Office romance: yay or nay?

Relationships are already such difficult, complicated things to deal with, but when you add equally complicated office politics into the mix, it begs the question: is having an office romance worth it?

Sure, there are those few instances where an office romance can blossom into something greater – a picket fan, a house and a happily ever after, perhaps – but allow us to be contrarians for a moment as we look at some of the reasons why initiating an office romance is never (ever) a good idea.

Romance vs. Reality

Unfortunately real life doesn’t resemble the movies, so we don’t always get the happy ending we desire.

If you you’re smart, you’ll stay in reality and not get lost in the cloud of romance. One of you may need to leave the job if things don’t work out. And if things do work out, one of you may still have to leave because it’s against company policy.

Getting promoted

Imagine you and your office sweetheart work in the same department. Then, one of you gets promoted. While we’d all love to pretend this doesn’t change anything, it will. The dynamics WILL change.

Now you’re in a relationship with your subordinate. What happens when it’s time to conduct reviews and disciplining the love of your life, at the office? It can only get messy.

Playing it cool

Dating a colleague means whatever sense of discretion you had will have to increase tenfold. You’ll need a lot energy, effort and discretion to keep your office romance just between the two of you. Despite that strong urge you have to shout it from the building rooftops that you’re together, you can’t. Mum’s the word.

It affects more than just you

Everything points to your relationship being a private affair, but is it really? Your relationship will affect your colleagues directly. If you two sit together, will people now feel the need to give you privacy? Will you be excluded from certain conversations because people aren’t sure if you’ll share the conversation with your new love?