Your parents are looking for a bride for you and you have reluctantly agreed to meet girls in the arranged marriage way as you haven't met your soul mate yet. One day a new girl joins your office. She's smart, witty, maybe even quite pretty, she appreciates your jokes and both of you have a good time working together. You seriously begin to ponder if this cute cube-mate could also be your life-mate. But what's the reality, lying behind most office romances? Do they end with wedding bells as shown in many romantic feature films? Or do office romances ruin the discipline at the work place? How is one to deal with it if one breaks up with a colleague and still has to work with him? Most importantly, can office romances affect your career?

First of all, let us acknowledge the inevitable - colleagues may just fall in love at the work place - it's perfectly natural. Nowadays, people spend more than eight hours at work everyday. It gives a good opportunity to get to know your prospective partner before proposing. A mature relationship can evolve out of genuine friendship, which may even culminate in marriage. It is, however, advisable not to join an office thinking it to be an unofficial dating club. Afterall, a person comes to office to work. There are a few simple protocols and work ethics that should be kept in mind if you are involved in an office romance.

Find out if your colleague is genuinely interested in exploring a relationship with you. Of course, you don't want to be in a one-sided infatuation.

Though more offices are open to the emergence of office romances, some offices have a stringent policy disallowing them. So before getting romantically involved with a colleague, you must find out what your office rules and regulations are regarding dating in office. If dating is permissible, find out if your colleague is genuinely interested in exploring a relationship with you. Of course, you don't want to be in a one-sided infatuation with someone who is not romantically interested in you or already has a boyfriend/ girlfriend. | Have Your Say: Is dating the right way to find a suitable partner? |

Maybe one of the most unethical things to do is taking a colleague who is attracted to you on a ride and dumping her after a fling.

Says Anindita: "My colleague Manish gave me a lift back home in his car after work. He would start telling me how much he appreciated my work and me. He criticized another co-worker Teena to me behind her back. A week later, much to my surprise I saw him flirting with Teena and going out with her for lunch. He soon promoted Teena over me though I felt I was a better worker. Before long he forgot Teena and started dating another co-worker."

So be candid with your partner if you are exploring a short-term relationship or a serious one. Between two mutually mature adults an office romance may just bloom beautifully. You don't necessarily have to disclose to other colleagues that you are dating if you feel that you may be pestered with inquisitive questions or snide remarks.

On Page 2: Can you go steady with your boss?