Last Updated: 1st April 2020
Dating is a tricky business. And if you are dating your co-worker, then the whole business becomes more trickier. If not careful, your great companionship can affect or completely ruin your career. Both your careers. Which can directly affect the relationship as well. So what do you do?
Look Up Your Employee Handbook
Most employers distribute a comprehensive employee handbook on the first day or first week of starting a new job. And mostly these handbooks will include something or the other about dating your coworkers. Read it.
In case there is no such thing called an employee handbook, turn to your coworkers. You don’t have to flat out ask them about dating, but just casually insert dating and dating topics into conversations to wring out information.
If everything fails, just ask somebody from your workplace who you trust. Or Google it.
If you still can’t find the information you are looking for, keep your dating outside the workplace. Date all you want but unless and until you are married, try to keep all aspects of your relationship away from the workplace. Even though many employers will only frown upon such occurrences, there are instances when both individuals have been fired from their positions.
To Share or Not to Share
When you are dating dating your co-worker, there can be a sense of competition among the two of you. And if your other co-workers know you two are indeed dating, they might take advantage of the situation and induce an even stronger sense of competition between you. So choose carefully whom you want to share your relationship status with.
Even if you might not think your friends at work are out to get you, remember this – any sense of seemingly unprofessional conduct, like coming late to work, dressing differently than usual, teaming up with your partner all the time on projects thus disallowing others to partner with you, and the like, will be seen as the direct result of your relationship, whether right or not.
This can put a great deal of stress on you, your relationship, in addition to your daily dose of stress at work. So choose carefully.
Be Professional
It’s best to be professional at your workplace. This means no physical contact of any kind, no private conversations, and definitely no PDA. Your workplace is a place to demonstrate your professionalism and be courteous to others. You don’t want someone to complain about you at work, do you?
Over to you..
One can find love at the oddest places, at the most oddest of times. So if you’re presented an opportunity to strike a connection with someone, chances are you are unwilling to let go. At times like this, heed my advice above. I would never say you need to leave your chances at love and concentrate on work only. It’s best to gather information on office rules regarding dating your co-worker, and then discussing your options with your partner.
Protect your professionalism, be true and nice to your partner and everything should be well OK.
Read our other Business Etiquette posts.
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