When business gets personal

[ajharper]

Have you found yourself in a romance with a coworker? What do you do if you fall in love, and it's against company policy? How does your boss feel about office romances? Do your coworkers know?

[annasibs]

This happened to me once. I was the new executive assistant to the executive director in this NGO, and he was the human resources manager. He was not involved in my hiring process, and he was on an out-of-town assignment when I got hired. So, when we met, let's just say it was love at first sight, and a few months later, we got engaged. Unfortunately, it was against company policy for relationships like that to exist between co-workers. It was also a last one in, first one out situation, so I was asked to leave the company, being less senior in tenure than he is.

At first it was okay. We still tried to meet everyday despite our very hectic schedules. But these hectic schedules pulled us apart. We just broke our three-year engagement last month.

[mini_0]

It is not surprising that romance springs up at the office. We spend a third or more of our lives in the office or other places of work. It is a non-threatening environment where we have an opportunity to meet potential dating partners and learn more about them than just what they look like. Yet romantic involvement between employees is loaded with dangers for both the employees and for their employer.