Ek en my spanmaat werk saam.

Yes. In Afrikaans, my means my in the possessive sense, as in my teammate.

So:

• my spanmaat = my teammate

This can feel confusing for English speakers because English my is possessive, while English me is the object form. In Afrikaans, my can also appear in other functions in different contexts, but here it is clearly possessive because it comes before the noun spanmaat.

Spanmaat means teammate or team partner.

It is made up of:

• span = team
• maat = mate / partner / buddy

So spanmaat is literally something like team-mate.

A related word you may also see is spanlid, which means team member.
Spanmaat feels more like teammate, while spanlid is a bit more neutral and general.

Afrikaans verbs do not change according to the subject in the present tense the way English verbs do.

So you get:

• Ek werk = I work
• Jy werk = you work
• Hy werk = he works
• Ons werk = we work

The verb stays werk.

That is why Ek en my spanmaat werk saam uses werk with no extra ending.

Saam means together, and in this sentence it comes after the verb:

• werk saam = work together

This is a very normal Afrikaans pattern.
You can think of saam here as an adverb describing how the action is done.

So the structure is:

• Ek en my spanmaat = subject
• werk = verb
• saam = adverb

Not in a normal main clause like this.

Afrikaans has both:

• saam werk = work together
• saamwerk = cooperate / collaborate

But they are used differently in sentence structure.

In a simple main clause, you would usually say:

• Ek en my spanmaat werk saam.

If you use saamwerk as the verb, then in a main clause it behaves like a separable verb:

• Ek en my spanmaat werk goed saam. = My teammate and I work well together.

In an infinitive construction, you may see it written together:

• Ons wil saamwerk. = We want to cooperate.

So for your sentence, werk saam is the natural form.

Both are possible.

• Ek en my spanmaat
• My spanmaat en ek

In everyday speech, both are common.
However, many speakers feel that My spanmaat en ek sounds a little more polite or more formal, because it puts the other person before yourself.

So:

• Ek en my spanmaat werk saam. = perfectly correct
• My spanmaat en ek werk saam. = also perfectly correct, and often preferred in careful speech

Because the sentence means my teammate, and possessives normally do not take an article.

Compare:

• die spanmaat = the teammate
• 'n spanmaat = a teammate
• my spanmaat = my teammate

Just like in English, you would not usually say the my teammate.
So Afrikaans also uses my spanmaat without 'n or die.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present where English might use either:

• work together
• are working together

So Ek en my spanmaat werk saam can mean:

• My teammate and I work together
  or
• My teammate and I are working together

If you want to make right now extra clear, Afrikaans often adds a time expression, such as:

• Ek en my spanmaat werk nou saam. = My teammate and I are working together now.

Not exactly.

Afrikaans my is usually pronounced more like may or mei than English my.

So:

• my in Afrikaans does not sound like English my

This is a very common point of confusion for English speakers because the spelling looks familiar, but the pronunciation is different.

Yes, en is the normal Afrikaans word for and.

So:

• Ek en my spanmaat = My teammate and I

It is used very much like English and to join words, phrases, or clauses.

Examples:

• Jan en Maria
• brood en botter
• Hy lees en skryf

Yes, but the meaning changes.

For example:

• Ek en my kollega werk saam. = My colleague and I work together.
• Ek en my vriend werk saam. = My friend and I work together.
• Ek en my spanmaat werk saam. = My teammate and I work together.

So spanmaat is specifically about someone on the same team, especially in sport, games, or any team-based activity. Use it when that relationship is important.