The pros and cons of dating a co-worker

Should you date your co-worker? Find out!

The thing about romance is it can spark anywhere, any time! You may have made a billion rules for yourself but serendipity cannot be scheduled!

So, an office romance may top the list of your "don'ts", but what if Cupid decides to play tricks and you fall for a colleague five seats away from you?

According to surveys, four out of ten employees have dated at work.

This is no surprise, given that work friends confide in each other often and end up spending most of their time together.

It is in fact this set of friends who help you get by the worst and best of days.

So, while it may feel tempting to spice up your work life, let's go over the pros and cons, shall we?

Pros

Incentive for going to work

Well, it doesn't take rocket science to understand that if you have romance brewing in office, you'd have that little bit extra incentive to go to work.

Now that's almost unusual and pretty cool, all at the same time!

Kick-ass offsites/ parties!

Office activities and offsites can be a ball when you're friends with colleagues, but imagine having your boyfriend or girlfriend around too! Isn't this what we truly call icing on (your favourite) cake?

Feel good on a bad day!

Having your partner around on a trying day at work may not solve the problem, but it can definitely lift your spirits. It can help you chin up and face the situation with all your strength. Isn't this something we've all secretly craved some time or another?

Dates get easier to plan

All you need to do is set your watch to your partner's and manage your time well!

Haggling with traffic, deciding a common venue to meet-up and similar painful exercises can go RIGHT OUT OF THE WINDOW. Just awesome, isn't it?

Cons

Carrying work home

Well, if you and your partner are working together in a team or a project, chances are that you will discuss it at home too.

When you have disagreements, you may not be able to leave them at work and go home to start uninfluenced conversations.

Some couples have been known to manage this well, but making time for stuff other than work, to do together, becomes critical.

Feeling judged

Well, we have all seen those judgmental eyes in office at least once for wearing a hot outfit, hanging out with the guy gang or even occasionally flirting with a colleague.

This is an invariable repercussion of dating someone from your workplace, so it's a good idea to be prepared for it.

Unnecessary speculation

In case you happen to be dating a senior colleague or your boss, chances are your success in office will be attributed to your personal life.

A not-so-desirable situation for anyone, but again something that's bound to happen. So, it may help to block out such things and focus on your work. Hard work cannot go unnoticed for long!

Compromise on privacy!

Yes, if you've had a fight last night over dinner, movie, or anything else under the sun, chances are the office sees you throwing icy daggers at your partner in office.

You may also feel your colleagues getting intrusive or making snide remarks here and there.

But what the heck, everything in life comes at a price. At least, relationships certainly do!

Lead image -- a still from Inkaar -- used for representational purposes only.