Making love 'work'!

You know how they say 'never mix business and pleasure'? Well, what do you do if you've already fallen hook, line and sinker for the hottie in the adjacent cubicle? Every time someone passes you can't help swivelling in your chair to see if it's him. And the best part is you know he likes you too.

The big question is how do you handle the brewing romance?

Here's what some dating and married couples who worked together have to say about handling the situation.

It's a rule

The first thing to do is to find out what your company policy is regarding relationships with co-workers. So first things first; skim through the HR handbook.

Gulam Sheikh was working with Jagruti when they started dating. A few years later they shifted to another company together. "At the time of the interview itself, we made it clear that we were seeing each other and planning to get married. Our company was fine with it as long as it didn't hamper our work," Gulam explains.

If relationships are against company rules, hate to burst your bubble, but you might want to reconsider taking things forward. If your company is cool with it, what are you waiting for?

Under wraps

If you are not certain about how things will pan out and want to keep your relationship a secret, you’ll have to learn how to be very discreet.

"We didn't want anyone to know we were dating because we didn't want official meetings outside of office to be misconstrued as couple time or official conversations to be taken as personal ones," says Albino Mascarenhas who was dating Roshin (now his wife) at the time. "The day I resigned I broke the news to my boss," says Albino.

On your best behaviour

Another thing about working with your spouse/ dating your colleague is you can't act all lovey-dovey at work.

"I had to be on my guard and not get too comfortable at work. I had to be careful not to hold Rohan's hand (which came so naturally). The worst part was at appraisal time when we were really happy, we couldn't just give each other a hug," says Ruchira Sonalkar, a senior product executive.

Though Ruchira and Rohan told everyone they were just friends, eventually, everyone came to know about their relationship, except the boss. "When we gave our wedding invite to our boss, he got the shock of his life," she adds with a laugh!

One couple, two employees

You may be a couple and working in the same team but when it comes to work you are two separate individuals. So while you might want to chip in for each other sometimes, you can't do too much or it will tell on your appraisals!

"We avoid taking leave together because two people off the team will be a cause for concern for our boss," says Gulam. "We generally wait for public holidays to take a break. Long leaves become next to impossible for us."

Romantic rendezvous

If your relationship is a secret that you are good at keeping, the excitement only increases.

"I danced all night with Roshin at the office party and no one knew a thing. I would also call her on her extension at work and pretend like I was talking to a client. I would even whisper 'I love you' to her whenever there was no one around," Albino says with a grin.

"I loved the fact that I could carry fancy handbags to work because my tiffin would be dumped in his bag," Ruchira laughs. "Another benefit was that we would travel back home together when we got done with work late."

The dark side

There's a dark side to everything though. Once the cat is out of the bag, you had better watch out! People tend to see you as a couple instead of as two individuals more often than not.

"My husband and I were both at very senior levels in the company where a lot of decision-making was involved. Every decision we made was put under the scanner and at times assumed to be for the other person’s benefit," says Swapna Singh who is not in favour of working in the same office.

"Also seniors saw us as a single entity though we had our own independent thoughts on certain issues," she adds.

No-nos for couples at work

• As much as you want to hug/ kiss/ hold his hand, leave that for after you are out of the office building.
• If you are the boss, make a conscious effort not to favour your spouse over the others at work.
• Extended lunch breaks especially with your partner will only make tongues wag unnecessarily.
• Tough as it may be, try to avoid bringing a professional argument home with you or a fight at home to work.
• Limit the work talk to office. Bringing the load at office home will only take its toll on your relationship.