Romance in the workplace!

Did it get messy?

I'm just generally wondering about how you feel on relationships between colleagues and the pros and cons. Also the pros and cons for other people working in that environment too.

Do you work with your other half?

(Obviously I'm not asking for me, 11 years happy with D, yes still happy!)

When my OH moved down south he came not only to work for the same company as me but also in the same department for a time.

It wasn't awkward for anybody as far as I know and there's no reason it should be if you are professional and discreet, I think that only happens if you split up and are still forced in to each other's company.

I've seen it happen with quite a few people. They were all sensible - it always caused a bit of gossip, naturally, but nothing malicious and nobody ever had a problem with it.

6 times, + 2 one night stands, + a couple of dates...

...did it get messy? I'm still wading through the fall out , always will be.

One word of advice if you're going to do it stick with one person at a time, two is difficult three is complicated.

Yep. I met my husband through work. He was assigned to a project that i was leading and we hated each other to begin with!

We kept it discreet for the first 4 months in case it didnt work out.

I did get close to someone else at work but we were more buddies in times of need (moving abroad, being away from family, needing someone to talk/relate to)

We work together but it's probably a bit different to others as we run our own business.  We like to spend time together so it's really nice for us.  

Met in the physics library on day 1 of PhD's - lab's side by side.

17 years married this July.   I don't think it caused any conflict at all, curiosity value as there had never been any women in my department never mind any marriages.  

I met my last husband at work, although we didn't work in the same department. 

I left that job a few months later, but it was nothing to do with our relationship.

The potential for difficult situations (even if you stick to seeing one at a time, LA!) is enormous. 

Never, but have seen many good people lose jobs through it, once it's over it can get impossible to make sense and one or other usually has to go, depending upon who you need most for the business. When you throw two people at the same problem, their shared concerns inevitably leads to closer relationships.

lardarse wrote (see)

6 times, + 2 one night stands, + a couple of dates...

...did it get messy? I'm still wading through the fall out , always will be.

One word of advice if you're going to do it stick with one person at a time, two is difficult three is complicated.

Well what else would you expect? You get trouble by asking for it and that isn't just asking  - it's begging :-S 

I think it's very unwise to get involved with someone in the workplace.

Far better to compartmentalise your life.

But Cupid strikes where he strikes...

lardarse wrote (see)

6 times, + 2 one night stands, + a couple of dates...

...did it get messy? I'm still wading through the fall out , always will be.

One word of advice if you're going to do it stick with one person at a time, two is difficult three is complicated.

Three is an epic party!  Just make sure you use the same pet-names for then all!

Screamapillar wrote (see)

lardarse wrote (see)

6 times, + 2 one night stands, + a couple of dates...

...did it get messy? I'm still wading through the fall out , always will be.

One word of advice if you're going to do it stick with one person at a time, two is difficult three is complicated.

Well what else would you expect? You get trouble by asking for it and that isn't just asking  - it's begging :-S 

I didn't chase any of them, I'm just a boy who can't say no. Classic example, one girl said she didn't want to run a marathon, she wanted a marathon runner...

Seriously, the fall out wasn't from work and I never had any problems in that sense apart from jealous people, all the problems encountered would have been just the same whether it had been in work or out of work. I just had too many baskets with too eggs in.

Internaut: I wasn't counting the ones ouside of work

I met OH at work, but we were working in a restaurant at the time, where average time working in one place is probably 6-12months, so had things not worked out one of us was likely to leave soon anyway. 

Not sure I'd get invovled with a colleague if I was single. I probably wouldn't rule it out but think things can get awkward.

I think office romance is a lovely thing, the key to making a success of it is making sure your wife doesn't find out.

Similar to Gingerfurball in that Me and Mrs JP are owners of our business so work together a couple of times a week, On the plus side, having spent time with her during the week I can then get out running, golf etc on the weekends

I've worked with too many couples who have been unable to keep their personal life to themselves.  Some of them are happily married now, few of them split up while they were both working for the same company.

In most cases the couples tried to be discrete but it was blatently obvious to everyone else.  I remember one couple who genuinely thought they had been so discrete that none of us knew at all.  After 6 months they finally came out in the open and we all breathed a sigh of relief as it had been a nightmare dealing with the fall out from their arguments when they weren't officially a couple, so we couldn't say anything to them.

You can't chose who you fall in love with, but if I ever fall for someone in the same workplace as me then I would be quickly looking for a transfer.  Preferebaly outside the company, but certainly outside the department.

Something else to consider - and I've known this to happen to three couples, when redundancies come around, the people makeing the decisions won't take into account the fact that they are taking two incomes away from you.  Better not to have all your eggs in one basket if you can.

I used to work on a farm so.......errrrr.........no.

Mind you, t'other half and I run a business together now so, I guess, yes if it's appropriate.

As a bus driver working with both male & female drivers, there's plenty of romance in our work place amongst various staff & not all of it is between male & female! 

My husband is a bus driver too, we work at the same place & there's various romances between various staff, some of which are totally open about it, some are not.

I have no problem at all with work place romances as long as their personal life don't infringe on their professional life. Good luck to them.

MISTAKE MISTAKE

Worked with my ex-husband. He followed me to the new workplace before we divorced. Then I met a new guy at this workplace. Then we broke up. So in theory my both ex's work where I work.

Is it a problem? Not at all. It's a huge company and we all work in different departments. 

Would it be a problem if we worked near each other? Doubt it as I get on like a house on fire with both.

Sounds messy though doesn't it?