Basic Rules of an Office Romance

Majority of us harbor secret (or not-so-secret) attractions towards colleagues in the office. A lot of people will tell you that it's not wise to mix business with pleasure, but sometimes we just couldn't help it; the prospects of having a thrilling affair with somebody from the workplace is just too thrilling to pass up. Before you get hot and heavy with an officemate, here are some basic rules that you should remember.

• Make sure that office relationships are not against HR policies

There are offices who do not allow their employees to date each other, and with a good reason; they've seen too many office relationships gone sour which lead to conflict between the parties concerned, which affected their work. Get to know your company's stance on office relationships before risking your job and reputation.

• Do not use office resources/premises for romantic exchanges

Do not even think of sending naughty messages or pictures using the office e-mail. Not only this is inappropriate, it can also leak and get into the hands of the wrong people, which will definitely be very embarrassing for you both. PDA in the office is generally frowned upon, so it's best to keep your hands to yourselves while you are still clocked in. And no, do not use any of the office rooms for quickies; getting caught this way is more humiliating than getting your e-mails exposed to the whole office. Expect to be fired after doing such stunt.

• Maintain a professional attitude towards each other

Just because you are an item does not mean you should display your affections towards each other in the office by calling cute names and cuddling each other in front of everyone. Keep it professional while both of you are in the office premises. It's best to keep a casual distance from each other until you have already clocked out.

• Keep a low-profile

Restrain the urge to give your colleagues a blow-by-blow account of your relationship. This will help just in case things don't work out between the two of you. Your other officemates won't have much to gossip about, and can make things tension-free even with the circumstances.