It’s that time of the year again, everyone is filled with high energy ready for the festive period.
Whether you’ve had your work Christmas party or it’s still going ahead and coming up, the singletons might be contemplating office romances.
With a theme of liquid lunches and after-work gatherings taking place all month, deeper connections can be built in around work colleagues.
With common jokes on keeping business and personal separate, it comes to the question, is it wise to hook up with a co-worker?
In the moment it can feel like the best decision but facing reality the morning after can be a different story.
James Thomas, relationship expert at Condoms.uk has shared 7 dangers of hooking up with a colleague.
1. You’ll be distracted
Once the line has been crossed, you might find it difficult to concentrate at work.
Depending on how much you work with them daily, you can be less productive in your tasks or struggle to concentrate on anything about work.
On the other hand, if the reception has been frosty, you could be filled with anxiety about coming into work or entering a Teams call.
2. You’ll always see each other
Seeing someone you’ve hooked up with every day can be overwhelming. Of course, this depends on how the situation has been left.
If you’ve decided to try dating, you might find that working together ruins the honeymoon period. Even though working from home can help this issue, if you find yourself on calls together the day after your adventurous date, it might dim the spark.
3. Everyone will know
Whether your hook up happened in secret or not, it won’t take long before whispers and stories will be passed around the office.
Even if you are fine with your private life being a talking point at work, be prepared for the social pressures to arise.
Be prepared to be the target for backhanded jokes and dating questions.
4. You don’t know their history
Even if it seems like you have a great connection, you might be unknown to their history and reputation.
If you work in a large company, it will be impossible to know every co-worker in each team. Be sure to understand if they’ve slept with anyone else in the office already, to gage their intentions.
If he is a serial flirter, you might save yourself heartache in the long run by avoiding the hookup.
5. It might damage the hierarchy
Even if you don’t have a policy which restricts managers and subordinates dating, you shouldn’t go there.
If one of you is underperforming in the working world, it can negatively damage your relationship.
A good rule of thumb is to never hook up or date someone whose career you have control over and vice versa.
6. You might feel trapped
Since you must keep a personal relationship and a work relationship, it’s double the work. You might find yourself ignoring the red flags to make the work relationship stress-free.
This means you are accepting things you normally wouldn’t, as addressing the situation would make it harder to work together.
Try and understand their intentions from the offset and establish how to not let the romantic and work merge take over your life completely.
7. You might make a habit of it
If the hook-up was a success and you enjoyed yourself, you might think about setting your sights on a new co-worker.
Whilst this might seem innocent, it can affect your career path and change your priorities when you come into work. If you have had more than one office romance, it’s worth expanding your dating pool.