10 rules to follow when romantic sparks fly in the workplace

Pam and Jim from ‘The Office’ kept viewers tuning in week after week, but sly smiles often heat up, and that can be problematic for colleagues and supervisors. Pass along these guidelines.

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We spend a ton of time at the office, and that seems only seems to be increasing.

On top of that, new research says we need to spend more time with co-workers if we want a great employee experience.

There are limits, though.

Office romances are more complicated than a simple side-hug in the hallway or yukking it up on the company-sponsored architectural boat tour—and at happy hour afterward. So, here are some simple rules for office romances that you can pass along to your colleagues:

1. Don’t fall for someone you supervise. If you do, get ready to quit, be fired, be moved to another department, and or get the person you’re having an office romance with fired, moved, etc.

2. Don’t fall for anyone in Payroll. When it ends, so will your paycheck. At least temporarily, and even then it will be filled with errors from now until eternity. It’s a good rule of thumb to never mess with Payroll for any reason.

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