So you burnt the dal for dinner and forgot to put the dog out. Your wife is understandably miffed. No need to worry. A bunch of roses and a few soft words will solve the problem. By evening, tempers will have cooled anyway.

In the normal course, such things resolve themselves naturally. But what happens when both of you are working in the same organisation. You drive. She nitpicks about how you nearly caused an accident. She leads the discussion at the review meeting. You object to some innocuous clause. The other members of the team have to forget their contribution and play peacemakers instead.

Working together has its advantages and disadvantages. “It is a subject likely to merit much more attention in the future as more and more couples are employed by the same organisation,” says a Mumbai-based HR consultant.

The first reason, of course, is that more women are entering the ranks of the employed. When the workforce consisted entirely of men, it wasn’t an issue. More importantly, the new sectors that are ramping up the numbers ? software and business process outsourcing (BPO), for instance ? have just as many women as men. They involve working late hours in close proximity. “When your shift starts at midnight, it is easy to get bewitched by the girl at the next workstation,” says the HR manager at a leading BPO organisation.

In an earlier generation, even as little as 10 years ago, marriage meant that one of the partners would have to leave the organisation. Today, companies cannot afford that luxury. Says the HR manager quoted earlier: “I have a very high level of attrition as it is. And this is true of our industry as a whole. If I start insisting on such rules, I’ll have nobody left.”

But just because spouses’ working together has become much more acceptable, it doesn’t mean the problems have gone away. HR practitioners say that, if you have a choice, you should seek another job double quick.

The problems of spouses working together as employees in an organisation are many (see box). There are disadvantages for both the individual and the company. From the organisation’s point of view, there are two options. Despite the loss of talent, one partner should be asked to go. Alternatively, the two should be given assignments in separate, watertight compartments. It doesn’t always work. For one, the work culture will be the same and you can spend all your hours at home complaining about it.

A bigger problem could be on the financial front. Consider an example. Scandinavian lock-making firm Assa Abloy is planning to close down its plant in Willenhall in the UK. More than 300 people will lose their jobs. That’s par for the course in the UK these days, as jobs move to more productive countries. But, says the labour union, “It’s such a shock ? mothers, daughters and husbands work here together.”

UK has social security. India doesn’t. Spouses shouldn’t put all their eggs in the same basket.

PROBLEMS OF TOGETHERNESS

• You may love each other very much. But do you really want to be together 24/7 discussing the boss over breakfast, and your promotion instead of pillow talk?

• There are always problems when it comes to promotions and increments. Can one be given a greater hike without antagonising the other ? uThe organisation wouldn’t like both of you going on leave at the same time uIf there is a clear difference in levels, there will always be rumours of favouritism, regardless of what the reality may be.

• Both spouses working for the same organisation is a risk as the pay cheques will stop simultaneously if the company closes down.