work wife

It’s one of those terms where some people are really squicked out by it and some people don’t have a problem with it because they don’t mean it in a squicky way. “Work wife” and “work husband” are generally used to mean “colleague with whom you have a very close work relationship.” And while they did originally seem to only get applied to colleagues of the opposite sex, they now get used for colleagues of the same sex too.

what’s up with the term “work wife”? Ask a Manager 2022

A male coworker doesn’t just claim a female coworker as his “work wife,” it’s often the woman who starts to use the term. I’ve had plenty of work “husbands” and it was always a fun thing that made the work more enjoyable. There’s no sexual aspect to it and definitely no power differentials

Is men having a "work wife" really a thing or did Reddit make it up? 2026