The Pros and Cons of Dating Your Boss

Dating someone from your workplace could be both exciting and dangerous. In a previous article I have already looked at the advantages and disadvantages of dating a colleague. However, to go out with someone at your hierarchical level (or somewhere around) is one thing and being with your boss is another. Okay, I get it, it happens, after all I do believe that love is blind and it doesn't matter who you are and who you will fall in love with. But before you commit yourself to such relationship you must think carefully, because most probably it will end bad...for you!

Whether it will be because of his/her power and authority which could be a major turn on, or because he or she looks amazing, it is absolutely natural to fall for your boss. It has happened before, it will happen in the future. And regardless of whether it will be just a little fling or a serious relationship, you must always consider the consequences.

Pros:

1. Common interests. In most cases, when you work in a certain company you do it because it interests you. The same applies for most of your colleagues and especially for your boss. Overtime, this will give you some sense of teamwork and will bring you closer together, especially if you work in a challenging environment.

2. Spend more time together. This could be a double-edge sword actually, but for some people spending most of their time together is what really matters in a relationship. The problem comes from the fact that you will have to maintain professional relationship at work and keep your personal feelings for the evenings at home. However, at some point the thin line between the two will get blurred and either your personal or work life could suffer.

3. Good for your career. Many believe that dating your boss would give you a good career boost. And while this could be true if your relationship turns out to be 'the real deal' and you stay together, in most cases dating the boss for such reasons could turn against you and ruin your career.

Cons:

1. Damaging your prospects. The irony here is that this could happen even if you have a successful relationship. On the one hand, promotion and pay rise might not come up your way because your boss might fear of being accused of favouritism. On the other hand, if you have to break up for whatever reason it would be very awkward to stay in the office, so you might have to leave your job.

2. Damaged relationship with colleagues. Once the word that you date your boss spreads out in the office, things won't be the same any more. Even if you think your colleagues are your friends and some of them will understand your decision, you will always be a subject of gossip. And what's worse, it won't matter if you work really hard and earn a promotion - everybody will just assume is because you date 'the right person'.

3. Company policy. Nowadays, more and more companies actually adopt such policies. I know an end of lease cleaning company within Melbourne that have similar policy, which even though doesn't really forbid dating your boss, but it surely doesn't encourage it. So, when applying for a job, it is always a good idea to check the company's policy if you don't want to risk any disciplinary procedures in the future.