Co-Worker Romance at the Holiday Bash

It’s that time of year again, and you finally have a date to the office holiday party… your fellow co-worker! Though kissing colleagues is no longer the taboo affair it once was, there are still basic rules of conduct that you both must abide by. Read on to find out how to come out to your colleagues, and what to do if things get hot-and-heavy with someone at the big event.

If you’re dating a colleague…

Find out the company’s position on intra-office dating. Before you take the plunge and reveal your couple status to the rest of the office, it’s best to find out the company’s policy in regards to office romance. You don’t want to unexpectedly show up together for everyone—including your boss—to see without getting the facts first.

Tell some people in advance. You likely don’t want the news that you and James from Accounting are dating to be the hot topic of the party. To ease your colleagues into it, try bringing it up in the weeks leading up to the big event. If a colleague asks if you’re bringing a date, for example, casually mention who you will be attending with. It will allow everyone to get used to you both as a couple, and let you enjoy the holiday party in peace.

Remain professional. So you got the go-ahead from HR and it’s out of the bag, but that doesn’t mean that you and your guy are free to get down and dirty on the dance floor. This is a business function where you can have fun, but it’s important to still remain professional. Read up on some rules on how to behave at the office holiday party.

If you hook up with a colleague during / after the party…

Don’t treat it as if he were just any guy. If your usual M.O . is to bolt in the middle of the night as he sleeps, don’t. This is a person you’ll see the next day, so a proper goodbye and acknowledgment of what happened is in order. You don’t want to make things more awkward than they may already be.

Talk about it. Ignoring the fact that you made out or slept together  won’t help matters, especially if you work closely 40 hours every week. Talking about it and establishing guidelines—particularly about how to act at work—is important, especially if you both think this may be more than just a one-time occurrence.

Agree to not speak about it at the office.  There’s a time and place for everything and you shouldn’t let personal discussions get in the way of your work. Talk about what happened outside the office so as to avoid nosy co-workers, since gossip can travel very quickly.