In the previous article we discussed policies and practices. Here, we will take a look at behavior and managing office romance perception.
Managing Office Romance Perception
- Be mindful of other people’s sensibilities. That said, no matter what stage of relationship you are on, you have to maintain professionalism in the way that you speak and behave around each other. No PDA*! You want to keep yourselves and everyone else comfortable around you.
- Keep your LQs** private. You want to keep the peace and harmony in your team. Also fighting publicly or throwing a fit will only make your problems worse.
- Keep all intimate matters intimate. Be it private conversations, petty quarrels or huge fights, negative traits of the other (hey, no one’s perfect!) or physical expressions of love, keep it just between you two. It is a way to show respect to your partner and more importantly, to yourself. You might have a lot of interested listeners living vicariously through your experiences, but no one really trusts a loose-lipped person.
- Plan your leaves in advance. Now that you are together, you probably will need to go on same-day-leaves, too. While people and leaders generally understand that, show great teaming by giving an advance notice (or request for approval in advance). Two weeks to two months in advance should do it, depending on your agreed ways of working.
- Separate work from personal conversations. This keeps you from oversharing potentially highly confidential matters at work, especially if you are handling highly personal or highly confidential matters.
The key word is to continue to behave in a professional manner at all times when in the office or any other office related event. It will be to your and your partner’s best interest.
All the best to you and your loved one. Yet, do not lose your self-love in the process.
*PDA – Public Display of Affection
**LQs – Lovers Quarrels