's office space, more so because very often, an office spouse can give one a different gender perspective on matters that vary from how to ignore the irritating janitor to where to procure raunchy lingerie for your spouse!

According to experts, there are certain things only an office spouse can empathise with as he/she is in that situation with you, on a daily basis. Your mate - no matter how mature - can never really understand the little, or big, irritants that gnaw your insides. Like Tina Louise Chadwick, a contributing editor to Worthwhile magazine recently said. "The relationship between office spouses is often filled with the

At a dinner party, Condoleeza Rice, the US Secretary of State, referred to President Bush as "my husb...". One doesn't know how many soup spoons stopped half-way to the lips and how many hands holding wine stems were left dangling in the air. What one does know is that this inadvertent slip did give an authoritative stamp of approval to the term 'office spouse'! Oh yes, there's a creature called the office spouse, who, in all probability is the person your mate turns to at all hours of the day in office - for support, encouragement, cribbing sessions or just a different perspective on many matters. And yes, this person is of the opposite gender than your partner. No, they are not necessarily having sex, but yes, they do share a special vibe.

So now get over gasping and understand that this is just a simple bond; a close, reassuring and productive friendship between a man and a woman, who spend an interminable number of hours in an office, together. Daily. Without again - any under-the-table nooky and between-the-sheets activity. No one's denying the existence of a certain sexual energy in the air. But in this case, a cuppa in the cubicle is not necessarily followed by a kiss in the kitchen. Simply put, your mate's office spouse is just a colleague of the opposite sex with whom your partner has a very close but non-romantic relationship.

According to a survey conducted by Vault Inc., a New York-based career research firm, 32 per cent employees in the US admitted to having an office spouse. In another survey conducted by an online job network, 17 per cent Australians revealed that they had an office spouse. Mark Oldman, co-founder of Vault, reportedly said, "It's a wonderful support system among workers and makes one more productive. There are no strings attached, and if it doesn't work out, you go pick out another office spouse, and no divorce is necessary!"

But try explaining that to a suspicious spouse who is being consumed by insecurity and jealousy as he/she feels left out of the scheme of things. After all, if you know that your mate is spending 12 hours a day with his office spouse, and all you get at the end of the day is a tired and quiet back turned to you, you are going to assume that there's something more than just balance sheets being discussed through the day. "The very term, 'office spouse', has a negative connotation to it, and if it is bandied about by people who are not mature enough to handle or understand it, it can rock a marriage or relationship. It is good to have an understanding buddy sharing one's office space, more so because very often, an office spouse can give one a different gender perspective on matters that vary from how to ignore the irritating janitor to where to procure raunchy lingerie for your spouse!

According to experts, there are certain things only an office spouse can empathise with as he/she is in that situation with you, on a daily basis. Your mate - no matter how mature - can never really understand the little, or big, irritants that gnaw your insides. Like Tina Louise Chadwick, a contributing editor to Worthwhile magazine recently said. "The relationship between office spouses is often filled with the

gender than your partner. No, they are not necessarily having sex, but yes, they do share a special vibe.

So now get over gasping and understand that this is just a simple bond; a close, reassuring and productive friendship between a man and a woman, who spend an interminable number of hours in an office, together. Daily. Without again - any under-the-table nooky and between-the-sheets activity. No one's denying the existence of a certain sexual energy in the air. But in this case, a cuppa in the cubicle is not necessarily followed by a kiss in the kitchen. Simply put, your mate's office spouse is just a colleague of the opposite sex with whom your partner has a very close but non-romantic relationship.

According to a survey conducted by Vault Inc., a New York-based career research firm, 32 per cent employees in the US admitted to having an office spouse. In another survey conducted by an online job network, 17 per cent Australians revealed that they had an office spouse. Mark Oldman, co-founder of Vault, reportedly said, "It's a wonderful support system among workers and makes one more productive. There are no strings attached, and if it doesn't work out, you go pick out another office spouse, and no divorce is necessary!"

But try explaining that to a suspicious spouse who is being consumed by insecurity and jealousy as he/she feels left out of the scheme of things. After all, if you know that your mate is spending 12 hours a day with his office spouse, and all you get at the end of the day is a tired and quiet back turned to you, you are going to assume that there's something more than just balance sheets being discussed through the day. "The very term, 'office spouse', has a negative connotation to it, and if it is bandied about by people who are not mature enough to handle or understand it, it can rock a marriage or relationship. It is good to have an understanding buddy sharing one's office space, more so because very often, an office spouse can give one a different gender perspective on matters that vary from how to ignore the irritating janitor to where to procure raunchy lingerie for your spouse!

According to experts, there are certain things only an office spouse can empathise with as he/she is in that situation with you, on a daily basis. Your mate - no matter how mature - can never really understand the little, or big, irritants that gnaw your insides. Like Tina Louise Chadwick, a contributing editor to Worthwhile magazine recently said. "The relationship between office spouses is often filled with the

ex with whom your partner has a very close but non-romantic relationship.

According to a survey conducted by Vault Inc., a New York-based career research firm, 32 per cent employees in the US admitted to having an office spouse. In another survey conducted by an online job network, 17 per cent Australians revealed that they had an office spouse. Mark Oldman, co-founder of Vault, reportedly said, "It's a wonderful support system among workers and makes one more productive. There are no strings attached, and if it doesn't work out, you go pick out another office spouse, and no divorce is necessary!"

But try explaining that to a suspicious spouse who is being consumed by insecurity and jealousy as he/she feels left out of the scheme of things. After all, if you know that your mate is spending 12 hours a day with his office spouse, and all you get at the end of the day is a tired and quiet back turned to you, you are going to assume that there's something more than just balance sheets being discussed through the day. "The very term, 'office spouse', has a negative connotation to it, and if it is bandied about by people who are not mature enough to handle or understand it, it can rock a marriage or relationship. It is good to have an understanding buddy sharing one's office space, more so because very often, an office spouse can give one a different gender perspective on matters that vary from how to ignore the irritating janitor to where to procure raunchy lingerie for your spouse!

According to experts, there are certain things only an office spouse can empathise with as he/she is in that situation with you, on a daily basis. Your mate - no matter how mature - can never really understand the little, or big, irritants that gnaw your insides. Like Tina Louise Chadwick, a contributing editor to Worthwhile magazine recently said. "The relationship between office spouses is often filled with the

suspicious spouse who is being consumed by insecurity and jealousy as he/she feels left out of the scheme of things. After all, if you know that your mate is spending 12 hours a day with his office spouse, and all you get at the end of the day is a tired and quiet back turned to you, you are going to assume that there's something more than just balance sheets being discussed through the day. "The very term, 'office spouse', has a negative connotation to it, and if it is bandied about by people who are not mature enough to handle or understand it, it can rock a marriage or relationship. It is good to have an understanding buddy sharing one's office space, more so because very often, an office spouse can give one a different gender perspective on matters that vary from how to ignore the irritating janitor to where to procure raunchy lingerie for your spouse!

According to experts, there are certain things only an office spouse can empathise with as he/she is in that situation with you, on a daily basis. Your mate - no matter how mature - can never really understand the little, or big, irritants that gnaw your insides. Like Tina Louise Chadwick, a contributing editor to Worthwhile magazine recently said. "The relationship between office spouses is often filled with the

's office space, more so because very often, an office spouse can give one a different gender perspective on matters that vary from how to ignore the irritating janitor to where to procure raunchy lingerie for your spouse!

According to experts, there are certain things only an office spouse can empathise with as he/she is in that situation with you, on a daily basis. Your mate - no matter how mature - can never really understand the little, or big, irritants that gnaw your insides. Like Tina Louise Chadwick, a contributing editor to Worthwhile magazine recently said. "The relationship between office spouses is often filled with the same kind of electrical charge that marriages sometimes lose. They are intimate in an intellectual way and beyond."

And it's the 'beyond' bit that Dr William warns us about. While wholeheartedly supporting the phenomenon, he does caution one against overstepping the line which differentiates a life partner from an office spouse. He explains. "It's never a good idea to exclude your mate from your friendship with your office spouse. And this requires a high level of maturity!" As David McKenzie, a Vancouver-based marriage counsellor and sex therapist says, keeping married spouses out of your workplace relationship can prove dangerous. He advises that ultimately it should become a threesome as spending 12 hours a day confiding in another person can threaten a marriage/relationship if one doesn't make the spouse a part of it sometimes!

So go ahead and enjoy your office spouse's company - just don't confuse him/her with your life partner! You really don't want your home to resemble a war zone...