We’re not sure why, but we’ve really been on this whole dating a coworker kick over the past week or so. It’s not as if we started a new job and are surrounded by a bunch of hotties or anything, but, for some reason, it’s been a recurring fantasy of ours lately. And, because of that, we’re giving you a bunch of tips on how to date someone you work with.
After telling you why you have a crush and interest in your colleagues, as well as how to land the office hottie, we’re giving you some horror stories from people who shared their experiences with dating a coworker. Pulling examples from Reddit, take a look at some of the reasons why you should probably just keep the office for work and not try and mix sex and/or relationships — because these stories seem pretty terrible.
- “Not good. I dated a girl I worked with at Coldstone Creamery. I was a new hire, she had been there a couple years. We dated for about three months, then I, as civilly as possibly, broke it off between us. Just wasn’t working out, but I was hoping we’d still be professional about it at work. Well she’s good friends with the manager, and threatens to quit unless they fire me because she no longer feels comfortable with me working at the store. So the manager politely asked me to quit, I did, and then worked at the Marble Slab almost directly across the street. Their ice cream was better anyways than Coldstone.”
- “One gal I broke up with, she went full-on psycho. Started camping in my office, wouldn’t leave. Followed me around. After a week of this I threatened to talk to her supervisor. She proceeded to walk down to HR and told them I was harassing her. I almost got fired over that one.”
- “Start dating coworker. Year or so later, she gets pregnant. Decide to man up, leave the college I was going to during the pregnancy and move back home to be with her and the kid. Live by ourselves for about a year. Start having issues, she decides she wants to live on her own for a little while because she never had the chance to. I still get to see them both whenever I want. Two and a half years of being a father, she comes out and tells me the kid isn’t mine. The real father was her ex boyfriend who she had previously told me she hasn’t seen since they broke up. A week after she told me they get married. They sue me to get me off the birth certificate. We go to court so I can get visitation(which is a complete bitch of you aren’t biologically related, but he was my fucking kid no matter what they said.”
- “Fresh out of high school I moved to a new neighborhood with a few work friends. Just ended a bad relationship and decided to get drunk and get over it. Being the kind of girl who gets along better with guys than girls, I was drinking with a group of 6 guys. Get drunk to the point of not knowing what I’m doing and end up having a one night stand with a neighbor. Don’t even know his name. Wake up in the morning and head to work. My boss says that we have a newbie starting in the afternoon and he wants me to train him. He tells me his name, it means nothing to me. Afternoon rolls around and my friends come in to work with my one night stand. He’s the new guy. It was an awkward training session.”
- “The relationship itself was fine. We kept it professional at work. Unfortunately, word got out and my boss and coworkers were very petty- and one of them had dated him before and was NOT over it (I was new and had no idea of their history). They went above and beyond to make my life miserable and tried everything they could to get me fired or drive me to quit.”
- “Yes very awkward. I made it clear that I didn’t want to be ‘out’ at work. Dude agreed. Everyday after work he would be mad at me because I ignored him. WTF! So I dumped him, and quit.”
- “I’ve done it precisely twice. The first time it was fun for a bit, though my ex did try to kick her ass, then she got into drugs and I ended it… and then she fucking sabotaged me at every turn. I was a waiter, she was the cook, and magically my food always came out cold, burnt, wrong or otherwise made so I’d make no money and get endless complaints. Bad idea.”
- “I did when I worked in the sales department of a supply company. the receptionist and i would always hang out and flirt with her even though she was engaged. I’m pretty sure she knew I had feelings for her. One night I finally broke down and told her I love her and I kissed her. A while later her fiance finds out and tries to fight me at work (which ended badly for him, he got fired).”
To see the entire thread, head on over to Reddit — which will probably remind you why dating a coworker should not be a career goal worth pursuing. But, hey, we’re not going to tell you how to live your life. Just be careful out there, guys.