Most professionals spend a lot more time at work than they do at home. Because of this, there are always a lot of single men and women who don't have time to meet new people. So, the office is the most likely place for them to meet other single men and women.
When single people spend at least 40 hours, and in some jobs 50 hours or more, with people who have similar backgrounds and interests and with whom they have a lot in common, it can be tempting to start a relationship. Even though it makes sense to look for love at work, there are both good and bad things about the office dating scene.
The good dating in office
Office dating has a number of benefits, one of which is that you can meet single people during your work hours. This means that office hours are no longer a problem. Also, first conversations are usually done under the guise of being at work, which takes away the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time. This also takes away the stress of having to make such an important first impression, since the impression would be based on some kind of work goal instead of just a personal goal like in normal dating.
A second benefit is that you at least know a little bit about the person before you date them. In reality, you may work with a potential date more than once and learn more about them and their personality without being put on the spot like you would be in a normal social setting. This helps avoid the most common problem in early relationships: not being a good match.
One last benefit is that you can get to know each other quickly because you see each other so much more often than people who meet outside of work.
The bad dating in office
There is definitely a bad side to office romance, just like there is a bad side to dating in general. For example, sharing an office can be a huge advantage, but it can also be a huge disadvantage to be around each other all the time. When this much time is spent together, a relationship can end just as quickly as it started. We all need time to ourselves, but when we see each other five days a week for eight hours or more and then spend the weekends together, we don't have much time to ourselves.
Another bad thing about office romances is when one person has to do their job, which could mean that they have to punish or even fire the person they are dating. Even though this might seem like a far-fetched idea when you first start dating, I don't think you'd be too happy to have to tell your boyfriend or girlfriend, "You're fired." Another example of this would be if one of the participants had to go out of their way to show the rest of the office they weren't favouring anyone, even if it meant not promoting the most deserving person.
One last problem with dating at work is that jealousy could happen, especially if the relationship is "under cover." If you see your coworkers flirting with your date, it would be natural for you to feel bad, and being in an office shouldn't make you feel anything but natural. With that response, you might do something silly, like punish someone for something that has nothing to do with work.
Before you think about dating the cute secretary on the fourth floor or the hot VP you saw at the last office meeting, think about what it would be like to date that person, weigh the pros and cons, and if you decide to move forward, keep an eye out for all the things that could go wrong and know how you would handle them. Keep in mind that you are dating a professional single, so if you want to keep your job, put "professional" before "single."
