Dos & Don’ts DATING IN THE WORKPLACE

What might begin as harmless fun can quickly morph into a living nightmare. We’ve all heard the phrase, “don’t sh*t where you eat”, yet relationships continue to bloom between colleagues in significant numbers.

A 2021 survey from SEEK found nearly a quarter of responders had previously dated a co-worker, and an international poll by monster.com found that over almost half respondents said they would choose love over career when it came to dating in the workplace.

SO WHAT GIVES?

I have been working in bars and clubs on Sydney’s gay scene for over seven years. You may think I’d have dates lined out the door. However as you might guess, a ‘10’ quickly drops to a ‘3’ after that sixth vodka-lime-soda kicks in. At closing time the last thing I feel like doing is hanging with someone I’ve just witnessed get progressively messy by last call.

But, do you know who isn’t a sloppy drunken mess at the end of a night? Yep, it’s the guy working next to me (well, let’s hope).

I’ve dated my fair share of colleagues to varying success over the years, so you could say I’m something of a workplace dating expert by now. However, I will note that you should take all my advice here with a good spoonful of salt and know that I’m definitely not a professional relationship authority, that’s for sure.