Keeping your romantic and professional lives separate is a major necessity in today's corporate world. Ask any advice columnist; consult any self-help book. After all, when you're trying to exude a certain level of competence and professionalism, smooching by the photocopier won't help your case one bit.
Plus, there are plenty of other places to meet people, right? Take the bar scene -- most of us love the aura of mystery dim lights, pulsing music and beer breath add to a first impression. Or through friends -- or friends of friends of friends. Awkward blind dates set up by acquaintances can be fun. Umm, the laundromat...?
Is an office romance really that bad an idea?
Okay, it's hard to be 'out there' when you spend most of your time at your desk and the new guy in accounting keeps making meaningful eye contact. Would it really be such a bad idea to go for it? Workplace love can work, but it can also go spectacularly wrong. If you want to go there, make it easier on yourself and heed the advice of women who've been in your uncomfortable, but necessary with a pantsuit, stilettos.
Keep it quiet
A few years ago, I decided to go for it. Working as a waitress, I had always been vocal in my choice not to date coworkers. The last thing I wanted to worry about during a busy lunch hour was my love life. So when my friendship with one of the sous-chefs gradually became something more, we wisely chose to keep it to ourselves. Keeping our new relationship a secret actually brought us closer, since we had to strategize arrivals and departures, as well as avoiding the urge to break out into simultaneous goofy smiles.
Page 1 of 3 - Learn more advice about keeping an office romance on page 2.
