Interoffice relationships should pretty much be banned, rather than frowned upon. People get themselves mixed up in these situations because we tend to spend the bulk of our days at the office. It’s easy to develop a work crush, but how you handle it makes all the difference.

If your career is important to you, you should probably avoid this diabolical situation at all costs, as it can get very messy, very quickly. Should you choose to embark on this path of interoffice sexual relations, here are some tips you should consider:



Don’t Tell Coworkers

Everyone loves a secret, but no one knows how to keep it. In this situation, the less people that know about your interoffice romance, the better. The last thing you want is for your philandering to fall victim to office gossip.

So, instead of offering up your relationship on a silver platter to the chatty Cathys of your cubicle, make sure you and your partner discuss logistics and really get a game plan together in order to avoid that painfully awkward and embarrassing conversation with your boss.

Do Not Date Your Superior

Dating the boss is never a good idea for many reasons. You never want to give another person control over you (unless, of course, it’s in the bedroom and you’re into that sort of thing).

This can jeopardize advancements in your career within your current group and within the company as a whole because you are mixing business with pleasure.

Even if it’s public knowledge that you are involved with one another, you then risk the notion that you may be receiving special treatment due to your situation.

Boredom Sets In

If you’re seeing someone every single day of the week AND spending your weekends together, you definitely run the risk of becoming bored with the relationship.

Dating outside your work circle allows open communication about your day-to-day, maybe some funny stories about coworkers and that promotion you have been inquiring about; dating within your work circle does not.

A coworker is there experiencing it all with you. Plus, you have to be careful about what you blab; if you ask me, that’s a lot of effort especially when wanting to vent to your partner without reservation.

The Jealousy Factor

Your partner hires a pretty young thing and now all you can think about is their sexual tension and bonding over late night meetings and PowerPoint presentations while you’re not around. That will not only affect your performance, but it can cause tension between you and your other half.

The Dreaded Break-Up

So you call it quits. Good luck playing dodge ball in the halls, pretending not to see each other in plain sight and if you do, mastering the art the “I didn’t even see you there” look. This gets awkward for not only the two of you, but also for everyone around you.

It forces coworkers to choose sides, you lose credibility with others depending on what side of the story is being telephoned around the cubicles, and if it gets to be too much, you run the risk of getting fired.

Getting ready in the morning becomes a challenge, needing to look amazing to make your ex feel awful for dumping you, and God forbid you start dating someone new and your ex finds out — now that’s an awkward weekly team meeting.

So the next time you spot someone in the office lookin’ good…look the other way. Expand your social dating circle outside the elevator banks or face any and all of the hypothetical situations above.

You’ve been warned!

Samantha Selvaggio
Photo Credit: USA Networks/Suits
www.samanthaselvaggio.com