuck to the damn \u201cUntil 7 pm do us part\u201d promise.<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like Jim and Pam from The Office, our deadline-laden stressful work environments demand that we have a work spouse of our own. It’s like having a safety net even when you\u2019re comfortably sheltered; sort of like being gifted a colleague with endless benefits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":2563,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[1254,4165,1245,5214,228,5215,5216,5217],"class_list":["post-2562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pov","tag-friendship","tag-jobs","tag-millennials","tag-office-husband","tag-relationship","tag-work-marriage","tag-work-spouse","tag-work-wife"],"yoast_head":"\nA Love Letter to My Work Spouse in the Time of Work from Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Like Jim and Pam from The Office, our deadline-laden stressful work environments demand that we have a work spouse of our own. 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It's like having a safety net even when you\u2019re comfortably sheltered; sort of like being gifted a colleague with endless benefits.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2562\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-12T07:28:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1526467931.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"A Love Letter to My Work Spouse in the Time of Work from Home\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Like Jim and Pam from The Office, our deadline-laden stressful work environments demand that we have a work spouse of our own. 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