We all spend so much of our time at work. Work can be stressful and draining, and honestly sometimes boring. So, when we meet someone at work who makes the mundane workday seem less dull, and more fun and exciting, we may gravitate towards them.

Falling for them may be easy, even if you have a “no dating coworkers” rule. There is just something about them that says, “to hell with my rule”, and that they are worth breaking it. They may be worth it. You never know.

Finding someone is great but in reality, dating someone you work with has far more cons than pros.

Here’s Why You Should Never Date A Coworker

Dating a Coworker Looks Unprofessional

Real life is not Grey’s Anatomy. In reality, it is frowned upon to date coworkers as it is considered unprofessional and tends to create unnecessary drama and distractions in the workplace.

Depending on the profession and workplace, and the positions of those involved, there may be issues of favoritism, nepotism, and unfair labor practices. Basically, it creates a human resources nightmare. Not a good look for someone hoping to move up in the company.

Dating a Coworker Creates Workplace Drama

You and your partner normally go to lunch together, but the day after a fight you are ignoring each other and creating a bit of workplace tension. Relationships naturally have ups and downs but when you also work with your partner it can be very hard to leave the drama at home. Romance and anger are likely to show up in one form or another at work.

Having time apart from a partner is a good thing but when you work together, time apart is challenging, if not impossible.

Other Coworkers Will Be In Your Business

Everyone has an opinion on your relationship. A workplace relationship gets added to the rest of the workplace gossip. Your relationship is under constant scrutiny, with continuous speculation of its status.

Coworkers may take notice that you are no longer taking lunches together, or it may be noticed that one of you is spending a lot of time chatting up the attractive new receptionist.

Your relationship is technically no one’s business, but when you brought your relationship to the workplace, you made it everybody’s business whether you like it or not.

Your Workplace Relationship Won’t Last

Just like any other relationship, the odds of it lasting and them being your forever person is very low. Breakups happen. It is the nature of dating and love to come to an end, but when you work with your ex, the breakup is far more complicated.

You have to continue to be professional and pretend that all is good, even when it is not. You may have coworkers choose sides and decide to not hang out with you anymore. You may also have to watch them move on and date another coworker.

Your Workplace Relationship Is Distracting

Whether you are feeling madly in love with the newness of your relationship, or you two have split and are trying to move on, there is a degree of distraction for both of you in the workplace.

The breakup residuals and pain won’t last forever, but if you are nursing a broken heart, it may make you feel miserable to see them day after day. You may even consider leaving your job in order to distance yourself from them.

I am not saying you cannot successfully date and fall in love with a coworker, but it can be very tricky and may not be worth it in the end. The larger the company the better. Also working in different departments helps negate some coworker relationship issues.

We cannot help who we fall for. The heart wants what the heart wants, right? But avoiding some situations, when possible, may be wise. While we cannot help who we crush on and fall for, we can do things to try to steer the heart in a different direction, such as distancing ourselves and even avoiding that certain someone whenever possible.

What are your thoughts? Have you ever dated a coworker? What happened? Did it work out and would you ever do it again? Please share your thoughts and experience!

“We started with a simple hello and ended with a complicated goodbye.” - Unknown