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15 Subtle Signs Your Employees are Having an Office Romance

Are you suspecting your staff are having an affair? If YES, here are 15 subtle signs that proves your employees are having an office romance plus corrective measures to take. The office space is a place for serious business. A place where employers and employees are supposed to be saddled with serious work.

However, you cannot rule out that some persons may be frolicking with one another. The truth is that when you have male and female folks in a place, you cannot rule out the possibility of romance. Office romance has come to stay as more and more people are being caught in the web.

Whilst some organizations frown at this as they feel that this might interfere with work, yet others do not mind at all, so far it doesn’t interfere with productivity in the workspace. So as an employer, how exactly can you tell that romance is underway amongst your employees? These are some signs that you should take into cognizance.

15 Signs Your Employees are Having an Office Romance

1. Sneaky Glances

Many times, romance and sneaky glances go hand in hand. One of the ways to notice if your employees are having a romance is when often times there are sneaky glances and smiles during work related meetings. Glances that gives away feelings and emotions from the people having the affair. This kind of sign no doubt will be obvious to all those who are close to both parties involved.

2. You Find Them Always Together

Often times when there is romance amongst your employees (a male and a female), you may see the lovers arrive at work within minutes of each other. They may even tend to leave at the same time. There may also be cases of them doing their overtimes together. They can also be around during late evenings doting on one another. The bottom line is that they may be addressed as couples on a casual note because they are always together.

3. They Do Lunch Together

More often than not when there is an office romance, you will see the people involved going out for lunch at the same time. And if they have to leave the office building to go do lunch outside, they would be seen together.

Romance around the office always encourages close proximity in most cases especially if it has to do with colleagues (people of same cadre). When it involves a boss and a subordinate, especially if one party or both parties are married, you can hardly see them together in the open.

4. They Call Each other Often

One sign to take note of in order to decode whether your employees are having office romance is how often they call one another. When there is romance, there is high tendency in the two people involved calling themselves at any slightest opportunity. If perhaps you happen to check the call logs on their intercom or official phones, you will notice that they spend time speaking to just one person.

5. They Bond During Work Social Gatherings

Another sign to know that your employees are having an office romance is when two people bonds beyond normal during work social gatherings. When there is a social gathering for work, you will either see them there together or not see them at all. Romance causes them to always be with each other at all times, and so they always want to attend work social gatherings and team boding outings.

As a matter of fact, when a trainer or coordinator wants two people of the opposite sex to come out to demonstrate what is being taught or to use as an example to buttress his or her point, they are usually the people that the rest of the staff members will chorus to come out.

6. A Sudden Change in Dress Sense

It is always a good time to suspect that romance is going in when you notice that suddenly one or both parties start dressing really nicely. They do this because the best way to capture the attention of one another is hinged on how attractive they look.

7. They Strive to Get Each other’s Attention

Another sign to know that your employees are having an office romance is the rate at which they strive to get each other’s attention in the work place. They both make a point of getting the other persons attention, whether it is touching themselves in a small way or responding to things they say in a meeting in a positive way (more than usual).

8. When They both Pursue the same things Around the Office

Another sign to know that your employees are having an office romance is when the people involved are known to always pursue the same things around the office.

Quite often they manage to organize it so that they both end up going on the same training or going on official assignment together especially when it has to do with out of station assignment that might take some days and very far away from their city. It will indeed give them time to bond and that is what they want.

9. When They Talk About One Another in The Open Always

When two people especially of the opposite sex talk about one another in the open always, it is a sign to know that they are having an office romance. You might realize that they are often talking about each other to others in the office. They are always happy to talk about themselves to others in and around the office. This may be a good sign to take note of.

10. When Their Friendship Soars

Another sign to know that your employees are having an office romance is when their friendship is growing beyond normal. Sometimes, their relationship might take an upward turn. They will go from being best friends to being super close to each other in the office. People around them will always notice that these two people are two of a kind and you will hear other colleagues saying on a harmless note that these two people can pass for a couple.

11. When They Have Relationship Outside the Office

It is easier to tell that your employees are having office romance when their relationship goes beyond the office to outside the office. The truth is that, when two people of the opposite sex are always going on dates during their off duty days, they are always visiting one another despite the fact that they meet themselves in the office, it shows that they may be having office romance.

12. When the Offence Committed By Each Other in the Office is Always Downplayed

Another sign to know that your employees are having a romance is when most often than not, the offence committed by one of them in the office is always downplayed to the detriment of the organization.

The truth is that if two people are having office romance and one is a superior office to the other, the superior will always wave the offence of the subordinate to the detriment of the organization. They are always out to defend one another in the office so as to avoid receiving query, warning or termination.

13. When One Party Brings Food Frequently for The Other

When a particular female employee is always bringing food for a male employee, they may be having an office romance. No doubt, a lady that will take out time to always bring food (lunch) for his colleague in the office might have more than casual friendship in mind; it is often because of office romance.

14. Always Buying Gifts for One Another

Another sign to know that your employees are having an office romance is when you notice that two of your employees especially people of the opposite sex are always buying gifts for one another. Whenever one party travels, he or she will ensure that they bring a special gift for the colleague even if they buy just chocolate bars for other colleagues.

15. When One Party Freely Make Use of The Other’s Personal Stuff Without Permission

Lastly, another sign to know that your employees are having an office romance is when one party can freely make use of the other’s personal stuff without necessarily taking permission.

For example, when you find a female colleague casually putting on the jacket of a male colleague and this happens frequently, or one party can make use of the other’s phone to make calls at will without any restriction, the handwriting can easily be read; they may be having a romance.

In Conclusion;

These are some signs that shows your employees are having an office romance but please note that in some cases it might just be causal friendship so do not tag every employee that displays the signs listed above as having office romance. You must get your facts right before making your conclusion.