Story perspectives

Remote Work Strains Dual-Earner Couples Over Space Preferences

6/29/2026

Summary

Hermida Carrillo Studies

Alejandro Canek Hermida Carrillo, Imperial College London fellow, led a study on remote work’s effect on dual-earner couples.
He found that during the pandemic partners’ preferences mattered more than coworkers’ attitudes and warned that daily negotiations over space, time and attention can damage relationships when work is home-based.
The researchers surveyed 170 heterosexual dual-earner couples in Munich in spring and summer 2020, hypothesizing that mismatched boundary preferences create work-to-home conflict.

Summary

Study Finds Conflict

Phase two studied 1,561 dual-earner couples from a German database (2019-2021) and asked if either partner had considered separation or divorce in the past year.
Men faced greater work-to-home conflict when preferences differed, while women reported less conflict under same mismatch.
Couples both preferring strict work-life separation but working remotely experienced the highest conflict.
The authors advise firms to monitor work-to-home interference, not micromanage home setups, and retain remote options.

Summary

**Study Urges Replication**

The study was conducted in the pandemic’s early months, a period of high global anxiety.
All participants were German couples.
Germany’s strong norm of separating work from home may have shaped the findings.
The authors urge replication in other cultures to see if the patterns hold beyond Germany.
Future studies will log boundary-management tactics like shared office negotiations and quiet-hour rules and will assess flexible-work benefits for dual-earner partners.

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Hermida Carrillo Studies

Alejandro Canek Hermida Carrillo, Imperial College London fellow, led a study on remote work’s effect on dual-earner couples.
He found that during the pandemic partners’ preferences mattered more than coworkers’ attitudes and warned that daily negotiations over space, time and attention can damage relationships when work is home-based.
The researchers surveyed 170 heterosexual dual-earner couples in Munich in spring and summer 2020, hypothesizing that mismatched boundary preferences create work-to-home conflict.

1 / 3