dipping your pen into the company inkwell....

[DrFaroohk]

A) Can work if you keep things in the store professional.

B) Always a bad idea.

C) Always a bad idea.

D) Always a bad idea.

[digilight]

Depends. If the dipper is a manager and the dipee is a subordinate or vice-versa then I would vote for B,C and D. If the Dipper and Dippee work closely in the same department then I would say again B, C and D. If it is a larger store and they work different areas and don't need to come into contact during their shift then I would say Dip on.

Oh shit, I just realized that you are talking about a male employee nailing a female boss. Dude, don't freaken get back with your ex. Only bad things could happen. And don't "hook up" with a superior either. IT IS ALWAYS A BAD IDEA....

[ArenaBoy]

Did the dip with one person and we lasted about a year and a half. The beauty of it was that we were always at different lots (And it was just plain luck too). She left the arena for a job that she preferred more and gave her more free time. Would I do it again? No. But it was a lot fun and we enjoyed it. It's risky but like diggilight said if it's someone of different ranks then we have a problem and I saw a lot of that.

[TNT]

I'm suddenly going with B, C, D. I was doing all right with another employee... everything seemed fine. She said she thought she wanted to be more than friends. I said that was okay with me.

And then I said something she didn't like. My non-professional diagnosis is that she's batshit crazy.... she won't tell me what she didn't like, and insists that we never, ever, speak to each other again by any means about any subject or she'll "go to HR." About what, I know not. We don't work in the same department and neither has any management power over the other. And outside of "more than friends" there's nothing remotely sexy about our trackable conversations... and she was the one who said it.

My semi-educated guess is Borderline Personality Disorder. Someday, and it won't be long, she'll act as though we've been lovers forever and the whole thing never happened. With a BPD, it's either the best or it's the worst... and since I don't have to chose, I guess I won't (some Lou Reed there, for those keeping score at home).

We've been friends for months... all the drama took place within the last two days.

I know I have a temper... but she hasn't seen it yet. I'm utterly clueless. All I can figure is that she did something I didn't particularly like, and I said, "that reminds me of an ex-friend of mine."

That, and nothing more. Trust me... I like to admire my handiwork too much to not give all you nice people a deliriously detailed blow by blow if I could figure out what I did.

[chops]

Depends. If the dipper is a manager and the dipee is a subordinate or vice-versa then I would vote for B,C and D.

Ah yes. Right as I was about to leave my convenience store job, the store manager (the owners' brother) had decided to do some dipping. She was pregnant with their first child as I left, and they had another one since then. They've since split (surprise, surprise), and I'm really surprised that the shit didn't hit the fan as a result of all that.

[Jester]

I think it honestly depends on the two people involved. I have seen it work great, I have seen it work alright, I have seen it barely work, I have seen it not work too well, I have seen it not work at all, and I have seen it cause pyrotechnics that would make Kiss weep.

Myself, I have only been involved with someone I worked with for more than a day or two a total of.....(thinking) um, once. And that was RW. And since I am the one that basically got her the job, it was a bit reverse, as in we were dating and then she started working for the same place.

While any couple will have problems, we pretty much managed to keep our professional and our personal lives separate. Hell, there are still people at The Bar that don't know we aren't dating anymore. We both believe in keeping any drama that may come along OUT of the work place.

But I got lucky in getting involved with a person of the same mind as me in that respect....not everyone is of that mind.

As I said at the start of this post, it depends on the two individuals involved......

[Seshat]

I've worked in the same company as my husband a couple of times, and I've known other husband-wife or long-term partnerships who worked in the same company.

That seems to end up being a different dynamic, though. In all the cases I've seen it work, the relationship preceded working at the same place.

[Bagga]

The rumour at my place got stronger and stronger...

"Pete's going out with that new girl in the other department" (which was in a separate but nearby building)

Until in the end a workmate asked:

"Are you really going out with TNGITOD?"

"No, we usually stay in and have wild sex. She's my wife"

It wouldn't have worked if we had been in the same department though. She was a well-organised systematic worker, and I was a procrastinating slob who worked best by leaving everything until the stress level hit trigger point then racing through the task.

[BdwayBabu799]

I once dipped my pen in and I have been with him for over 3 years. We were in the same department for a year. There were some issues(not with us, but with other people) and drama, I could write a book you just have to ignore all the goofiness. Once I got frusterated by the girls who were like "ooohh I am talking to your boyfriend...is that okay?" (what are we 5!) I finally said "No, don't talk to him, no one should talk to him, he cannot talk to females!" and I rolled my eyes and walked way. My friend was funny, I said it VERY sarcastically so there was no room for misinterpretation, it was sarcasm.

We don't work together anymore, although oddly enough I work for a TV station and he works for a cable company...and he works right behind me in another building..but that is besides the point.

[wagegoth]

B, C & D, because even when it appears to be A, if they break up it becomes B, C & D.

All the attendant sexual harassment fall-out is only going to make everyone miserable in the long run.

[Jester]

B, C & D, because even when it appears to be A, if they break up it becomes B, C & D.

All the attendant sexual harassment fall-out is only going to make everyone miserable in the long run.

Not always. As I said before, it depends on the individuals in question.

RW and I are broken up.
We worked the floor together tonight.

Our biggest disagreement? "Stop cleaning my tables!" "No, you stop cleaning mine!" At which point we would commence throwing napkins and towels at each other. Yeah, real evil situation there, huh?

And no, not everyone is RW or Jester. Which is why I shall repeat myself here....it depends on the individuals in question.

[Boozy]

I ended up marrying my co-worker.

Every employee in the place was hooking up with everyone else. It was a constant soap opera; jealousy, affairs, one-night stands. I think that kind of thing tends to happen in workplaces with a large staff under the age of 25, all of them single.

Anyway, my future husband and I had eyes only for each other, and had a very stable relationship. So we flew under the radar while everyone else was drawing attention from management due to their shenanigans.

They should have cracked down on this kind of thing earlier. If two sane, mature people who really like each other decide to date, they will find a way to make it work, with or without management approval. I dated hubby for months before anyone even knew we were together. Our personal relationship was never a factor in the workplace. If it was, then management would have had the right to express their concerns.