With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, high street card retailers are stocking up on a plethora of cards for those we cherish.
Card Factory is among the stores gearing up for the romantic rush on February 14, and their latest offering has sparked a debate online after an image of one particular card was posted to Reddit.
The store’s selection includes cards for partners, spouses, and even pets – which isn’t out of the ordinary. However, this year they’ve stocked shelves with one for a new kind of recipient: the ‘Work Husband’.
“Card Factory really do have a card for everyone,” remarked a Reddit user on the Casual UK subreddit upon discovering the Valentine’s Day card in their local store. The concept of the ‘Work Husband’ card has left many Brits feeling it’s a “risky” move, with some suggesting that sending such a card could lead to trouble in a relationship.
One woman commented in response: “If somebody gave this card to my husband I would be going to jail.” A second shared their discomfort: “I would be deeply unhappy to receive (or learn that my partner had received) a Valentine’s Day card from their ‘work-spouse’. The whole concept is odd.”
A third chimed in with their reaction: “If I received this I think I would quit, walk the whole way home, then crawl up in a ball of cringe and hibernate till autumn.” Whilst a fourth individual expressed their disapproval: “The whole work wife/work husband thing is so gross, unbelievably disrespectful to the real partners as well.”
Elsewhere though, a Redditor justified such a term under specific circumstances. “The only time I could see this being ok would be if the person receiving it was attracted to whichever sex wasn’t the one of the person giving said card,” they said. “My husband has a work husband. They’ve definitely found ‘the one’ in terms of work friends who just really ‘click’. They’ve even taken our kids out on geeky daddy day trips to places they both love. It’s such a joy.”
And in fact, another shared their own experience, declaring that the ‘work spouse’ concept can be innocent. “I have actually had someone jokingly declare themselves my ‘work spouse’, but it was totally platonic,” they wrote. “That was actually the first time I heard the term. I have always interpreted it as being like an old married couple, where you’re just comfortable and can talk about anything.”
They added: “I’m still good friends with my ‘work spouse’ thirty-something years later, and nothing romantic has ever come of it, nor do either of us want it to. So I have to say, unless the wording inside makes it clear it’s a joke, this seems less like a ‘work husband’ thing and more like a ‘side piece’ thing.”
Card Factory has been approached for a statement.