The question of whether office romances are harmless or harmful is a tricky one to answer. My answer would be that it really depends on the individual circumstances. It’s a very common occurance for co-workers to start dating, with a recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management finding that nearly 40% of workers had had an office romance.

I guess I would fall into the 40% category, having worked at the same place of employment as my current boyfriend, although I knew him before I started working there. We always kept things strictly professional and friendly at work, and never crossed the line with risky behavior on the job. The institution was large enough that we didn’t really work in the same building either. But we also never denied the fact that we were dating. While I was employed there, I also knew of a number of other office romances going on. It seemed that some people were able to remain professional, while others just could not help themselves and ventured into some dangerous grounds.

The formation of inter-office romances is inevitable as men and women continue to spend long periods of time together. It’s only natural that different kinds of relationships will be formed, such as friendships, romantic relationships, and so on. The workplace is a great place for men and women to meet other people who share similar goals and interests, however, office romances can sometimes spell disaster for the company.

Potentially problematic results of office romances include extramarital affairs, and a relationship between a supervisor and a subordinate. These things can cause a great distruption in th workplace. Affairs are a touchy subject, and violate the ethics of many co-workers. When an adulterous colleague asks another co-worker to cover for him or her, they may feel morally compromised by the request.

Those include extramarital affairs and a romance between a boss and subordinate. They can disrupt the office, harm teamwork and lower morale. To many co-workers, an affair violates their ethical values and they may feel morally compromised if asked to cover for adulterous colleagues. When a supervisor/subordinate relationship occurs, charges of favortism often run rampant. Supervisors may give the subordinate promotions they do not deserve, and overlook less-than-stellar work performance.

Another study conducted by the University of Tulsa found that most full-time workers don’t mind when their colleagues form romantic relationships, except for when it involves affairs or inappropriate relationship between a boss and subordinate. Such cases can hamper teamwork, lower morale, decrease productivity, and create a feeling of resentment and anger amongst colleagues.

When office romances go sour, the company can also feel the pain. When couples split up and become bitter towards one another, they may ask co-workers to take sides. And sometimes, the break-up can also lead to charges of sexual harrassment, especially if the relationship was between a supervisor and a subordinate.

However, even with all of the potentially problematic results of an office romance, there are some positives that can come out of it. Some studies have found that those with an office romance are happier and more productive at work, and a poll by Vault.com found that 40% of people met their future spouse at or through work.

Now whether or not you decide to take the plunge and start dating one of your co-workers is up to you, and likely up to your office’s policy. Many companies forbit inter-office romances, while others don’t really have any clear-cut policy. If you think you can remain professional at work, no matter if you two eventually break-up, then I’d say go for it. But if you’re the type of person that wouldn’t be able to handle seeing them day in and day out without overly sexual, or couldn’t handle seeing them after a break-up, it’s best to find a lover outside of your office building.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 9th, 2007 at 10:08 am and is filed under Relationships, Love, Love at Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.