by Natalia Jones

Created on: April 06, 2010

More and more people are opting to work at home and it so is not quite uncommon for two people to have to share a home office space. If your house does not have the square footage for two dedicated home offices then you need to come up with a working arrangement that can accommodate those that need to use the space available.

Take a look at the following tips for sharing a home office space with your spouse.

Shared Desk Space

If you have the space for a double desk then this might be ideal. According to the shape of the room and your preference you can position the desks side by side, on opposite ends of the room or even back to back so you face your office partner over your computer. Even the smallest room has enough space to accommodate two slim neat desks. If space is really limited you can even float the desks in the center of the room in a back to back position and place all other supporting furniture around them.

Keep File Systems Separate

Presumably you may be sharing office space with your family but you are not necessarily in the same business. If you are working on different tasks they should be filed separately. This really helps to keep things organized and lessens the risk of important documents getting entangled in your partner’s files.

Discuss Work Habits to Accommodate All Parties

When you share an office you share a lot more than physical space. You need to be able to work alongside this person and tolerate their quirky habits. Before entering into an office sharing arrangement you should discuss the procedure for taking phone calls, checking messages or any other activity that could be potentially distracting to the other person in the home office.

Keep it Clean

If you are sharing a home office it is extremely important to keep it clean. Clutter can accumulate fast enough with only one person, but when two people inhabit the same space the threat of overcrowding is even more imminent. This is why it is necessary to have a system to control office documents from the beginning.

Consider a Time Sharing System

When all else fails you can consider a time sharing system. If the home office is simply too small for two people to coexist peacefully, you can come up with an arrangement of shared control. One person can have the space on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and the other party can use it for the rest of the week. These days can be used to conduct the business that really needs to be done in an office setting and the other days you can work off of your laptop from anywhere in the house or you can make your site visits, run errands or meet with clients.

There are several different solutions to help family members to share a single office space, so if this is your situation you can rest assured that you are not without options. 

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