work spouse
A work spouse is a colleague appointed to indulge your complaints and share your triumphs at the office as if they were your real spouse. They offer the unachievable "meeting-room solidarity" and "break-room empathy" not found in actual married life. Logically, they are just coworkers, yet emotionally, they are secret society allies. Sometimes unpaid counselors, sometimes ghostwriters for your notes, they stand by you through the hectic battles of corporate life.