Professionals are often limited when it comes to dating. With their busy schedules, they often don’t have time to go to the club or check out an online profile. So, where are they supposed to turn for love? Many decide to find romance in the office, something that many consider a rather taboo action. It all starts with that twinkle of the eye at the Coffee machine, and then esculates into something a whole lot more.
Yet, this doesn’t mean that Western culture doesn’t fantasize over the idea of an office romance. Movies, television shows and romance novels have dealt with such scenarios. But in real life, it’s something that all the experts advise against for the following reasons:
Many employers have rules against office dating. And, if you break these rules, you can find yourself without a job.
If a person is dating their superior, other employees might get upset if they appear to be receiving special treatment.
Conflicts within the relationship might be escalated, especially if there are office tensions.
If the relationship doesn’t work out, the couple must still deal with one another at work.
Now, do you think that your love is strong enough to fight against all of these problems? It is possible. And I know this because during my high school years, two of my teachers had gotten married to each other.
However, it should be noted that their situation was different from a typical dog-eat-dog corporate situation. First off, even though they worked at the same school, they did not work directly with one another, (since one teacher taught the high school wing and the other taught elementary school). If there were any relationship issues, they had enough freedom from one another to save those conflicts for when they got home.
Secondly, they were teachers at a private Christian school, a situation that didn’t have as much tension and politics as other workplace scenarios. Other teachers, and the principal didn’t have the same agendas as those in a more aggressive corporate environment. So, the romance wasn’t seen as being offensive, or something that would hinder the school’s progress.
In conclusion, don’t automatically discredit the idea of an office romance. Depending on your work situation, it may not even be an issue. But if it is, remember that you can always change companies if you find that you or your partner can’t handle the stress.