If you'd asked me three and a half years ago where I'd be working from in the future — my answer would most definitely not have been at home sharing a space with my husband in what was once the spare room.
But fast forward to today and that is exactly where I am, working as a writer three metres away from my husband Matt who runs his production company on the other side of the room.
How we went from married couple to co-workers
Before COVID-19 things looked a bit different. For two days a week I worked as a part-time communications officer in an external office and for the rest of the week worked alone as a part-time writer on a desk squashed into the back corner of our spare room.
As the managing director of a production company, my husband travelled each day from our home in regional Victoria to Melbourne where his office, employees, studio space and most of his clients were also based.
While he spent a lot of time on the road commuting, at the time this set-up was still the most practical.
But with the frequent lockdowns in Victoria between 2020 and 2021, circumstances changed and working from home became a much more efficient and reliable option. It also provided better work-life balance.
With these factors in mind, we made the decision to invest in our working-from-home set-up and organised our space accordingly.
We swapped commuting for a set of stand-up desks in the spare room
Out went the queen bed and in came some office furniture, including stand-up desks, desk drawers, shelves and cupboards, items we were fortunate enough to be able to invest in and which allowed us to carry out our roles more efficiently.
Now, setting up the office was one thing, but taking the step from married couple to co-workers was another matter entirely.
On the plus side, I have worked with my husband before. In fact, it's how we met. While it was a while ago now, this experience has helped us establish an effective working environment and also mitigated any surprises. But sometimes things can still get a little bumpy.
One bump, or pet peeve should I say, is Matt's professional phone voice. It is a version of Matt I never hear at any other time except on these phone calls.
I am not sure where my Matt goes during these conversations, or who this impostor is that comes along to steal his voice, but what I do know is that impostor Matt makes me want to invest in earplugs.
Of course, my conversations with our cat Tonka, who has her own bed under my desk, don't frustrate my husband at all.
Neither does my insistence he leave the room when I conduct an interview (because I absolutely hate being listened to) or my requests for a piece of chocolate any time he gets up from his desk to go downstairs.
Apart from these small frustrations, we've managed to work productively — not next to each other but back-to-back — for around three years now.
Our WFH rules and a Fun Day that makes us smile
We make it work because the original set-up was well thought out. Despite sitting only three metres apart, we each have our own space. We both have our own desk and storage, as well as our own personalised areas, just like we do at a non-home office. For me, this includes photos of our kids (and Matt), their drawings, and an assortment of books and magazines. For Matt, it's camera and audio gear, a Friday the 13th mask and photos too.
My space also includes the nearly floor-to-ceiling window overlooking our property's gum trees and kookaburras, while Matt is surrounded by gigantic screens, microphones and what I like to call Zoom studio equipment.
We also have a couple of rules. A closed door means a Zoom meeting is in progress so don't go in or, if you do, ensure you aren't wearing PJs and don't start singing.
And if I am writing, do not talk to me because it will ruin my flow and I will get angry (that's not good for either of us).
Overall, though, working from home together has actually made our relationship stronger. We share our grievances in real-time, we often sort through work issues far quicker than we would have previously and we respect each other's professional boundaries.
There's also Friday Funday. For us this means 90s R&B music (don't judge us) and sushi. While not quite romantic — we are professionals after all — it still makes us smile.
Shona Hendley is an ex-secondary school teacher from regional Victoria. She lives with her four fish, three goats, two cats and one chicken, as well as her two human children and husband.
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