canstockphoto5327082

Romantic Relationships in the Workplace

on December 10, 2010

Romantic relationships in the workplace can be extremely exciting and can make you leap out of bed in the morning to go to work. But they are also high risk ventures. Even when you can trust your love interest (which we dare to suggest you should never do), others in the office are bound to notice your interest and will surely set tongues wagging. How so? Count on the fact that in your absence your staff has daily discussions about you. Often it will venture into the personal. The slightest change in your behavior will be sure to be picked up. Typically, in an office there is a subculture of employees that are keenly in tune with and will analyse every aspect of your management.

For this reason, you need to stay in control at all times and use your better judgement in managing your actions and demeanor.
We strongly suggest that you not display any interest in subordinate staff. It rarely ends on favourable terms. At best it may damage your credibility and at worst it may cost your career.

Even if you profess no interest, you must always be guarded and careful with your language and your comments. To this end, The BlackJag Executive suggests that you take special care not to engage in any of the following:

1) Engage employees in personal conversation beyond the very casual “how was your weekend?”

2) Ask employees questions of a personal nature such as “how was your date last night?”

3) Comment on their appearance

4) Comment or invite discussion on any personal matters

5) Joke – especially not when you are alone with an employee

6) Touch yourself in view of employees

7) Being alone or out of public view with an employee of the opposite sex, especially if they are significantly younger (unless absolutely necessary)

8) Make it known that you are in the market for love

9) Make it known that you are unhappy in your marriage

These pitfalls seem obvious but they often show up as proclaimed evidence by employees against their Managers – so be wary that all of your actions are under scrutiny. This is especially true when you implement unpopular decisions.
Performance review time is a particularly risky time because employees with negative reviews will be looking to get you back. You would be wrong to think that employees can do you no harm.
Remember, as you climb the corporate ladder you will inherit enemies that will use whatever they can against you. Often this requires that they contradict themselves and try to trip you up, so don’t open yourself to that possibility.
It is easy to feel empowered by your position especially when you’re newly promoted. Suddenly you may feel a boost of confidence but it’s prudent to tread carefully.
However, this is not to say that you cannot exude your sexuality in the workplace or that you can’t approach beautiful women that interest you. It’s a matter of being strategic in your pursuits, considering all the risks and taking care to govern yourself appropriately within your work culture.



Related Articles:

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • •