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Work wife (thelemmy.club)
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[-] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 227 points 1 month ago

Assuming he’s not cheating with her (emotionally or physically), this is called having a friend.

[-] BCsven@lemmy.ca 59 points 1 month ago

Guys don't have women friends bruh /s

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[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 159 points 1 month ago

They don't work together anymore. So….he has a friend?

[-] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago

Hard to tell. Sometimes the term gets used as subderfuge so the person can act on feelings they believe may be inappropriate to the relationship from lack of reciprocity, reprisal if it's against policy at work, or if it violates the terms of another romantic relationship. I don't know if it's fair to automatically call the use of the phrase dishonest, but it definitely provides harborage for those who would use it that way. If someone at work referred to me as their work spouse, I'd quickly help them find a better term as nicely as possible but without compromise on that point. I just can't see a valid, ethical reason not to let other people know where they stand with me. I mean that in the best possible way, and I don't think "work spouse" accomplishes that in a way that both defines and honors the relationship most effectively.

[-] fizzle@quokk.au 130 points 1 month ago

The term "work wife" is so gross.

She was a colleague, and now she's a friend. It's fine to have colleague's and friends but when you start referring to them as some kind of pseudo romantic but professional counterpart it's just weird.

[-] davidgro@lemmy.world 66 points 1 month ago

I just assume they are cheating on any actual spouse either one has.

[-] smegger@aussie.zone 25 points 1 month ago

Yeah any time I've heard the term work wife/husband, it was implied they were hooking up.

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[-] LiveLM@lemmy.zip 121 points 1 month ago
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[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 84 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Book the dinner. Spill the tea. Crack the plates.

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!

[-] Ioughttamow@fedia.io 34 points 1 month ago

I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.

[-] Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago

This insult has the highest ratio of courtesy and eloquence to psychosocial damage in the history of insults.

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

I’ve never gotten it as an effective insult, tbh. It boils down to:

I wish I knew half of you better, and I’m a crab about some of you

No? If he doesn’t like them as well as they deserve, then the “problem” is with him, not them. It’s definitely not welcoming, but it’s not exactly insulting if I’m reading it right.

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Wait until you discover the "regular wife" that keeps being your wife even outside work.

[-] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 29 points 1 month ago

Not in the employees code of conduct. Report that to HR

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[-] Triumph@fedia.io 71 points 1 month ago

Otherwise known as "friends without benefits".

[-] finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world 41 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

And ... does he have a home wife? A weekend wife? A holiday wife? A doctor's waiting room wife? A golf course wife?

[-] ViaGetty@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

... Oh honey, don't you? My waiting room wife has some availability; I'll put you two in touch.

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[-] mx_smith@lemmy.world 36 points 1 month ago

When you get older your coworkers are work son and work daughter. I’m their work uncle.

[-] gaiussabinus@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

Did you take an arrow to the niece?

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[-] houndeyes@toast.ooo 35 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)
[-] caboose2006@lemmy.world 34 points 1 month ago

Isn't this just describing a "friend". Idk I have none

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[-] MrSelfDestruct@lemmy.zip 33 points 1 month ago

I'm sure his SO doesn't see her as an emotional affair threat.

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[-] FreddiesLantern@leminal.space 31 points 1 month ago

You know what, seal Hormuz up again.

[-] Janx@piefed.social 28 points 1 month ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Take a work wife (which is already a psychotic term), remove the "work" part, and act like you invented this new type of relationship...

What are you even talking about!?

[-] very_well_lost@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

Tech morons are always acting like they've just discovered fundamental features of the human experience for the very first time.

[-] Krauerking@lemy.lol 9 points 1 month ago

Oh it is not just tech. Sailing and ships have ship wives which usually just means taking advantage of a newer person that is scared of saying no to a higher rank.

Everyone likes to think they are new and original and good morally while being awful.

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[-] djdarren@piefed.social 28 points 1 month ago

My work wife was a tiny Sicilian guy named Bruno. He doesn't work for us any more, but I still miss our walks into town to get lunch.

[-] tomiant@piefed.social 25 points 1 month ago

This guy is desperate to:

  1. fuck her

  2. pretend he doesn't

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[-] Avicenna@programming.dev 20 points 1 month ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

I mean you can just call her a "very good friend"? Or "one of my best friends". I am sure this will have a positive impact on your real wive's psychology too if you are married.

[-] TheRiskiestBiscuit@reddthat.com 20 points 1 month ago

You could not pay me enough money to admit something like this publicly, yet bro just did it for free. Lmao.

[-] notsosure@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

The expression “Bestie” is pretty weird in Germany, as it is pronounced besty-uh and literally translates to “wild animal” or “monster”. “Larissa was a real “Bestie” in bed last night; I’m completely bruised and scratched all over. Glad I have my work wife!”

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[-] Okokimup@lemmy.world 16 points 1 month ago

Intersting the way people assume "wife" means sex, and not the more likely analogy that she does all the shitty work to aid his career.

[-] architect 13 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Wife implies sex. The whole thing is usually “we would be fucking if we weren’t married to other people”. They can deny it all they want, but it’s mostly true.

[-] i_dont_want_to@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 1 month ago

Hey, now. Manipulating someone to do work for you and then taking credit for the whole thing is also fucking!

[-] ikidd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 1 month ago

Yah, they're fucking.

[-] Tacky4092@feddit.org 16 points 1 month ago

They look weirdly alike. I don't like it.

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[-] elekitty@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 month ago

Absolutely detested the only place I've worked at that I ever heard this term being used

[-] RattlerSix@lemmy.world 11 points 4 weeks ago

I'm bald so I don't remember ... is that what hair is supposed to look like?

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[-] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 11 points 1 month ago

his "work wife" is likely his sidepiece.

[-] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 month ago

most of my colleagues are women, I get along with them great. We occasionally socialize a couple of times a year outside work. I would be mortified for anyone to think they were anything more than purely colleagues.

like I wouldn't really be happy to think of them as friends - not that they're not lovely people, just that I have my friends who are friends, and these are nice people I work with.

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this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2026
340 points (98.6% liked)

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