Having strong relationships at work isn’t unusual and can be very beneficial, but there are situations to watch out for. Commonly known as a work spouse, work husband or work wife relationships develop.

In a study by Totaljobs.com., one out of five women has a relationship that would describe as a work husband. Simply Hired conducted a survey and found the results even higher as 50 percent of women labeled a co-worker as a work spouse.

“Obviously, it is very common to see these relationships in the workplace,” said Alan Hubbard, NTI’s Chief Operating Officer, “but you need to have boundaries in place and be aware of the situation with your team. Ideally, you want people to have multiple work relationships, so everyone is working together. It prevents the problem of what happens when things change in the relationship. This can be a big problem when one of the people is promoted or leave the company.” NTI@Home helps Americans with disabilities find at-home-work opportunities with free training and job placement services. You can register for free at www.ntiathome.org.

If one of the work spouses move on the other one can feel left out of the working environment, because they have been leaning on the other person for support, guidance and use them in a confidant role. The danger is sadness going on for a long period of time, which can affect job performance.

“This is a case where making the attempt to get to know your co-workers better, maybe having coffee today,” said Hubbard. “It is a chance to get to know your coworkers better.”

If your friend is being promoted to a manager, you need to respect the relationship will be different with you a different level.

“That can be a major issue and a test of a working relationship,” said Hubbard. “Both parties have to realize things are going to be different and boundaries exist. The manager might not be able to share any company information and avoid favoritism.”

The other danger is when work spouse expands to be conducted outside of work

“It’s the emotional closeness that’s threatening – and that can swiftly morph into romantic dependence,” said Tracey Cox, a columnist for the Global Mail in an article of The Courage.com.  “I’m all for friendships between men and women and have several close male friends myself. But you do need to set boundaries and getting so close that you call a work colleague a ‘wife’ or ‘husband’ can be asking for trouble.”

(NTI@Home helps Americans with disabilities find at-home jobs with free training and job placement services. You can register for free at www.ntiathome.org.)