Couples who work together stay together (or something along those lines), but what are the best employment opportunities for you and a loved one to share besides starting your own business? We’ve come up with a few suggestions to help you perfect the life/love/work balance.
What you’ll find in this article
- Which jobs can couples do together?
- How can couples work together?
- Communication tips for couples working together
- Average salaries for jobs for couples in the UK
- Hospitality and management job ideas for couples
- Adventure jobs for couples
- Seasonal jobs for couples
Which jobs can couples do together?
Couples, particularly sociable ones, will find there are a surprising number of suitable couples vacancies throughout the UK, and while many are in the hospitality industry, there are a few surprises as well. Go a little further afield and some of the job opportunities for couples get significantly stranger but also more exotic sounding – ever fancied trying cattle-ranching in Australia, for instance?
Anything that needs a blend of talents and great interpersonal skills tend to be ideal for couples that communicate well and want to spend all their time together. That’s why caretaker roles, pub-management opportunities and farming vacancies suit so many professionals and plus-ones down to the ground.
Explore all domestic couple jobs in the UK
How can couples work together?
If you’ve sat down with your other half and tried to think of some suitable jobs that you can do together and have drawn a blank, try thinking about what you have in common first, and go from there. If you share a passion and have similar backgrounds, chances are you’ll be able to capitalise on them together. If you have very little in common but get along well, you could still work together, but it might be a good idea to have separate focuses.
You could start by exploring part-time opportunities, such as mystery shopping or private tutoring, maybe even dog-walking, before moving on to something more permanent and formal. Domestic couples seem to do very well, managing all aspects of house management for other people, and if you like entertaining and have a nice property, opening a B&B should be worth considering.
Communication tips for couples working together
It might sound like the dream, living and working with your favourite person, but it can become a nightmare if you don’t safeguard your relationship outside your job roles. The key is constant and honest communication that sets boundaries and lets you both feel heard, even when what you need to say isn’t all that pleasant.
Our top communication tips for couples that work together are:
1. Have a safe word
This might sound a little odd, but having a word that one or both of you can shout when you’ve had a bad day and just need a little space can really help. It can be extra beneficial to get the word out there, then have one of you slip off for a long bath to let everything simmer down and allow some perspective to enter the chat. It might sound corny to say that you shouldn’t go to bed angry, but it’s true, especially when you will have to get up and go to work together the next day.
2. Don’t make everything about money
This is important, of course, but try to remember why you decided to take on that couple’s job – to spend time together and enjoy yourselves. If you find money creeping into every conversation, there’s a good chance that the arrangement is not working out and that separate careers might be a better idea, at least until money isn’t such a concern.
3. Book a day off
Book a day off together, make a pact to not talk about work for the entire day, and just enjoy being a couple, not a couple that just works together. This will help you re-establish important boundaries for home and work, which can never be totally separate, but can be compartmentalised for the good of your relationship.
4. Divide and conquer
Make an honest list of everything you think you’re best at and everything you think your partner excels at. Compare the lists and start drawing up some defined duties for within your working environment. Just because you live and work together, it doesn’t mean that you can’t take ownership for some individual elements or projects.
5. Debrief at the end of the day
Take time to sit and talk about your day. No matter how much of it you spent together, this will make sure you are both on the same track. To work together harmoniously, you need to know you see things from the same perspective and a quick run-through of the day can help guarantee that. It’s a nice excuse to enjoy a glass of wine and some good food together as well!
6. Know when to NOT work together
One simple rule is not to risk more tension by working together when things are already strained. If you can find a non-combative way to tell each other that now is not the right moment for being with each other all the time, you might be able to revisit the idea in the future.
Read more: Top five soft skills and how to improve them
Average salaries for jobs for couples in the UK
| Jobs for couples in the UK | Avg. salary (Mar 2020) |
|---|---|
| Highlands | £42,500 |
| Scotland | £41,166 |
| Devon | £40,000 |
| Somerset | £40,000 |
| South-West England | £38,454 |
| Wales | £33,750 |
| Cornwall | £30,420 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £30,417 |
| North Yorkshire | £28,160 |
| Cumbria | £26,803 |
| Dorset | £26,742 |
| West Sussex | £26,000 |
| Argyll & Bute | £25,000 |
| Hampshire | £20,995 |
Hospitality and management job ideas for couples
There’s many ways you can work in hospitality as a couple – don’t limit yourself to only one way of searching for jobs, as different employers will phrase it differently. Job titles might include:
- Hotel management couple jobs – Good opportunities to relocate, if that’s something you’re interested in and need accommodation to do so. Friendly couples make excellent hotel managers and can create a welcoming atmosphere without even trying.
- B&B management jobs – Whether you take on the running of an existing business or decide to start your own, this is a great way to play to your joint and individual strengths.
- Chalet management jobs – For a couple’s job that gives you more, chalet roles are fantastic. Get the chores done between you then hit the slopes for endless days of heart-pumping fun. It’s a great way to keep frustrations at bay, too.
- Innkeeper jobs for couples – A healthy halfway point between running a pub and a B&B, innkeeper roles let you experience the hospitality industry in more than one way.
- Resort management jobs for couples – Amazing for couples who possess a combination of practical and business skills, resort management lets you enjoy the pressure of the tourism industry and you can even use your experience to travel the world.
- Lodge couple jobs – A touch of the old world and the thrill of hospitality all rolled into one, lodge roles inject some tradition into couple’s jobs. You’ll more than likely need to be comfortable and confident around guns, as shooting parties enjoy lodges.
- Pub management couple jobs – The best pubs always seem to be the ones with a happy couple behind the bar, laughing with the regulars and being part of the community. Breweries know this and pay good wages for couples willing to complete their alcohol licences.
- Housekeeping couple jobs / domestic couple jobs – Quite old school but also romantic, housekeeper couple’s jobs usually entail a married couple looking after the home and gardens of a large estate, often for decades. With the right family, this can be an actual job for life.
- Self-storage manager jobs for couples – A great business opportunity for anyone with some spare land, self-storage facilities can be good earner. Some shipping containers, security cameras and good lighting is all it can take to start a successful enterprise, and all at home, too.
- Cruise ship jobs and jobs on yachts for couples – Cruise ships are so huge now that even if you work on one together, you probably won’t see each other much – unless you are an entertainment duo! Performing couples can benefit from plenty of free time during the day, while entertaining together on stage in the evenings. In terms of jobs on yachts, crew vacancies can suit couples very well, especially if there are no ties on land. Couples usually fulfil engineer and stewardess roles, or servers and chef positions, working together and sharing quarters.
- Chef couple jobs – Kitchens are notoriously stressful environments, but some of the best chefs work with their partners. Most of the roles available are open for live-in couples who will be taking care of cooking, gardening and housekeeping.
- Farm jobs for couples – Not for the faint-hearted, farming jobs are great for couples and families, as everybody has a role to play. Expect early mornings and hard graft, but some of the best sleep you’ve ever enjoyed!
- Warden couple jobs – most commonly needed for caravan parks, wardens help with all aspects of park management, from cleaning to checking in guests and looking after the grounds.
- Caretaker jobs for couples – Looking after a building can be a never-ending task but doing it as a couple lets you enjoy a sense of stewardship and responsibility. Living on site is handy for when unexpected problems arise, too.
Read more: How to become a self-employed private carer
Adventure jobs for couples
- Rural jobs for couples – Jobs in the countryside are often involved with estate management, with one half of a couple taking on gardening and maintenance duties and the other being responsible for housekeeping. These roles can offer a welcome change of pace for people leaving the city.
- Campsite jobs for couples – Groundskeeping and maintenance work are the main duties for campsite couples, especially if there are shower or cooking facilities on site, as guests will be dependent on them working.
- Caravan park jobs for couples – Cleaning the caravans inside and out, maintaining clear access and landscaping are vital elements to working at a caravan park. Couples tend to split the administrative and manual jobs between them.
- Eurocamp jobs for couples – Summer jobs don’t get much more fun than Eurocamp! If you like spending time with kids, have some skills to impart and have a responsible streak running through you, you and your partner could be excellent camp counsellors.
Seasonal jobs for couples
- Summer jobs for couples – Any job seems nicer in summer but working with a loved one can make it all the better. Running an ice cream van or working for the Youth Hostel Association are both examples of seasonal summer roles that would be better as a pair. Most popular summer jobs for couples are campsite and caravan park management. You can find plenty of employers on dedicated websites like Season Workers Guide.
- Ski season jobs – If one of you can cook and the other can clean and both of you can ski or snowboard, you’d be crazy not to consider a ski season couple’s job. If one of you is particularly good on the slopes, a job teaching could be a fantastic extra earner. Great resource for finding more information on ski season jobs for couples and employers who offer courses and jobs is Season Workers Guide.
Read more: Exciting jobs abroad for couples by Olivia Christine Perez from Go Overseas
Before deciding to work with your partner, be really sure that it is the right move for you both. Have honest conversations about worst-case scenarios, money concerns and try to plan for arguments and downturns in fortune.
If, at the end of a few chats, you are both still sure that being together as much as possible is the right course of action, then it’s time to figure out exactly what you want from your roles and to go for them.