Beware of the Office Creep

We’ve all heard the warnings and many euphemisms about fishing in the company pond when it comes to dating coworkers. All of that advice can be boiled down into these three words: Don’t do it. Seriously, it’s not worth it. Unfortunately, there is no stopping human nature, and whenever people of the opposite sex are placed in a confined space for an extended period of time, there will be sex. Bank on it. This doesn’t make it excusable, but it does make it a reality.

Most office professionals have passed a series of tests, including interviews, along their career path that has deemed them able to act like a professional at work. There are some people, however, who slip through the cracks of the vetting process and behave like creeps at work. They just don’t get it. Scarily, a recent survey indicates that those colleagues who are tone deaf to social mores at work also have an inflated opinion of themselves.

This article explains, "Men on the hunt for a hookup were more likely to overestimate women’s interest, especially when the women were hotter… But sadly, the cute guys you might want to flirt with didn’t make that mistake—it was less attractive guys who think they’re hot that overestimated women’s interest."

This, of course, is terrible news for women everywhere, but perhaps not exactly groundbreaking information. Creepy men are bad enough, but at work they pose a host of other complications that can have a profound impact on your life. So when you have a creep at work who doesn’t get it, use your resources set in place by human resources to curb their behavior early. The fake phone number won’t get you out of this uncomfortable situation.

Photo courtesy of Moriartys.