Office relationships are tricky. We've all experienced that one colleague who tries to move their relationship into the office. But it's not always easy to tell when someone is just being friendly or romantically interested. So what do you do? Here are some dos and don'ts for office relationships to help you decipher how to handle them at work.
Office Romance – The Do's
It's natural to want to be close with your colleagues at work. You spend so much time together that it's only natural for people to start feeling attracted to one another. Make sure you have boundaries in place though, like not using your workplace as an excuse for making plans with someone other than your significant other or not exchanging personal information, such as phone numbers, through your company email system.
Office Romance –The Don'ts
Office romances are complicated. It's really easy to get caught up in them. But there are reasons you should be careful about entering into office romances. Follow these steps to keep your job drama-free:
1) Remain professional at all times. You'll be tempted to text or email during work hours, but it's important that you keep your conversations with your significant other limited to non-work time.
2) Prioritize. Make sure your responsibilities outside of work come first; spending time with family, friends, and attending social events are good for your mental health.
3) Know when to call it quits. Office relationships can last for months or years; if one of you takes on another position out of state, decides to go back to school, starts getting more serious with someone else...it may be time end things before they drag on any longer than necessary.
Office Dating –The Do's
-It is inevitable that you will be spending a lot of time with your coworkers, but make sure you are still maintaining healthy boundaries. You should never have any physical contact at work.
-Be very clear about what you are looking for in your relationship before starting anything. Also be aware that while many people think that they can date without it affecting their work, it often does not go as planned.
Office Dating –The Don'ts
It's tempting to start or keep an office romance going. We're all adults here, so what's not to like? But there are downsides to having any kind of relationship with your workmates. Firstly, office romances have higher rates of breakups than non-office relationships. And as anybody who has been in one knows, breakups are never fun.