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Did you know that around\u00a025 percent of people have dated a coworker\u00a0at some point in their careers?<\/p>\n
All those late nights at the office and Friday drinks after work, understandably, lead to romantic connections and some long-term relationships.<\/p>\n
For the lucky ones, workplace flings turn into lifetime loves, but for many others, the boardroom breakup can cause more than just a broken heart.\u00a0It\u2019s bad enough that you have to toss their stuff out of your apartment and delete all of your cute couple pictures from social media, but now, you\u2019ve ended up\u00a0working<\/em>\u00a0with an ex.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t even get the luxury to throw yourself into your work as a distraction\u00a0because your ex is at the other end\u00a0of every email thread, twisting the knife even further into your broken heart.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But here\u2019s how to work with your ex while keeping your professional career intact.<\/p>\n While it might seem like the end of the world, a workplace breakup is just a few extra hurdles to jump on your journey to a mended heart.<\/p>\n 1. Keep it strictly professional<\/strong><\/p>\n Breakups can bring on a lot of tense conversations, snide comments, and snappy remarks, but the office is no place for this kind of interaction.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s difficult to go back to speaking professionally with someone who\u2019s hurt or broken your trust, you don\u2019t need a broken heart ruining your professional reputation. Your coworkers aren\u2019t going to care about who did what and who broke up with who if it gets in the way of office productivity.<\/p>\n Time to bite your tongue and get down to business.\u00a0Keep it polite and civil, because screaming matches in the office are not a good look for anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n 2. Acknowledge the awkwardness between you<\/strong><\/p>\n No matter how the breakup went down, this situation is awkward for everyone involved.<\/p>\n It\u2019s okay to make light of the situation by pointing out tension when you run into each other at the copy machine or in the break room. You can acknowledge the awkwardness with coworkers, too, so they know you\u2019re trying to move forward from your breakup.<\/p>\n The reality is, lots of people in the office have probably noticed anyway, so you may as well join in on the joke. Make a\u00a0\u201cWell this is awkward\u201d joke to cut the tension, and move on.\u00a0<\/p>\n 3. Set your boundaries<\/strong><\/p>\n Discussing some\u00a0rules\u00a0can help keep things professional.<\/p>\n Maybe you\u2019re able to switch around teams, desks, or shifts in order to minimize contact with your ex. If this isn\u2019t feasible, you\u00a0can set boundaries around what interactions are necessary\u00a0and what can be avoided.<\/p>\n Have an open discussion after the breakup so both of you are on the same page about how you\u2019re going to manage work life. You may even need to discuss notifying HR if your office requires you to disclose your relationship.<\/p>\n It helps to continuously review these boundaries. Maybe you thought you could handle working on a project together but now find yourself getting angry and needing to step away. Maybe your ex originally wanted you two to be friendly but now needs more space.\u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Avoid gossiping about your situation<\/strong><\/p>\n Venting, bad-mouthing, and spilling secrets is part of the breakup handbook at this point and can be the cheapest form of therapy sometimes. But in a workplace breakup, the rules are a little different.<\/p>\n No matter how much your close work colleagues want to know the details of your breakup, some things are best kept to yourself.<\/p>\n When you\u2019ve been scorned by a breakup, the temptation is always there to seek vengeance on your ex, especially if you\u2019re sick of hearing your coworkers brag about how nice they are. But destroying their reputation will only make you look petty and won\u2019t mend your broken heart.<\/p>\n Reserve your ranting for friends and family outside of work so you get to pour your heart out without risking your job.<\/p>\n 5. Reconsider having office flings<\/strong><\/p>\n When you spend so much time at work, it\u2019s only natural that a romance will bloom there, but\u00a0if you\u2019re reading this, you\u2019ve probably already realized that some flings just aren\u2019t worth all the sneaking around and awkward aftermath.<\/p>\n And the only thing worse than having to work with one ex is having to work with\u00a0multiple<\/em>\u00a0exes.<\/p>\n When it comes time for you to move on, maybe consider dating outside of the office and keeping it hush-hush so your ex doesn\u2019t have to hear about it. If there is someone utterly irresistible in the office who you want to pursue,\u00a0it could be time to switch jobs\u00a0or at least transfer to a different department.\u00a0<\/p>\n 6. Be aware of harassment<\/strong><\/p>\n Breakups\u00a0can bring out the worst in people. What might look like normal ex behavior to one person can feel like bullying or harassment to another.<\/p>\n Have a read over the\u00a0Equal Employment Opportunity Commission\u2019s guidelines\u00a0on what constitutes workplace harassment so you know if you or someone you work with is crossing any boundaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n