There’s a universal saying that goes:
“Don’t sh*t where you eat.”
And no, I’m not talking about going number 2 on your dining room floor when you stumble in after a night of binge drinking. I’m talking about romance in the workplace.
You should never fall into the trap of lusting after somebody you work with. The ultimate issues arise when things go south. There is only the “head in the clouds,” lusting feeling for so long, and once the bubble is popped and you see slightly more clear, everything starts to crash down on you.
I’ve fallen victim, a couple of times, of blurring the lines of business and pleasure. I’ve made the mistake of getting my boyfriend a job at the same restaurant I worked at, thinking it would be fun to work together. Wrong. I’ve also hooked up with co-workers thinking that as adults, things won’t be weird or uncomfortable when we see each other. Wrong, again. All and all, what I’ve learned is that the answer is extremely simple: Never mix romance and work by any means.
1. School Girl Crushes:
When you first start to like someone, you feel all giddy and happy like a little girl running out to recess. You start to look forward to places that you’re going to see the person and you start to really try to get yourself looking right. But, even though you might enjoy going to work more because you’re going to see your crush, your work performances is going to start to slip.
When you’re too concentrated on trying to schedule the right times to walk past them, you start to lose sight that you actually have a job to do. Bad performances at work only hinder and hurt your growth professionally.
2. People judge:
Whether you like it or not, people are going to judge you – especially your professionalism. People love to assume things generally, if you start to get too close with a co-worker, it’s safe to say they might assume something is going on. And, most of the time, they start to gossip and lose respect for you.
Especially, if you decide to date the boss. Then, it’s game over. You can forget about people opening up to you and even wanting to hangout with you. Half of the time, they resent the fact that you get to be so close to your superior, but most of the time, they’re scared you’ll open your mouth and leak something that can jeopardize their jobs.
3. Anger Issues:
Any relationship, good or bad, has its fair share of fights and disagreements. You never want to go into work angry and upset over something that happened in your romantic life, but it’s awfully hard to pretend that everything is okay when you work with that special someone. When put under pressure from working on top of dealing with your own personal stress, it can be a bit of a disaster.
4. Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun:
If you do decide to date a co-worker and you decide to keep it a secret from everyone else, it’s bound to fail. First of all, why would you ever want to be involved with someone who you have to keep a secret from everyone and everything? It’s basically like having an affair with someone, hear no evil, speak no evil. It’s always exciting in the beginning, because it’s so “wrong,” and it feels so “right,” but eventually, the game gets tiring and boring.
5. It Can End Horribly:
Not everything lasts forever in life, much like a really good meal; love doesn’t always last. When you get involved with anyone in the beginning, the prospects of a future seem fairly promising. But, as life works, love doesn’t. Once your someone turns into an ex-someone, things can get really awkward, especially when you work together. You start to dread going to work and often find yourself calling in sick or using your PTO just so you don’t have to deal with the tension.
The bottom line is simple ladies: a casual flirtatious relationship between you and a colleague at work is always fun and makes for an exciting work environment, but once you cross the line of flirtatious to serious, all bets are inevitably off. It’s better to play it safe, save your job, reputation, and sanity and look for love outside of your job.