Commenters jumped to one woman's defense after she shared in a now-viral Reddit post that her unemployed husband called her "lazy" for choosing to work from home.
In the popular Reddit forum "Am I The A**hole," user u/throwawaypigsty asked: "AITA [Am I the a**hole] for choosing to work at home when my Zoom meetings annoy my husband?" The post has received nearly 19,000 votes and over 4,000 comments.
At the beginning of the post, the Redditor explained that her employer gave all employees the option to work from home. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, she said she felt safer going remote.
"The problem and conflict is that I often have two or three one-hour Zoom meetings a day," she said. "I use headphones but I do talk during part of them. I close the door but the noise bothers my husband, who is in the other room."
Her husband is unemployed. So he, too, is home all day.
"He keeps telling me I am selfish to stay at home and bother him when I could choose to go work in the office," she continued. According to the post, he also said that she was "too lazy to go to the office," and dismissed her "health concerns" as paranoia.
She expressed that she feels guilty but doesn't know what to do.
Many workers across the globe were forced to work from home during the pandemic. Of course, this also meant that many people were forced to work alongside their partners.
GQ's sex and relationship columnist Sophia Benoit spoke with people who worked alongside their partners before the pandemic to see "what it's like and how they make it work."
To avoid conflict, respondents advised couples to keep their workspaces separate, communicate their schedules to one another and avoid distracting each other.
"Obviously, you need to give your partner space during conference calls and important meetings, but respect their work hours throughout the day, too," Benoit said.
"If you have room in your house to do so, split up!" Benoit added. "If you're stuck working in the same room, use headphones, be extra respectful about noise and interruptions, and try to carve out specific corners that are yours alone."
The Redditor claimed that she works in a separate room from her husband and uses headphones during meetings. Since she's aligned with expert advice and is respectful of her husband, commenters were quick to jump to her defense.
"I was teaching from home half the year last year and SO has always worked from home. I was on Zoom literally ALL DAY. We worked on opposite sides of the house and no one was bothered in the slightest. Hubby sounds like a big baby," commented u/Strict-Hamster5437. "NTA [Not the a**hole]."
"NTA. My spouse and I have both been working full time, remotely, in our three-room apartment (1 bed, living space, bathroom) for 18 months. We make it work. Your husband needs to learn to be flexible ..." added u/pthomsenvxfsfas.
"You're in another room, wearing headphones, and I assume not shouting at your colleagues? It's literally no different to existing in your own home. NTA," replied u/Lady_Dinoasaurus.
TracyMinOB said: "LOL. The man is unemployed, stays home and reads, and calls YOU lazy for not going into the office and bothering him? Tell HIM to go to the Library if he wants to read! NTA."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Sara Santora is a Newsweek reporter based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on viral social media posts and trends. ... Read more
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