By Christina Mehr and Andres Felix Romero
To fuck:
Do you like making money? Do you like making love? Well, why not combine the two?
I believe in messing around with the people you work with. The dating pool in Humboldt is already limited, so you have to take them where you can get them. If you’re already spread so thin between classes, homework, and work, why not get spread by someone you are literally getting paid to see? It’s the best of both worlds.
There’s plenty of benefits to being in cahoots with your coworkers, like getting to flirt with them in passing, sharing rides to work if you share the same schedule, or sneaking away together on breaks. On the plus side, if your work is getting overwhelming, you can turn that into sexual frustration towards that coworker. It creates some fun and exciting drama in an otherwise boring workplace. Having a work crush is amusing and gives you some more motivation to actually want to go to work.
However, I understand the opposing side of, ‘what if we break up or get in trouble?’ or whatever, but honestly if you’re at a minimum-wage college job, just go ahead and do it for the plot.
To not fuck:
Workplace romance – it’s fun and exciting, but also a potential threat to you and your emotional wellbeing. I’m not disagreeing that a romance in the workplace isn’t a bit of a thrill, but from another perspective, you might be walking into a game where everybody can lose.
Obviously, things can get awkward if the passion fizzles out. Breakups hurt and can be as devastating as losing a loved one. Sometimes, breakups can be amicable. However, how many of you have had those relationships (or situationships) end with your gut feeling like it’s been poisoned? The lovely person who once made you smile suddenly turns into a bitter and painful relationship?
Want to know the cherry on top of the heartbreak cake? Imagine losing someone you care deeply about, then seeing them when you walk into the place that pays your bills, and seeing customers flirt with your former beloved. Jealousy is a poison, and it’ll infest your workplace and create tensions and conditions that are toxic and unbearable.
Now, flirting in itself is a whole other beast of ethics, however the general rule is to back the hell off when someone isn’t showing interest or signs that they’re uncomfortable. At a bar or party, it’s easier for someone who isn’t interested to get some distance from your flirting skills. At a workplace, your crush is probably stuck with you. Do you really want to risk making your crush uncomfortable? Do you really want to make it awkward when y’all work together? Do you really want to go to human resources (HR)?
If you have a little crush, it’s not the end of the world. A lesson I’ve learned is that it can be harder to control our feelings, but we are in control of our actions. I agree that the rush can be fun, but all highs have to come down when we come back to reality. It’s like a bong rip just before a morning class. It sounds great, and for a while, you feel like you’re walking on the clouds doing something you really shouldn’t be doing.
Be First to Comment