Most people spend more than half of their day at work so it should come as no surprise that a lot of them have romantic encounters at their place of work.
Most office affairs of a romantic nature come at a high price as they can damage your career or even your personal life. This is one of the reasons most organizations frown upon fraternizing between co-workers.
Here are a few reasons why office romances blossom in the first place
- Usually, you meet people at work who already have a lot common with you.
- The amount of time you spend with your coworkers is sometimes more than the time with your immediate family and the closest friends.
- Some jobs require a lot of travel, which makes you spend a lot of quality time with your colleagues.
All these reasons increase the chances of having a romantic fling in the office.
The downsides of these work place romantic involvements can sometimes be very difficult to deal with.
Here are a few things that you need to be aware of about work place romances:
1.You can never keep it a secret for long. Hiding your affection in front of so many people can be next to impossible. Very soon it will get the attention of your coworkers and can get awkward at times.
You are mistaken if you think that you can be under the radar and keep your co-workers in the dark, because keeping it undercover for long just won’t be possible.
2.You become subject to accusations of favoritism by others at work. You are an easy target of office gossip. Always being under scrutiny and being judged by others at work cannot be avoided.
You are suspected of using your relationship with your boss for getting ahead on the corporate ladder etc. Even if you deserve it, your raise might be taken as favoritism.
Promotions, projects, team work will all be judged based on your relationship. Even the professional decisions maybe be influenced by your relationship.
Your coworkers will suspect you of favoring your love interest and being biased to your partner over other associates
3. You can get sick of spending too much time with your partner. Already spending long hours at work with your partner can burn the excitement of seeing each other after work and going out for dinner dates.
If you had different work organizations, then probably you would look forward to the weekends to spend time together. But seeing your partner at your work place all the time leaves no excitement for spending more time together after work. All this can strain the relationship.
4. It can turn pretty messy when your relationship fails. There will be no escape. You will still have to meet and interact with each other on a daily basis. Ill feelings can lead to badmouthing each other and consequently affecting your position and dignity at work. You won’t be able to avoid the unpleasant scrutiny and drama, which will come with the breakup.
Of course, there are exceptions but these are few and far between.
So if you are already romantically involved at work or thinking of it, then you need to be fully aware of the pitfalls so that you can go into the relationship with both eyes wide open and work your way around these obstacles.