At the Jenn Lee Group, a rule prohibiting talk about work after 7 p.m. was put in place when Jennifer Lee Bogutt, president and founder, decided in January to hire her husband, Michael Bogutt, as the East Greenwich company’s new director of business development. The 7-yearold firm works on advertising, marketing and public relations.

Jennifer Bogutt said she and her husband talked exhaustively about the risks and benefits of bringing him onto her staff before they took the plunge. Ultimately, they decided that Michael could bring the passion and abstract thinking that the position needed. She said the two have a successful marriage, and they decided to make a parallel move into work, for the benefit of the business.

Michael Bogutt said he and his wife had been talking for years about the daily tasks and challenges of her communications business before he came onboard. He quipped, “I’m finally getting paid for all this advice I’ve been giving.” Because of their frequent and open conversation, he said, they have both evolved past the point where they get bent out of shape over disagreements. The solution to working through disagreements, Michael Bogutt said, “is to keep the argument within the context of the topic.” He believes this maturation in their personal life also will serve them well in business. Daily life at the office since he joined the staff has been smooth, Michael said. The 10-person staff bustles, with everyone busy with his or her own tasks. “We don’t spend much time together during the day,” he said. “It is not like we get home at night and look at each other and say, ‘oh, not you again.’ ” Michael and Jennifer drive separately to work, he said, because both need a car during the day. On the occasions that they have driven to work together, they turn the radio on and refrain from business talk until they get to the office. The 7 p.m. rule applies until the 9 a.m. whistle blows the next day.

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