The Office Romance: Advantages & Disadvantages

Corporate life in Australia is a fast-paced world where young professionals are often compelled to work long hours to meet job objectives and stay ahead of the competition. As a result, many Australian men and women do not have the time and energy to socialize, go out and meet new people. They feel their best option is to satisfy their romantic inclinations at work. Hence, the popularity of the office romance.

For single people, the office is a perfect place to find love or romance. After all, they spend majority of their waking hours (at least 40 hours a week) in the office where they are surrounded by others who share the same goals and interests. It is no wonder why the temptation to hook up with someone from the workplace can sometimes be too strong.

Frankly, there are advantages and disadvantages to carrying on an office romance. Here are some of them:

(1) Advantages
Perhaps the biggest advantage is time efficiency, an important factor for most professionals. During an office romance, you don't have to spend an odd amount of hours after work searching for and wooing the object of your desire. Since you are in an office filled with attractive women, you can start right there and spend your office time both working and romancing. You won't even have to spend time visiting her at home or picking her up at her place of work since she is right there.

Another advantage is that you don't have to make much effort to know what kind of person she's like since you probably already know all about her from spending time with her at work. This is a big advantage that can save guys a lot of major headaches.

The third advantage is a practical one: you can carpool to and from work. You get to sleep together at night and then cut down on your gas expenses by driving together to work.

(2) Disadvantages
On the negative side, dating someone from work means that you spend an extraordinary amount of time together, and that's not an ideal situation for most men. That can be worse than being in a bad marriage. Most men and even some women cherish their time alone to pursue other interests, hang out with friends and the like.

If you are dating a subordinate, you may be accused of favoritism if she gets a promotion or bonus, and this may affect the morale of the entire office.

On the other hand, if she performs badly at work, the prospect of having to fire your girlfriend can be daunting. You may even leave yourself open to accusations of sexual harassment after your breakup.

If the roles are reversed and you are dating your boss, she may be accused of favoritism as a result of your career advancement. Also, how would you feel if your girlfriend actually had to fire you from work? And if things don't work out between the two of you, you could actually get fired after the breakup.

If you are dating a colleague, things like competition and office politics can cast an ugly shadow over your relationship. It may even affect the way you perform your professional duties.

Clearly, an office romance is full of risks so think twice before romancing that pretty blonde down the hall. Think hard about how your pairing will affect everyone else in the office and try to look at what a potential breakup will do.

About The Author-- Perhaps an Office Romance is not the best way to meet someone special? If so, then check out Jodie Brittain's Slinky Dating Australia (http://slinky.com.au) online dating website - it's FREE for Australian men and women to join.

Article Source: Articles island - Free article submission and free reprint articles