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Coworkers Officially Declare Their Relationship After Being ‘Caught’, Ms. HR Makes Their Life In The Office Really Challenging
Getting into a relationship with your classmate, coursemate or coworker is not something people wish for. There’s that icky, gooey fear of things getting awkward for everybody in case things don’t work out the way you expected. But it happens. And apparently more often than one would expect: 58% of employees have engaged in a romantic relationship with a colleague, recent studies show.
Another fun fact: almost half (41%) of employees don’t know their company’s policy regarding office romances. And if they did, based on u/lvndrlight‘s story alone — the previous number would be much lower.
As this couple in their mid-20s tells it in their story, they weren’t expecting to fall for their colleague (or each other). Of course, it happened anyway. And everything was going rather smoothly before management found out about their romantic relationship. Oh boy, how things changed from there on out… Dirty looks from the management, indirect ridiculing, gatekeeping from advancement in the company — those are just some of the things this couple had to endure. Things that would surely put off any person in their right mind from a romantic relationship with their colleague.
RELATED:
A couple of office workers were enjoying their relationship before management accidentally snooped in
Image credits: Paperkites / istockphoto (not the actual photo)
And this is a classic tale of HR messing with people’s happiness
Inspired by the response from the internet, the couple started fighting the injustice at work
Image credits: lvndrlight
People don’t like when work gets in the way of love, as responses to the story show
As far as work romances go, not every profession is as cruel on ‘lovebirds’ as it might first seem. As u/ScipioAtTheGate points out in the comments, “even the navy allows relationships between service people so long as one isn’t supervising the other.” And even if the workplace tries to prohibit such things from ever happening — as perfectly captured in this story — Bryson Kearl, a HR content creator at BambooHR, a company that focuses on job-related data, thinks that “workplace romances will happen regardless of the rules.” Best part? Couples who meet through work are more likely to marry. Readers, perhaps your Romeo/Juliet is only a cubicle away!
A lot of people had their own office romance stories to share
The downside of work romances and locking eyes over the water cooler are quite obvious: disputes can make working together difficult. What if you’re fighting for the same promotion? What if you also live together? Yikes. Considering that one in six workplace relationships involves an affair, chances of that sweet romance turning sour like a lemon are rather high, all things considered.
“One important tip to handle an office romance is to ensure that you keep an eye on your professional goals that you had before you got into the relationship,” is the key advice that Hello Love blog suggests. And it’s true. We all know how easy it is to get blinded by Cupid, right? What a shame it would be to lose everything that you’ve been working towards for an office fling that seemed so promising (at first). As Rachel Bitte, the Chief People Officer at Jobvite, a recruiting company, writes: “If neither of you are willing to budge for the other person, it may be a sign that the relationship isn’t as important as you thought.” Touché.
What do you think ?
Michelle C 3 years ago
I could've sworn relationships only needed to be declared in cases where nepotism would cause issue. They work in different departments and neither one is in a leadership role that could advance the other. I've seen plenty of work relationships and HR didn't care because it didn't consist of a supervisor and an immediate subordinate. HR only cared if they were unprofessional. Your office is just nosey.
Question everything 3 years ago
It's funny how aßkissing and subsequent favouritism is all accepted without disclosure, right? It would be fair if all our superiors declared in writing who their personal favourites are so those brown-nosers wouldn't be advanced at work before the ones that have the expertise and professional work ethic.
Load More Replies...
Dave 3 years ago
Welcome to the U.S. of Dumbfuckistan. In Europe, nobody cares as long as two people who are dating and work in the same company, behave professionaly. Full stop. End of f*****g story. I have coworkers who are dating and are married working in the same department. Nobody cares. They are professionals who keep their relationships private. You know, behaving like f*****g adults.
Eb 3 years ago
Not sure it's always acceptable in Europe either. I've done jobs where you had to declare it, along with partners and family who work for clients or competitors, as it's a potential conflict of interest and confidentiality breach risk.
Load More Replies...
Jo Choto 3 years ago
There are some good reasons for people not being in relationships when they work together. Most of that has to do with one having authority over another, or being in the kind of job where a relationship could adversely affect your performance. This does not apply to people who just happen to work for the same company, but are in different departments. Sounds like they both need a new job.
Veronica Sjöberg 3 years ago
I met my (now) husband at work. We don't work there anymore. When they found out (he had one coworker on his FB who told the boss) our boss said they had a policy against romantic relationships at work. My then boyfriend said he'd love to see it. Boss said she would bring it "next time for all employees to see". We searched their intranet where all policy's are. Nothing. She never brought any policy back "next time" she just fired him because he broke the "policy". They let me stay on because I had a different position and higher education but I quit a few months later. I would have been fine with it IF there was a policy but it wasn't. And that made me question who I was working for.
jenjie.newt 3 years ago
When I was in this situation only one of us got a year-end bonus because "we could share it"
Mike Loux 3 years ago
God, my wife and I have worked together many times, even reporting to the same manager at one point. They didn't care as long as our personal issues never interfered with our work (and they never did). S**t, the current company I work for has several married couples and they don't bat an eye, because they're all professionals who can separate business from personal lives. All of those acts by the HR manager point to bigger problems under the hood. Y'all need to find work elsewhere.
over it already 3 years ago
Can confirm. Met my husband at work. Married now for 17 years with 3 kids. Screw any company that tries to interfere, as long as both are acting appropriately while in the workplace.
Kate 3 years ago
I got accused of secretly dating my manager when I worked at a cafe. Except, it wasn't even being accused, I was being gossiped about by my other manager and the bosses who would joke about various places we might be having sex in the building. I confronted the other manager one day, who was the source of most of the gossip, as to why she thinks I was dating him when both of us had partners and all four of us were good friends. She said it was because 'I frequently press my breasts out towards him' (I get backache if standing too long, so I was actually just stretching my back) and I laugh at his jokes... Hated that place.
Michelle C 3 years ago
I could've sworn relationships only needed to be declared in cases where nepotism would cause issue. They work in different departments and neither one is in a leadership role that could advance the other. I've seen plenty of work relationships and HR didn't care because it didn't consist of a supervisor and an immediate subordinate. HR only cared if they were unprofessional. Your office is just nosey.
Question everything 3 years ago
It's funny how aßkissing and subsequent favouritism is all accepted without disclosure, right? It would be fair if all our superiors declared in writing who their personal favourites are so those brown-nosers wouldn't be advanced at work before the ones that have the expertise and professional work ethic.
Load More Replies... Dave 3 years ago
Welcome to the U.S. of Dumbfuckistan. In Europe, nobody cares as long as two people who are dating and work in the same company, behave professionaly. Full stop. End of f*****g story. I have coworkers who are dating and are married working in the same department. Nobody cares. They are professionals who keep their relationships private. You know, behaving like f*****g adults.
Eb 3 years ago
Not sure it's always acceptable in Europe either. I've done jobs where you had to declare it, along with partners and family who work for clients or competitors, as it's a potential conflict of interest and confidentiality breach risk.
Load More Replies... Jo Choto 3 years ago
There are some good reasons for people not being in relationships when they work together. Most of that has to do with one having authority over another, or being in the kind of job where a relationship could adversely affect your performance. This does not apply to people who just happen to work for the same company, but are in different departments. Sounds like they both need a new job.
Veronica Sjöberg 3 years ago
I met my (now) husband at work. We don't work there anymore. When they found out (he had one coworker on his FB who told the boss) our boss said they had a policy against romantic relationships at work. My then boyfriend said he'd love to see it. Boss said she would bring it "next time for all employees to see". We searched their intranet where all policy's are. Nothing. She never brought any policy back "next time" she just fired him because he broke the "policy". They let me stay on because I had a different position and higher education but I quit a few months later. I would have been fine with it IF there was a policy but it wasn't. And that made me question who I was working for.
jenjie.newt 3 years ago
When I was in this situation only one of us got a year-end bonus because "we could share it"
Mike Loux 3 years ago
God, my wife and I have worked together many times, even reporting to the same manager at one point. They didn't care as long as our personal issues never interfered with our work (and they never did). S**t, the current company I work for has several married couples and they don't bat an eye, because they're all professionals who can separate business from personal lives. All of those acts by the HR manager point to bigger problems under the hood. Y'all need to find work elsewhere.
over it already 3 years ago
Can confirm. Met my husband at work. Married now for 17 years with 3 kids. Screw any company that tries to interfere, as long as both are acting appropriately while in the workplace.
Kate 3 years ago
I got accused of secretly dating my manager when I worked at a cafe. Except, it wasn't even being accused, I was being gossiped about by my other manager and the bosses who would joke about various places we might be having sex in the building. I confronted the other manager one day, who was the source of most of the gossip, as to why she thinks I was dating him when both of us had partners and all four of us were good friends. She said it was because 'I frequently press my breasts out towards him' (I get backache if standing too long, so I was actually just stretching my back) and I laugh at his jokes... Hated that place.
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