The Realities of Office Romance
16 July 2011
Read by 1441 persons
5 reasons not to fall for office romance:
You spend most of your time at work. You rarely leave the office for lunch, even less in the evening. You would like to meet the right person, but don't know where to look. Suddenly, Cupid shoots one of his arrows, hitting the person in the office next door.
Your heart beats faster, your blood rushes to your head. It's certain, love is next to you, and you hadn't seen it! Of course, meetings will be more fun. And you already have so much in common. But are office romances doomed to succeed? Is it worth it? Before you do anything, here are 5 reasons not to make your office colleague your next lover.
Romance vs. Reality.
Unfortunately, this is not a Grimm's fairy tale, so you can't really count on a happy ending. Besides, if life were fair, you wouldn't be in this dilemma, and the arrow would have hit someone working in the company across the street.
Be realistic
one of you will have to leave the company if things go wrong, are you ready to take that risk? And even if it goes well, it's not certain that your story agrees with the unwritten rules of the company, which frown upon relationships between employees.
A promotion later...
Now let's imagine that you are dating someone from your department, and you are offered a promotion. Now you're going to be in a relationship with your subordinate! This opens the door to all sorts of absurd situations: will you be impartial during performance reviews? Will you be able to make yourself heard? You see what I mean...
Play it cool.
You still think it's a good idea? Then get ready to stock up on vitamins, and multiply your sense of discretion. You're going to need a lot of energy and focus your efforts to keep your story to yourselves! And when your colleagues discover the truth (and it's only a matter of time), be prepared to be the subject of all sorts of suspicions:
"I can't believe it, what does she see in him?"
"Of course he got a raise, look who she's hanging out with..."
If you want people to see your professional skills first, don't give them any ammunition!
It's not just about you.
You think it's a matter of your private life, but is it really?
Logically, your story directly impacts the lives of your colleagues. Sit next to each other in the company cafeteria, and you'll see people from the table get up to leave you alone. Others will prefer to exclude you from certain conversations for fear that you will tell your significant other everything.
Thus, consciously or unconsciously, your relationship will most likely influence a lot of behaviors around you, and not only in the cafeteria. Your romance will impact everyone's judgments, whether it's promotions, projects and responsibilities assigned, team building... The efficiency of an entire department can be affected.
And harassment?
This is the icing on the cake. If your romance ends badly, will your ex tell HR that you made unwanted advances? Are you ready to accept the consequences that a harassment lawsuit can have on your career? It doesn't only exist in American movies...
So take the time to step away from the office to develop other networks of contacts outside your immediate professional sphere, where your next love might be hiding. And if despite everything you think that the person of your life is your office neighbor, get transferred to another department, or simply change jobs!
Posted July 16, 2011.
www.monster.fr
You spend most of your time at work. You rarely leave the office for lunch, even less in the evening. You would like to meet the right person, but don't know where to look. Suddenly, Cupid shoots one of his arrows, hitting the person in the office next door.
Your heart beats faster, your blood rushes to your head. It's certain, love is next to you, and you hadn't seen it! Of course, meetings will be more fun. And you already have so much in common. But are office romances doomed to succeed? Is it worth it? Before you do anything, here are 5 reasons not to make your office colleague your next lover.
Romance vs. Reality.
Unfortunately, this is not a Grimm's fairy tale, so you can't really count on a happy ending. Besides, if life were fair, you wouldn't be in this dilemma, and the arrow would have hit someone working in the company across the street.
Be realistic
one of you will have to leave the company if things go wrong, are you ready to take that risk? And even if it goes well, it's not certain that your story agrees with the unwritten rules of the company, which frown upon relationships between employees.
A promotion later...
Now let's imagine that you are dating someone from your department, and you are offered a promotion. Now you're going to be in a relationship with your subordinate! This opens the door to all sorts of absurd situations: will you be impartial during performance reviews? Will you be able to make yourself heard? You see what I mean...
Play it cool.
You still think it's a good idea? Then get ready to stock up on vitamins, and multiply your sense of discretion. You're going to need a lot of energy and focus your efforts to keep your story to yourselves! And when your colleagues discover the truth (and it's only a matter of time), be prepared to be the subject of all sorts of suspicions:
"I can't believe it, what does she see in him?"
"Of course he got a raise, look who she's hanging out with..."
If you want people to see your professional skills first, don't give them any ammunition!
It's not just about you.
You think it's a matter of your private life, but is it really?
Logically, your story directly impacts the lives of your colleagues. Sit next to each other in the company cafeteria, and you'll see people from the table get up to leave you alone. Others will prefer to exclude you from certain conversations for fear that you will tell your significant other everything.
Thus, consciously or unconsciously, your relationship will most likely influence a lot of behaviors around you, and not only in the cafeteria. Your romance will impact everyone's judgments, whether it's promotions, projects and responsibilities assigned, team building... The efficiency of an entire department can be affected.
And harassment?
This is the icing on the cake. If your romance ends badly, will your ex tell HR that you made unwanted advances? Are you ready to accept the consequences that a harassment lawsuit can have on your career? It doesn't only exist in American movies...
So take the time to step away from the office to develop other networks of contacts outside your immediate professional sphere, where your next love might be hiding. And if despite everything you think that the person of your life is your office neighbor, get transferred to another department, or simply change jobs!
Posted July 16, 2011.
www.monster.fr
