The Two Body Problem: How Remote Work is Keeping Couples Together

Hello!

It’s Thursday, 20^th March 2025. Welcome back to Bold Efforts, your weekly deep dive into the profound shifts redefining work and life. Today, we're exploring a deeply personal yet broadly relatable issue: the two-body problem.

What happens when the demands of ambitious careers clash with the realities faced by dual-career couples? Too often, the outcome is a painful compromise or, worse yet, a heartbreaking sacrifice.

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Key Idea: Two Body Problem

Originally rooted in classical physics, the two-body problem describes the complex interaction between two objects, such as planets or stars, that exert gravitational forces on each other. The analogy made its way into academia, describing the challenging scenario where two partners, both pursuing academic careers, must find suitable employment in the same geographic location. This situation, often incredibly daunting, has since expanded far beyond and is impacting couples across various high-achieving fields.

If you're unfamiliar with the two-body problem, it essentially represents the difficulty couples face when both partners are professionals needing to secure positions in close proximity. While academia initially highlighted the issue, with PhD-level opportunities notoriously scarce and geographically dispersed; today, professionals in fields like finance, diplomacy, and the military grapple similarly.

Junior bankers frequently rotate through multiple international offices before securing permanent roles. Military families regularly relocate, straining their personal lives and complicating career growth for the non-military spouse. Diplomats face postings around the globe, each new assignment challenging family stability and dual-career prospects. Mobile workers across these prestigious, high-paying sectors often find career progression directly linked to their willingness to relocate frequently.

Patrick Collison, founder of Stripe, recently highlighted a crucial perspective: remote work isn't merely a perk for employees. It's a societal solution to this pervasive challenge. Remote work transforms careers, relationships, and lives profoundly, giving couples the freedom to pursue their dreams without geographical constraints.

Yet, paradoxically, some companies aggressively push return-to-office mandates, often without clear reasoning. Such rigid policies not only ignore productivity data demonstrating that remote employees tend to be happier and more efficient but also disregard the emotional toll of forced separation or career compromise. Research consistently shows that remote work broadens access to global talent, reduces overhead costs, and offers competitive compensation options for companies. For employees, it provides autonomy, flexibility, and the invaluable opportunity to harmonize professional ambitions and personal relationships.

Beyond logistics, the two-body problem is fundamentally about fairness, equality, and emotional wellbeing. For generations, couples have endured heart-wrenching compromises: one partner sacrificing career aspirations or enduring lengthy commutes to maintain the relationship. Remote work challenges this traditional narrative, ensuring neither partner's ambitions must be sidelined. Furthermore, it allows couples to live in communities they choose, based on lifestyle preferences rather than employment demands. This shift can significantly improve quality of life, reduce stress, and foster deeper, more meaningful family connections.

Moreover, embracing remote work encourages companies to evolve management practices. Successful remote teams rely heavily on trust, clear communication, and performance-based assessments rather than physical attendance. This evolution benefits not just dual-career couples but also reshapes workplace cultures, fostering greater inclusion, empathy, and mutual respect across the board.

We are at a pivotal moment. Organizations that continue equating physical presence with productivity cling to outdated ideals. Forward-looking businesses embracing remote and asynchronous work methods will lead a quiet revolution, attracting exceptional talent and fostering deep employee loyalty.

The two-body problem won't vanish entirely; life will always require compromise. But by embracing remote work, we drastically reduce its severity. Love and ambition no longer need to be opposing forces. They can coexist, thrive, and even strengthen each other.

This isn’t merely the future of work. It’s the future of meaningful, fulfilling lives. It’s time we embraced it wholeheartedly. Thank you for reading!

Best,
Kartik

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Who am I?
I’m Kartik, founder of Polynomial Studio, a holding company and product studio building AI-driven businesses for the future of work. The way we work and live is being rewritten. AI, remote work, and shifting economic forces are reshaping careers, businesses, and entire industries. The big question is where it’s all heading.

For the past eight years, I’ve been at the forefront of these shifts, working across real estate, technology, startups, and corporate strategy. I’ve helped businesses navigate change and stay ahead of what’s next, always focused on understanding the forces shaping our future and how we can use them to build something better. Click here to know more about me.

Why Bold Efforts?
I started Bold Efforts because I believe work should fit into life, not the other way around. Too many people are stuck in outdated systems that don’t serve them. This newsletter is about challenging the status quo and making the effort to design work around life. It brings together bold ideas and actionable insights to help you build a healthier, more balanced relationship with work, leading to greater purpose and fulfillment. If you’re looking for fresh perspectives on how to work and live better, you’re in the right place.

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