Why Offices Romances Are A Big No

It’s almost like a punch in the gut when you wake up on a Sunday, remember it’s Monday tomorrow and have a full work week before you can just stay under the covers again. But then you think of that co-worker you’re so smitten with and it doesn’t feel as bad anymore. Even a Monday can seem exciting when you’re exchanging glances across the room with someone, planning coffee breaks together and occasionally even getting out of the office for a quick bite.

Going to the office, and even working overtime, suddenly becomes more exciting than an evening out with friends. You’re spending all of this extra time with a new love interest and your mundane work routine just became exciting.

While it’s all fun and games at the beginning and can be both exciting, and at the same time overwhelming, here’s the reality of indulging in an office romance:

Love or Lust?

Often, it is difficult to tell if you are just infatuated with a person or if there is actually a meaningful connection. You see someone attractive, you spend time with them, you flirt a little bit and you may mistake it for being more than just an attraction.

Partiality?

It’s possible that you are in a relationship with a subordinate. People always find out and there is a chance, in fact a high probability, that you will be accused of being partial towards this one person. It could be worse, you could be involved with a superior and your co-workers may assume that you’re being let off easy because of your relationship with him/her. Either way, you’ll be in trouble.

What If You Break Up?

Let’s say the two of you actually do get together and start dating. What if a few months down the line, you decide to part ways? Work is the one place where you usually escape from your personal life. In this case, you will be interacting with that person on a daily basis and this may even potentially impact the office decorum and the environment of other employees.

Will You Quit? 

What if you invested too much of yourself in this relationship that didn’t work out and now you cannot bare to see this person at work every single day? You find it too hard to cope with this and decide to look for a change. Was this worth it to go through the ordeal of actually quitting your job, serving notice period and having to answer questions from your co-workers?

Performance?

Let’s assume that your relationship with this person is going decently well. You see each other all the time and basically cannot get enough of each other. This isn’t a college project, it is serious work where you are held accountable for certain tasks. It’s possible that your new love interest will directly impact your performance. You may begin to take your work lightly, you may slack off a little here and there and this may cause more damage than you could be prepared for.

Personal Space?

It is tough to get time for yourself when you are constantly in each other’s face. We spend a majority of our waking hours at work and not being able to get a breather on some days, can be a little exhausting and sometimes, even a little unhealthy for a new relationship which may lead to tension between two people.

Legal Trouble?

What if the potential breakup is not amicable and one party is hit harder than the other? It’s possible that a sexual assault/harassment claim may come up, possibly to seek revenge. This may, very quickly, turn ugly.

To sum up, there are a few ways in which an office romance may go wrong, but there are also possibilities that it may work out. It depends wholly on how one chooses to handle their relationship.

What are your views on office romances? Do you agree with the writer here? Tell us in the comments below.