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Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Getting Relationships Through Remote Working

Of all of the ways that the ongoing pandemic has been affecting our relationships, it might be a surprise that remote working is one of the elements seemingly taking a toll on how we get on with our partners. If you feel like this new arrangement has added some strain to your relationship, here are some of the potential causes, as well as what you can do about it.

The relationship needs new boundaries

It might seem like having a partner at home all the time can seem like a joy, but the truth is that both of you are going to need space and time to yourselves and now, with one or both working from home, it’s up to you to create that yourselves. Otherwise, you can run into not just the problem of feeling like you have zero personal time, but the interruptions and distractions caused by living together without boundaries can start to affect your work-life balance, which can cause a lot of stress and productivity problems.

The physical side of staying at home

Working from home has a range of benefits, but it also brings with it some uncomfortable challenges, which can include the fact that many of us are moving much less than usual. A lot of people have packed on some “pandemic pounds” but it can be even worse for those who are working from home, which can lead to problems with self-esteem and even some loss of attraction. As such, care should be taken to live a more active life, even if you have to work out at home.

Changes in lifestyle can affect intimacy

A lot of us have seen some major mental and physical health changes as a result of being stuck at home all the time. Things like weight gain, loneliness, and frustration can start to affect how we experience and give intimacy. However, it is important to manage these things rather than simply ignore them and, to that end, a relationship counsellor might be a very valuable ally to bring into the relationship. Learning new ways to stoke and to appreciate intimacy is important in a relationship, even if things aren’t going to be the same as before.

Uncertainly plagues us all

It’s not uncommon for people to have doubts about their future plans, given that the pandemic and change in work-life has already introduced a lot of uncertainty. To that end, you might be putting a pause to future planning and this can give you doubts about your relationship or concern your partner about where the relationship is going. It’s time to take a moment to talk about the future of your relationship, where you want to be in a few years, and to understand that you might need a little leeway for that time to come just yet.

Any major change to how we live and spend time with our partner is likely to stress the relationship. However, this is far from unfixable and hopefully, the tips above give you the direction you need to work through it.

8 comments:

  1. I think this pandemic has put a lot of relationships to the test and have certainly tested our limits. Hopefully in the end it makes us stronger but also more compassionate.

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  2. The pandemic was a challenging time with all being stuck working from home. My husbands role meant he was at home but couldn't work. Luckily he kept in a separate room during my working hours so I could focus on my work.

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  3. I do think that our relationship changed a bit during the pandemic, although I'm lucky that my fiance still went out to work for a lot of it (other than a few months right at the start) so we did have things to talk about when he came back and weren't in each others pockets x

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  4. The pandemic has changed a lot. I agree, boundaries and space are important if you're working from home.

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  5. It’s definitely changed the dynamics for a lot of people and takes some getting used to for sure. You’ve pointed out some good tips here

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  6. I agree to all of it. This pandemic brought many people anxiety. Just do not lose the communication.

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  7. It has been a while since I have seen anyone talking about this. Thanks for the reminders and the advice. This pandemic has been going on so long it is easy to forget how life was before. We fall into patterns and don’t realize how it might be affecting us.

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  8. I have heard of so many breakups during the pandemic as the stress does not help and it is true everyone has put on some pounds as well due to the lifestyle change

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