Top 8 office romance dangers you must know before any serious affair

Office romance is a story that is as old as the office itself. This is becoming increasingly common but it is important to know that such things need to be handled with care. Office romance is something that can definitely cause problems not only to both the parties involved but also to the supervisors and other co-workers. No matter how confidential and discrete your relationship is, it always is prone to a large number of risks that will hurt you badly.

In this article, you will come to know about the top 8 downfalls to office romance and how they can affect you later in life: office

• DISTRACTION FROM THE MAIN CHORES

Distraction can often be a major downside to office romance. An office is a place where you are basically expected to be professional in all the terms, may it be interactions with co-workers or the work you do. Having a relationship with your fellow worker can be a sense of distraction since even if you are determined and committed to your work, you will find yourself spending absolutely minimum time actually focusing on your work. Rather than being at your workspace, you might land up somewhere else physically or mentally. This can affect not only your performance as a worker in that office but will also have a negative impression in the eyes of your boss.

• PERCEPTION OF FAVOURITISM FOR YOUR LOVED ONE

When two people at different levels in an office or a company are in a relationship and where one of them is powerful enough to influence the career options or the position of the other, it often leads to favoritism. The other person tends to get benefits even though his or her performance was at par with the others. This can also result in injustice towards the other workers since they might feel demotivated towards their work. Also, it can lead to a bad impression in the minds of your co-workers often leading to gossips.

• REPUTATION OF COMPANY AND INDIVIDUALS AT STAKE

Dating your colleague or co-worker in the company can often result in a bad reputation for both the individuals as well as the organization in which they work. Those individuals who are dating their co-workers are usually perceived as less professional for mixing business and pleasure or may be misinterpreted as an act to improve their position.

• ILL-EFFECTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Sexual harassment is any kind of unwanted conduct of sexual nature. It can result in a hostile work environment and also results in tangible work activities such as sudden promotion, demotion or firing based on the individual’s submission or refusal of sexual advances. In situations like these, it is best to either change the department or the facility in which you are working.

• HIGH CHANCES OF ILLEGAL BEHAVIOUR

A relationship gone sour can promote numerous illegal behavior such as threats. If two individuals tend to have an ugly breakup, this can lead to one of them being mentally disturbed and cause him or her to act or behave inappropriately. Such behavior basically results in constant unwanted contact wherein one of them will constantly try to argue. This can also go to the stage or harassment and stalking either in the workplace or anywhere else which is quite severe. Also, breakups like these can cause drama in the company itself and again build a bad reputation of yours in the firm. It is also considered as a sense of unprofessionalism and cab cause serious damage to your career in the near future.

• CAN HARM THE PRODUCTIVITY OF BOTH YOU AND YOUR PARTNER

Dating in the office can cause a serious problem to both the individuals since they won’t be able to give their best when it comes to their work. Such people tend to feel less motivated towards completing their work and also lose a sense of determination. This can actually risk the future of both their careers. In addition to this, it can also cause harm to the productivity of fellow co-workers who might indulge themselves in the gossips. Also, if you are working as a team for some project, it can surely cause a loss not only to you but also to your teammates putting your career at stake. Hence you need to be careful while taking such risky decisions.

• WHAT IF WORKPLACE ROMANCE TURNS SOUR?

In situations like a breakup both the individuals tend to experience a stressful environment wherein it becomes very much difficult to concentrate on work. Another observation made is the disruption in productivity due major loss of interest in work by both parties. This can further cause a loss to the company or the firm since the entire potential of the employee is not exploited. This in a way is similar to an actual loss of an employee to the company. Also, the situation may worsen to such an extent that an employee might for real leave the company just to keep a distance from their ex.

• VIOLATION TO COMPANY POLICY

Many companies tend to impose company policies stating that no two individuals from their company can date or be in a relationship and strict action will be taken against those who violate the rules. The companies formulate such rules to basically maintain professionalism and ensure that every employee in their company is focused enough to perform well and result in great outcomes.

Some Last Words

It is worthy to note that office romance is not something that suits your professional career. However, even if you think of getting into a relationship with your co-worker or anyone in your company for that matter, make sure to take into consideration the above possibilities and take decisions accordingly based on the level of priority you give to your career. We believe that this type of open office romance has fewer chances of staying together and so, must be avoided at all levels.