Flirt at Work

In any professional environment, flirtation between co-workers can and does happen. Recently, when the men's magazine Best Life conducted two online polls on office romance, more than half of the respondents confessed to having crushes at the office. n a recent interview, Best Life editor Stephen Perrine said he believed office flirting to be largely harmless. But it can be a thin line between what is acceptable and what may be inappropriate: 82 percent of the female poll respondents also reported feeling "creeped out" by an older male colleague's attempts at flirting.

Taking it to the next level

So you like each other, you really like each other, and you want to go beyond flirting. According to Dennis Powers, author of "The Office Romance: Playing With Fire and Not Getting Burned" (AMACOM), office romances are increasingly common and, if approached carefully, don't need to get messy. One way to avoid disaster is to know up front what both of you want from the relationship. If one person's looking for a fling and the other is eyeing the rings at Tiffany's, it probably isn't going to work out. At that point, you need to decide whether the short-term romance is going to be worth the long-term situation of working with an ex. Make sure you understand your workplace's policy on office romance. Ask yourself if this relationship is worth the possibility of having to leave your job. Also, maintain a professional image at all times: Avoid or limit public displays of affection at work and keep the flirtatious e-mailing to a minimum -- you never know when you're accidentally going to press "Reply all."

Staying in-bounds

When it comes to flirtatious behavior, be careful. Avoid any indiscretions by building good relationships with your co-workers, supervisors and employees. If you unintentionally offend someone, they should know you well enough to know you meant no harm, and should be comfortable telling you as much so you can make sure it won't happen again Pay attention to body language. If the object of your flirtation is not reciprocating, that person may be uncomfortable (arms crossed in front of the chest is usually a signal) or simply uninterested (take a lack of eye contact or unenthusiastic, one-word answers as major hints). Be aware of the message your own body language is sending as well. Maintaining eye contact or lightly touching a person's hand when telling a story is fine; behavior that is sexual in nature, such as shoulder- or back-rubbing, is not only inappropriate, it's nauseating for others to watch. Be especially mindful of verbal cues. Do not continue to ask a co-worker out if he or she has already told you no. Office romance is one department where persistence does not pay off. Know your audience. Some people may appreciate a dirty joke here and there, others won't tolerate them. Even complimenting a person's physical appearance can be tricky. Bottom line: Play it safe. When in doubt, keep it outside the office.

Orignal path to the article: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/Careers/02/15/cb.flirt.at.work/index.html