Love cannot be confined!

"Is it love, is it love that I'm feeling..." - Bob Marley

Who will dare confine love to a specific place or time? Love, a universal language without barrier, shared by all, happens all the time. Smile if you've been there before, didn't see it coming then suddenly, you are in love. Romantic love desired by all is such a beautiful thing.

Love is where you find it, and the circumstances that bring people together cannot totally be prevented. People have found the love of their lives at unexpected places and moments that had very little triggers of love.

Some people find their lovers at their place of work, others in place of worship. It differs from one to the other. It's said that 4 out of every corporate worker might have been involved in an office romance in one way or the other. Either a victim or beneficiary.

The truth is that when people hang around each other for a long time, they turn to develop like and affection for one another.

I have seen friends who have found love at their workplaces and beautifully managed it, while others have suffered many woes because of love at the workplace.

However, when it comes to love in the workplace, one must take precautions.

Office Romance stands at a high risk of impacting once job gravely. As love is as strong as death, if love goes wrong the worse mostly happens. If office romance is managed properly it blossoms beautifully impacting both work and relationship life positively.

So what do you do if you are suddenly caught in the web of love at your workplace?

Here are a few things to know before and to do when you find yourself in love at the office. To avoid the negative effects....

Things to know about office Romance (The Good, Bad & Ugly)

• It's largely unacceptable

• It impacts productivity

• It leaves room for favoritism

• One or both parties risk losing the job

• Parties are more likely to watch the back of each other than doing the right thing.

• It affects relationships with other co-workers

• Professionalism is easily lost

• You may suffer from a job promotion or salary raise

• A breakup of relationship will gravely affect the work

• Romantic acts will offend other colleagues

• Seek professional counselling when there is a breakup

• The two parties may not be able to work on a project effectively

• Couples may tend to be loyal to each other than the job

• Respect privacy at the workplace

• Never discuss your relationship issues at work

• Avoid been seen together if not working together, during office hours

• Avoid PDAs, petting, kissing at the office.

• Avoid discussing unfinished home issues at work.

• Dating your line superior/manager is unacceptable

• Office romance should not be ignited nor encouraged by coworkers nor employers

• At best, keep it a secret if you happen to meet your significant other at the workplace

• Office romance breeds antipathies, etc

• In all, avoid office Romance like a plaque.

• Be professional in all you do at the office. Esteem professionalism.

• Get an exit plan as a backup if you need to quit your job

• Put your job first, above your love relationships

• Stick to professional work ethics at the office. Remember why you were hired

Note that one can build great friendship with others at the work place and not necessarily romantically involved. A healthy relationship with other colleagues at work is important. One needs to exercise self-discipline not to trip over into a romantic relationship that can ruin the friendship and business. Don’t let your romantic relationship cause you to lose your reputation and ruin your personal brand.

Bernard Kelvin Clive, Corporate Trainer, Brand Strategist at BKC Consulting, Amazon bestselling author of over 40 published books. Ghana's foremost authority on Personal branding and Digital Publishing who hosts the #1 ranked Business & Career Podcast in Ghana.