Office romance... done right.

What happens when you’re interested in someone you work with? Do office romances always end badly? Short answer is no, and while I’m sure you’ve heard more than a few nightmares stories in this genre, there are happy endings. I’m living proof.

I fell in love with the man in the office down the hall.

Now, nearly 8 years after we first met in the engineering firm where we worked, our relationship has evolved long past lunchtime running dates. Now we're married with a 2 year old daughter, and together we have 2 companies, successful investments and a life we specifically constructed to our liking. The foundation of our relationship is strong, because we first learned to work together, before we set out on the tricky road of love and merging our lives and growing our family.

There are a lot of reasons why finding your mate in the office down the hall isn't the worst thing. In today’s busy world, you likely spend more time in the office than you spend anywhere else. You’re likely to share much in common with your colleagues, and if you work well together, all the better.  

The are many pros to consider, but adding love to office politics is a road riddled with landmines. When Vince and I first began to get to know each other, we approached with extreme caution, and our story is a happy one because of it.

If you are considering dating someone you work with, I have some advice to help ensure you don't damage your career or your reputation while taking a chance on love.

Keep it platonic for as long as possible.

When you’re in a work environment, romantic entanglements can tank a career if they go sour publicly. Approach with extra caution, and take the longer, friends first route. If you just want to "date" go online, go to the bar, go elsewhere. Only attempt dating in the office, if you're taking a chance on finding the one.

If your love interest down the hall is worth the wait, then first focus on building a strong working relationship, then a strong friendship. Don't just dive into an intimate relationship, or you risk making a mess before you know if you could really see a future together. Vince and I worked out together at lunch time, took coffee breaks together, and really got to know each other before we even saw each other after work hours, and did this for several months. The benefit to this approach is that once we decided to make a relationship official, we knew that we had found the one, nearly right from the start.

Careful disclosure

When my then husband to be and I truly began to get close and our relationship had progressed, we wanted to come clean. I was a contractor at this company and he was an employee. We reported up through different departments, and although our work complimented, we knew we weren’t in conflict with HR rules - we had made sure of that. None the less, I knew that there was a risk that our admission would not be well received. So we first told Vince’s boss, and then mine.

Have a backup plan

If your company doesn’t like your news, you need to be prepared. Sadly, at the company we were at, they didn’t care much for our news. A bad example of office romance had played out only just months before us, so they opted not to let us work on projects together. While we could have just kept it all a secret, once we really knew we wanted to give our relationship a real chance and we’d made it past the superficial barriers of early dating life, we didn’t want to hide.

Never be overt. NO PDAs

No matter what the stage or age of your relationship, newly in love or still happy after 30 years and 3 kids, don’t be that kissy couple in the office. It’s bad taste. Be professional in professional settings and save your affection for other times. It seems like common sense, but the lines between work and life are blurring more and more, as technology enables our work to come home with us. This is one line, that should remain firm. Your relationship needs to live outside the office walls. When you arrive in the office, the only trace of your home life should be the fluid and effective nature of your years of practice of being partners and teammates.

Vince and I no longer work at the same offices during the days, but our lives, our businesses and our family stand a little stronger because we first bonded by working together.

If you take it slow, you’re respectful of your employer and your colleagues, and you have a back up plan in case a job change is required; you might just find your one true love in the office next door.

Did your love begin in an office? Comment below and share your happy love story.

Happy Valentine's day everyone. 

Laura Vero-Augustine

Follow me for business class solutions to running a smoother, happier and more efficient household. www.household-ceo.com

Got a difficult life decision to make? What's your decision making process?

Click the image below to see this CEO-style Decision Making guide and make sure you take the right road for you.

Check out the Household CEO website. www.household-ceo.com to DOWNLOAD FREE e-books including 50 Little ways to Save BIG Money and more.