I hope that, for many of you, you have found the love that you deserve and are blissfully happy with your partner. For those of you still looking, I realize it can be tough balancing the pursuit of success in your career and personal love life. For some people, romance buds in the workplace, whether they expect it or not.
Now, I have to state here that many companies have strict dating policies about coworkers and employees. Some outright forbid it; others will ask you disclose the relationship once it becomes serious. While all companies have their reasons for these policies, the only suggestion I will make is that bosses should not date their employees. It creates far too much of an ethical dilemma and will likely result in termination of both parties. So what do you do if you and a coworker feel sparks, would like to date, but want to avoid any ethical issues resulting from the partnership?
Be honest and up front.
For the love of Pete, don’t keep your budding romance a secret! It might seem exiting and dangerous at the time, but there is no faster way to get in hot water than to keep an office romance a secret. Let your superiors know the minute things become serious and try and keep them in the loop.
Keep the relationship at home.
Your office is not a place to have a quick make out session. Physical romance should stop the minute you two walk into the building. Sure, you can go have a nice lunch together some days, but try to keep PDA to a minimum, since it sparks a wildfire of gossip.
Find a way to “table” arguments while at work.
When you’re having a heated argument with your lover, it can be hard to “drop it” for a while, but you have to find a way to make that happen when you go to work. The company’s productivity should not be affected in the slightest because of your inability to work together due to a personal spat.
Make sure that you do not have any influence over your partner in the office.
It’s a good idea to make sure that you have no way to influence the position of power that your significant other has in the office. This might mean that one of you transfers to a new department or takes on a new project. No matter how hard to your try to keep things equal, there will always be coworkers that accuse you of favoritism, so it’s best not to give them the opportunity.
What about you? Have you ever had an office romance? What are some of your pieces of advice for our corporate Romeos and Juliets?
