Avoid an HR
nightmare
The right way to cross lines
with a co-worker:1 / WEIGH ALL THE OBSTACLES
Review your employer’s
policy handbook, suggests
Rosemary Haefner, chief
human resources officer at
CareerBuilder. If any kind of
office romance is off-limits
and you’re not willing to risk
your job (or resort to finding
a new one), stick with pure
fantasy. But you can go for it
if you’re within the bounds
of company policy or there’s
nothing in writing. Just be
aware that should things turn
sour, your reputation or any
future promotions could be
adversely affected.2 / AVOID PDA AT ALL COSTS
Keep your hook-ups private,
after-hours and out of the
office (the break room is for
coffee, not cunnilingus). The
sexual tension build-up will
be totally worth it when you
finally find a safe locale.3 / COORDINATE YOUR EXITS
Colleagues will quickly get
suspicious if you show up and
leave together at the same
time every day, says Haefner.
Space out your arrivals and
departures by five minutes.4 / GO DARK ON SOCIAL MEDIA
If you both take a few days
off for a trip (let it be noted:
that’s a dangerous move) and
someone asks where you’re
going, say you’re holidaying
with a friend. Once there,
beware of posting pics or
status updates.5 / BE HONEST WHEN IT’S TIME
A general rule of thumb is
to wait three months before
disclosing that you’re dating.
Tell your supervisor, says
Haefner. After that, if your
co-workers ask about it, you
can downplay it (‘Yeah, we’re
seeing each other’), but don’t
outright deny it unless you’re
looking for drama.R ISK Y
BUSINESS
Some industries
are responsible for
churning out more
love connections
than others. The
fields that ranked
the highest in
employees having
dated a co-worker:HOSPITALITY
AND TOURISM61
%
CONSUMER
PRODUCTS59
%
R E TA I L
58
%
ADVERTISING
58
%
GOVERNMENT
54
%
‘When I first interviewed
with Mr He-Who-Must-
Not-Be-Named project
manager, I thought he
was cold and arrogant.
After I was hired, he’d
simply review my work
and never ask me any-
thing personal.
It wasn’t until we took
a business trip together
that my opinion of him
changed. We spent aweek exploring a new
city and drinking wine at
our Airbnb (which we’d
booked to save money).
We finally made out, and
the chemistry was insane.
Back at the office, we
played it cool. We talked
and texted for months,
and he told me how much
he was into me.
Then he began dating
someone else, and it gotreally weird. He started
being rude to me at the
office. I felt uncomfortable
asking him for help on
projects – a problem,
since he was the project
manager.
Soon, he got fired
because (surprise!) he
was difficult to work with.
The lesson? Don’t hook
up with the office jerk.’- JESSICA, 26, ENGINEER
‘I hooked up with my boss
- and it ended horribly!’
‘I grabbed
his butt’‘We had
a secret
code’‘I met up with my former
superior, now-husband, at a
bar for his birthday. I walked
up behind him and grabbed
his arse! Immediately, I was
like, WTF did I just do? But the
flirty move paid off. I went
back to his house for an
after-hours party, and we
spooned on the couch all
night. After that, we started
hanging out regularly. A few
months later, once we knew
it was going somewhere, we
told a supervisor and asked
her where we should go
from there. The only thing
that changed was that he
reviewed my work less.’- MEGAN, 27, ACCOUNTANT
‘My now-fiancée and I
went to great lengths to
be secretive in the office.
During the day, we’d leave
sexy Post-it notes on each
other’s desks but sign them
with a code so no one knew
who they were from.’ #- BETH, 38, EDITOR
Flirting
success!
More than 30 per cent
of coupled colleagues
eventually tie the knot*.
Here’s how it started
for these women:WORDS BY KIERA CARTER. *ACCORDING TO A CAREERBUILDER SURVEY. STATISTIC SOURCE: 2016 VAULT.COM SURVEY. GETTY IMAGES
COSMOPOLITAN June 2017 145
love & lust