So everyone is back at work after the Christmas holidays and the office parties are a distant memory…or are they?  During that time of year when everyone was in the festive mood and spirits were high there is a good chance that there was a lot of flirting going on in parties up and down the country.  In a few cases this may have now led to an office relationship, so what can you do if you find yourself in this situation?

• Firstly you should find out if your office has a policy on relationships between colleagues and if so what it is.  Many employers may discourage relationships at work and by going against this you could be jeopardising your job.

• Accept that people will find out!  Get ready to be the source of gossip for the next few weeks.

• Think about the practicalities of seeing someone that you work with.  Spending all day with someone and then outside of work as well might get boring very quickly. 

• You should always try and avoid senior management.  As well as the problems that might arise if things don’t work out, there will also be the inevitable accusations of favouritism when others find out.

• Think about the possible repercussions.  If you are in line for a promotion for example, will this affect your chances?

Tips for a successful relationship

However, in spite of all the potential pitfalls, it is possible to have a successful office romance.  The most important thing to remember is to be discreet at work.  Keep a professional distance from the other person and never be smug or gossip about them.  You will obviously want to spend time with them but make sure that this is done away from the office and outside of working hours.  You should also be aware that if they are work-obsessed and work all hours, then they probably won’t change.  You might never get to see them. 

What to do next

So you’ve got together with someone from work and it’s all going well.  What next?  Well it’s important to always stay professional and remain two separate people at work.  Your work should not suffer – if anything, show your boss that it is good for your productivity and work even harder!

However, what should you do if it hasn’t worked out?  You should always resist the temptation to take your revenge by either criticising their work or gossiping about them behind their back.  Be polite to him/her when you see them and show everyone else that you have moved on.  It might also be possible to turn the break-up into a bonus.  You can re-focus your attention to your career without any added distraction.

Office romances are always going to happen and this fact is not really surprising when you think about it.  Companies often tend to bring together people with similar aspirations and interests.  Also, by making us work longer hours we are becoming more likely to socialise with work colleagues, becoming closer and making it easier for relationships to begin.  In fact, employers might actually be the ones who are matchmaking their employees!  This might not all be bad news for them either as it has been found that performance levels can increase as a result of an office romance.  If it helps to enhance morale and productivity they might not be so against it after all.