5 Tips for Dealing with Dating Your Co-Worker
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Working with someone you find
attractive is challenging in any situation, but it’s especially so when that
person is also your potential love interest. In these situations, everything
feels amplified and any awkwardness feels ten times worse. Dating your
co-worker can be a stressful situation that requires tact and strategy to
navigate without damaging work relationships or personal friendships. And while
most people are cautious about dating their coworkers for the risk of things
going south and creating an awkward working environment, there are those who
feel like it’s the best option at that moment in their life. If you’re one of
those people and are considering dating your co-worker, here are some tips to
help make things easier for you –
Know the company’s policy on office
relationships.
Before you start anything with a
co-worker, you’ll want to take a look at the company policy on dating
co-workers. If the company prohibits relationships between employees, you’ll
want to make sure you are not only following the policy, but taking steps to
avoid discovery. If the company does not prohibit relationships between
employees, you’re in luck – you’ve got a bit more freedom to do what you want
and date whomever you want to date. There are, of course, some caveats – if
you’re dating someone who reports to you or is in a position to negatively
affect your work, you’ll have to be cautious about how you proceed. If you
start seeing someone and things get serious, you may want to consider switching
roles or departments.
Communicate your feelings early and
often.
One of the biggest challenges in
dating a co-worker is the fact that you have to see each other every day.
Dating someone you don’t really know well is always hard, but dating someone
you see five days a week is even more difficult. The more you communicate your
feelings and intentions, the more you’ll be able to mitigate the challenges of
dating someone you see every day. If you’re seeing someone casually, let your
co-worker know that. If you’re seeing someone seriously, let your co-worker
know that. Let them know where you’re coming from. That way, if things go
south, there aren’t any misunderstandings. You’ll also be able to gauge their
feelings and intentions better. The less you have to guess, the more you can
focus on enjoying yourself and your co-worker’s company.
Don’t be alone together unless you
have to be.
Even if you’re seeing someone
casually and you’re both comfortable with that, you’ll want to avoid being
alone together unless it’s absolutely unavoidable. Being alone with your
potential love interest is one of the fastest ways to put them in an
uncomfortable situation and make them feel pressured. Plus, even if you’re
comfortable with seeing each other alone, your co-worker may not be. By
avoiding being alone with them, you’ll make them feel more comfortable and
reduce the chance of misconstruing your intentions. If you absolutely have to
be alone with your co-worker, make sure you’re in a public place. If you can
make sure there are other people around, even better. Let your co-worker know
that you’re aware of the situation and you’re trying to make things as
comfortable for them as possible. Don’t try to make any moves on them – even if
you’re interested in them, it’s best to wait until you’re alone together
outside of work.
Don’t go to lunch or after-work
events together.
If you’re seeing someone casually,
you can get away with going to lunch or after-work events together, but you
want to be careful. Going to lunch or after-work events together is a slippery
slope – it’s best to avoid it if you can. Going to lunch or after-work events
together puts you in a situation where it’s easy to get too relaxed and less
professional. You want to avoid that at all costs if you’re trying to keep your
relationship casual. If you’re seeing someone casually and go to lunch or an
after-work event with them, make sure you keep it casual. Don’t spend too much
time talking to them and don’t let them spend too much time talking to you.
Keep the lunch or event short and casual – then you’re both back to work, and
no one is left wondering what was going on.
It’s also best to avoid any
work-related events that have a casual atmosphere if you’re trying to keep
things casual. You don’t want to get too relaxed and risk things getting too
serious too soon. Going to work-related events together is a good way to keep
things casual, but it’s also important that you keep it casual and don’t let it
get too serious. Going to work-related events together is great because you
have a reason to see each other, but you have to make sure you don’t get too
serious while you’re there. You want to make sure you don’t cross any
professional boundaries while you’re there and make sure you don’t spend too much
time together.
Be very careful with emails and
texts.
Email and text messages are tricky.
Emails are permanent, which means you don’t want to say something in an email
or text message that you don’t want anyone else to ever see. Even if you and
your co-worker are dating seriously, you don’t want to say anything in an email
or text message that could be misconstrued. It’s better to be overly careful
and cautious than to be overly flirtatious or careless. Texts are even worse
than emails because they are so easily misinterpreted and misunderstood. It’s
best to avoid sending anything that could be misconstrued. If you and your
co-worker decide to date, make sure you’re very careful with emails and texts.
Don’t say anything in them that you aren’t comfortable with your boss or boss’s
boss seeing. If your relationship progresses to the point where you want to let
your co-worker know how you feel, you can do so in person or over the phone.
If you decide to express your
feelings in person or over the phone, make sure you do so in a private setting.
You don’t want anyone overhearing your conversation or even seeing you with
your co-worker together. Before you say anything, make sure you have your
co-worker’s full attention. Don’t assume that just because you’re dating that
your co-worker is always ready to listen to you.
Conclusion
Dating your co-worker is challenging,
but if you follow these tips, it can make it easier on everyone involved.
Before you start anything with someone you work with, make sure you know the
company policy on dating and that you and your potential partner are keeping
things casual. Once you’re sure everything is casual, all you have to do is
follow these tips, and you and your co-worker will be dating in no time!
And if things don’t work out, make
sure you respect your co-worker’s wishes and keep things professional. Dating
your co-worker is a risk, but if done correctly, it can be a rewarding
experience for everyone involved.