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So why date someone you work with? In today’s world of social networking sites, singles events and just plain going out and living life it is not all that difficult to meet people.
However keeping your personal and your work lives separate can prove increasingly difficult.
“At first it seems like it’s not a bad idea,” says Joel Robinson, 20, a TELUS employee, who has dated someone he’s worked with. “There’s the attraction and you see them every day at work so they start to grow on you.”
Weighing the pros and cons of dating someone you work with is important. Many employers have worker related dating policies ranging from being completely fine with office romances to firing you for dating someone you work with. Dating someone you work with doesn’t just affect your life; it can affect your co-workers as well.
Jennifer Stuart, 29, met her fiancé Giovanni Pasqualini five years ago when they worked together at Sobeys.
She admits that in the beginning of their relationship things got a bit tense with her boss mainly because all she wanted to do was be with him. Stuart was working in the deli and Pasqualini was working in the meat department. They took their breaks together all the time, he would distract her from her work and he would always stop and visit her, taking her attention away from the customers.
“I find things got better when we stopped working together,” says Stuart who left Sobeys for another job while Pasqualini became a store manager. “We wanted to see each other more when we weren’t seeing each other all day every day. Now he’ll send me little texts from work saying that he misses me and asking how my days going.”
In a 2007 survey from career publisher Vault.com found that 47 per cent of workers have participated in an office romance. The main issue arising from dating in the workplace is not letting it interfere with your job.
Kyle Braun, 24, met his girlfriend Carrie Berreth, 24, while working at a Calgary coffee shop. They were good friends for two years before they started dating.
“We didn’t make it obvious,” says Braun. “We kept the workplace as professional as possible. It was kind of hard especially in the beginning because all you want to do is make out and it does make calling in sick hard because everyone automatically assumes your having romantic liaisons.”
In one aspect keeping your personal life private while dating someone you work with is tricky. The biggest challenge of all arises when you break up with someone you work with. You still have to each other every day, work together and if that person is your boss you still have to do what they tell you. Also the fact that people like to gossip can lead to a lot of drama in the work place.
TELUS’s Joel Robinson knows the challenges faced after breaking up with someone you work with.
“You start avoiding them, going to different ways to your desk,” says Robinson. “People start talking about it, asking you things and wanting to know more. Overall it can be pretty embarrassing. I wouldn’t say dating someone you work with is a bad idea but it’s not a good idea either.”
So whether office romances are a good or bad thing is left to the individual, the maturity level of the relationship and the depth of the relationship. According to the Vault survey 20 per cent of respondents met their spouses at the offices. Finally, it’s your life so live it.
“If you’ve had a good friendship going for awhile and the relationship wouldn’t interfere with the productivity of co-workers then go for it,” says Braun. “A little clandestine love never hurt anyone… except Romeo and Juliet.”
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