In households where both partners work from home, couples experienced heightened frustration and relationship conflict if work intruded on family time, compared to households where only one partner works from home
https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2026/01/when-both-partners-work-from-home–the-hidden-cost-of-always-on-technology?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social
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Hi r/science – sharing this study our researcher, Scientia Professor Manju Ahuja, has published alongside colleagues from the University of Louisville and Bocconi University.
Here’s a link to the published study if you would like to check it out: [https://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol27/iss1/8/](https://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol27/iss1/8/)
The study is based on a 10-day diary study with 117 participants who lived with their partners while both worked from home full-time through the COVID-19 pandemic. This new study follows up on Prof. Ahuja’s previous research on the psychological and relational costs of working from home, which found that while employees reported significantly improved productivity, they also tended to suffer from stress-related physiological symptoms and their relationships were adversely affected.
How many of them had kids stuck at home too. I wonder if the statistical significance changes when comparing frustration over balancing work with parenting responsibilities versus couples at home without kids. I say this as someone who works at home near my partner, and we don’t have kids. It’s been a dream, anecdotally for us.
My husband and I have similar jobs. During the pandemic we not worked from home, and I found myself getting irrationally frustrated if he was doing something in a way that I wouldn’t do it.