Forbes: How To Have A Successful Office Romance

[steven johnson]

Eespite the caution: "Don't s**t where you eat," many people continue to spread bodily fluid where they earn their bread. If you're going to fall in lust at work, here are some cautions.

Don't date an underling, agree on terms and know you may lose your job.

According to a 2009 survey by the job search Web site CareerBuilder.com, four out of 10 workers say they've dated a colleague at some point in their careers. Three in 10 say they married the person they dated at work.

Helaine Olen, co-author with Stephanie Losee of Office Mate: The Employee Handbook for Finding--and Managing--Romance on the Job, says the workplace is where most people find love these days. "The office has turned into the village of the 21st century," she says. "Where else do you spend 12 hours a day?"

Which brings us to our first rule of office dating: Avoid a supervisor-supervisee relationship . Especially for the person in the supervisor's seat, such a relationship is "criminally stupid," says McKenna. "You might as well put a sign on your forehead that says, 'Kick me here.'" McKenna acts mainly as a defense lawyer.

How To Have A Successful Office Romance

[gratuitous]

1. I think everyone should have an office romance once

Just so you can learn why you shouldn't have an office romance twice. And to show you how dumb I am, I've had two. Never, never, never again.

[Pharlo]

2. I've never been in a workplace romance,

but I've observed the trainwreck that was the 'breakup'. The "don't shit where you eat" adage is right. I had no idea there was a relationship in existence until the VERY unprofessional end of it. It was a small company so even though they were in different departments, they were forced to come in daily contact. No one was fired, but one of them did quit about two weeks later.