subject: Why not to have an office romance [print this page] Why not to have an office romance Why not to have an office romance
Are you gazing at the person sitting opposite your workstation with starry eyes and a belly full of butterflies? Do you time your daily journey in the elevator to coincide with a certain special someone who works in the payroll department? Have you ever dropped a secret valentine through the gap in a colleague's private filing cabinet? Woah there my friend! Starting a romance in the office is not the wisest of options.
It's easy to see why office staff can fall for each other. Spending an average of eight hours a day in the same vicinity with an attractive co-worker is bound to lead to the occasional romantic feeling. Fellow workers share the same topics of conversations, are privy to the same office politics rumours and share a communal hatred of the bossy fat cats running the business empire they work for. That's clearly a recipe for mutual attraction.
However, getting together with a colleague means seeing them at work and at home. That can be disastrous for those who value their alone-time and treasure their sense of individuality. Spending lots of time with a person when in the beginnings of a relationship can turn things sour quickly.
Also, rumours surrounding the newest office couple will surely emerge and place unnecessary pressure on a fledgling connection with a co-worker. This can initiate cracks in the fragile infrastructure of a budding relationship.
If the romance becomes more than a just a fleeting succession of unsuccessful dates and blossoms into real love and companionship, contending with rumours is more than worth it. Yet, if a few years down the line the office couple decide to part ways in an embittered fashion someone's career is bound to suffer. Seeing the love of your life wandering through the office floor plan, dividing your mutual work friends into warring camps and being unable to focus on work matters can put a dampener on career ambitions.
Maybe it's still worth it? Each office has its own set of romance rules and a British London workplace can differ dramatically to the atmosphere of an American White Plains office. Tune in to the sentiments of your office and assess whether a relationship with a colleague is a choice for the short or long term.
