Anita Bruzzese over at 45 Things has an interesting post on workplace romance.  While Anita does mention that 58 percent of us working folk have dated someone you work with and that she herself married someone she met on the job, it’s cool that she doesn’t spend the rest of the post chastising those who are currently in a relationship with a colleague.  Instead, she does something that’s much more useful.  With help from mediator Barbara Reeves Neal, Anita provides some great tips for how those of us who are already married or seriously involved can keep workplace relationships strictly professional.  Among them:

• No after hour meetings if they can be avoided.  “Remind yourself of the family you have at home,” Neal says.
• No hotel room meetings. This can be slightly problematic when all the men – or all the women – want to meet in someone’s room and the one person of the opposite sex feels uncomfortable with it.  Still, everyone should be understanding and hold all meetings in the hotel lobby or other meeting room. When traveling on business, stay away from dimly lit restaurants or bars.
• Remember that the “good feelings” you have working with that person are because you’re working towards a common goal. Don’t infuse the relationship with personal emotional attachment.

I have occasionally worried about what would happen if I were to unexpectedly meet someone through my work with whom I couldn’t resist starting an affair.  Hopefully by keeping this advice in the back of my mind, I’ll be able to deal with the situation effectively if it ever does come up.