A fine film by Eldar Riazanov has very little in common with real-life relationships that may happen by chance at work. Before closing your eyes and diving headfirst into an emotional whirlwind, it would be wise to understand what an office romance really is, what it entails, and how it might end.
First of all, no matter how strongly you feel drawn to the desired person, try to understand: are you truly in love with them, or are you simply available, and they just happened to be the first person who caught your eye?
Discreetly find out whether they are already involved, or if you are merely a pleasant addition for them. This is important to know even if you don’t expect anything serious from this romance.
And try to objectively assess the situation if the initiative comes from their side, especially if you are the boss.
Are they genuinely attracted to you, or is this just an attempt to secure a promotion?
If you still believe that work is no obstacle to feelings, try to calculate the situation as a grandmaster plans a chess game.
So, the downsides of this situation:
- Your relationship will constantly be under scrutiny. And there’s no guarantee your colleagues will welcome your romance. And if your relationship starts to fall apart, it will become a kind of show for your coworkers.
- If you are higher in rank than your partner, be cautious. The favorite person often begins to believe that your instructions do not apply to them.
- Work rarely evokes pleasant emotions. Most often, it is something necessary to earn money. After some time, you might start viewing your partner as something undoubtedly needed, but not the most important. Seeing them every day, especially at the beginning, is good. But eventually, everything becomes tiresome, and when you have no personal time at all, you begin to get irritated.
- If you eventually break up, and not by your choice, will it be easy for you to see your beloved walking past you as if you were just empty space?
The upsides in this situation also exist:
- You already know each other, even if only superficially, so finding a topic of conversation won’t be difficult.
- You see them frequently.
- To start a relationship, you only need to invite them a few times for a cup of coffee or a joint smoke break.
- A romantic affair at work, in the first weeks, brings adrenaline in any case. In small doses, this is very beneficial. Besides, it’s so romantic!
So decide for yourself whether you need this, and if the answer is positive—go for it! Exceptions do happen, so why shouldn’t your romance turn out to be successful?
But remember, if things go wrong, one of you will most likely have to leave.
