The Pros And Cons Of Dating A Coworker - Page 12

Essentially, we see our co-workers through beer goggles: they appear more attractive than they actually are. Why? Well for starters, they understand our daily stresses better than anybody outside the office. Add to that the simple fact that we are regularly exposed to them, and you have a recipe for what can feel like love, or at least major chemistry. So we know office romance can happen, but should it? Here we weigh the pros and cons of dating a coworker. Catch real reader stories of dating a coworker here.

Pro: Pick me ups at work

When at 2pm, you know a great make out session could get you through the rest of the day, you can make that happen through a simple email or instant message.

Con: You’re constantly second guessing their behavior

If your co-worker can’t meet up with you for that 2pm make out session, is it because he really has a meeting to go to, or is he using that as an excuse because he’s just not feeling it? It’s the workplace: there will always be an excuse not to be affectionate, if you want one.

Pro: He’ll think your complaints are valid

Try to complain to a non-co-worker boyfriend about the food stealer at work or the person who never cleans the coffee filter, and he’ll tune you out or tell you that you complain too much. But your co-worker boyfriend totally gets it.

Con: You can get caught up in talking about work

Your conversations could be dominated by office gossip, or work projects, or talking about the person who never cleans the coffee filter.

Pro: Secret relationships are kinda sexay

Depending on your company’s policy on in-office relationships, you might have to hide your relationship from everybody. And that makes it all the more enticing.

Con: You could lose your jobs

Your jobs are at stake…and unemployment is not hot. Nor is explaining to potential future employers that you lost your last job because you were having an affair with a co-worker.

Pro: You already know one another

If you’ve worked in the same space for at least a year, you pretty much know how many relationships he’s had, how much of a player he is, what he likes for lunch, whether or not he is a late sleeper etc.

Con: There are no more surprises

You might feel cheated out of the phase of a relationship where you discover one another’s cute idiosyncrasies—what you’ve seen is what you get. And you’ve seen it all.

Pro: You earn a similar salary

You know what sorts of purchases you can and can’t ask him to make, and what sort of trips are realistic for him to pay for, because you’re working with the same salary. And there won’t be any feelings of inferiority/superiority with regards to money. This is unless you’re dating a superior.

Con: You earn a similar salary

So if yours isn’t good…you get the point. You’re both capable of the same upward mobility, which might be limited. If you want to know what your financial future could look like together, you can see it completely clearly. And you may not like it.

Con: You can get sick of each other

For most couples, the work hours are the time they get to themselves, and to socialize outside of their relationship. You won’t get that when you’re dating a coworker.

Pro: You understand one another’s schedules

There won’t be fighting over who is or isn’t dedicating enough time to the relationship: you see how the other is being kept late at work.

Con: Somebody could get promoted

You might find yourselves with very different schedules if one of you is promoted! But that’s the least of your worries because now one of you is the other’s boss, and that’s awkward.