Is Office Dating Appropriate?


According to a recent article on CBS MoneyWatch, office romances are becoming increasingly common. In a way, it makes sense, because if you’re working crazy hours trying to keep your boss happy, it’s tough to find time to meet people outside the office.

Of course, dating a coworker can seriously backfire because if you break up, you’ll still have to see them every single day. And if you’re dating a superior (or your company has a strict anti-fraternization policy), that introduces a whole other can of worms!

I’ve never dated someone in my office, and it’s unlikely that I will in the future; I now work from home at an office of one (even when I reported to an office, I didn’t have much exposure to potential boyfriends, my coworkers were predominantly female). But I’d be interested in your take on this topic.

Have you had an office romance? Or are you strictly against it?


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office dating, dating in the office

Susan Johnston is a freelance writer/blogger who has contributed to publications including The Boston Globe, Mint.com’s blog, WomenEntrepreneur.com, and Yahoo! HotJobs. Her own blog, UrbanMuseWriter.com, covers tips on productivity, brainstorming, and more for fellow writers.

Discussion

  1. Yoosuf on the 28th July

    i am just turning my self as a Freelancer, but ultimately while i was working i had so much of crush, but it didn’t go for further ;(

    so missed it

  2. Rafael on the 28th July

    I’m not against it… and its not cause my girlfriend works with me 😛

    I think that it is not a problem if you can handle with both things…

  3. Dev on the 28th July

    I’m still in a relationship with a girl I met at work, we’ve been together for more than a year now and its been awesome 🙂

    She started working at the company as a designer under me, and over a year I got to know her, both professionally and as a person. We first became good friends and after one thing led to another, we ended up dating each other.

    I think its great, and rather happy it happened this way, because we got a long period of time to get the chance to find out about each other, and had shared alot of interests, so when we ended up “dating” it felt quite natural. I’ve been in far to many other relationships that didn’t last half as long simply because things didnt kick off quite right to begin with, so it never grew properly.

  4. Ionut Staicu on the 28th July

    Like de Niro said: never pee on your own pool! (The Score).

    You don’t date co workers and you don’t date neighbors. If you broke up, things will bee waaay too odd!

    • Greg B. on the 29th July

      The whole “if you break up” thing is just an awful way to think about relationships in my opinion. Focusing on what will happen if it doesn’t work out is just a bad way to go into one in general. I’ve accrued and lost a few girlfriends in my past, grade school days but remained friends with each one, no awkwardness.

      I think a good separation of work behavior and ‘at home’ behavior is enough to allow workplace romance. You never know where you’ll meet your special someone (sounds so cliche) so I don’t see why you’d let an old rule ruin that chance.

  5. Tim on the 28th July

    I met my wife at work, all for it. You can meet that perfect person anywhere really.

  6. Sam'e on the 29th July

    I’ve done it in the past, it screwed up real bad… and fortunately he quit the job but I must say this relationship was not really healthy.

    It definitly made me rethink some things but I think it could also turn very well so I don’t close the door to the possibility. Because like said Tim just before, “you can meet that perfect person anywhere really”.

    And I find flirt at work very stimulating + it gives me more confidence to achieve my things. ;D

  7. Gemma on the 29th July

    I met my partner at work. We’ve been blissfully together for 3 years now. If I’d ruled out dating a co-worker just because of what ‘might have been’ I’d have missed the love of my life. Love is too important to turn down just because you’re scared of what might happen. Go for it!

  8. Himanshu Chanda on the 29th July

    Hi Susan,

    You have raised a worthy thought and the reason behind it (late working hours) is correct too.

    When two individuals are facing the same trauma it becomes quite obvious to start sharing feelings.

    On the other hand I am a strict No-No for the same. The reason being the success ratio in relationships (whether in office or outside) is quite meager. I don’t mean to say things fail but occasional hiccups are enough to spoil your attitude towards your partner.

    Have witnessed couple of instances where once you reprimand someones partner the other comes running to save. There are more casual talks in office. People start taking you differently and for a few who cant control the scenes go beyond obvious.

    I guess that is even the reason many corporations dont allow partners (married) to work together, atleast in the same department.

    Open to your views.

    Regards
    Chanda

  9. Brian Altenhofel on the 30th July

    I met my wife when we were both working overnights at Wal-Mart 5 years ago.

  10. Mike on the 9th November

    I’ve dated someone i worked with. I was great until things got weird. Then we had to see and work with each other everyday. I’m not sure if i would do it again. It depends on how closely we worked together

  11. milli on the 20th February

    I work for a large company’s HQ (approx 2000 people in the building) and I met a guy in a completely different department and in a different segment of the business. I met him in the office gym, so we immediately had two things in common: we work, and we workout! We would chat during workouts and grew to know each other. We’re just starting our relationship now and we both decided to keep things discreet and focus on our work while at work, and have a relationship outside of the office. Sometimes we go to lunch together, but we pay separately and act professional in public. My parents are totally against it, but I think as long as it doesn’t get in the way of your productivity at work (which it doesn’t), what’s the big deal?

    Since I’ve started dating him about 2 months ago, my performance at work has gotten even better, and my supervisor has noticed. And with the ‘break up’ thing, well, that’s a negative way to look at a relationship… “when you break up.” Yikes. I’ll enjoy my happiness for now 🙂

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