5 Colleagues You Should Never Date
As hiring season meets cuffing season, Gen Z isn’t just chasing jobs this fall. According to a new EduBirdie survey, 1 in 5 Gen Zers have applied for a job solely hoping to meet someone special there. It makes sense: where else can you see someone in their natural habitat, with all their moods and quirks exposed? The problem is that not all your coworkers are safe crush material.
These are the five types of colleagues you should never date:
Workaholic with zero boundaries
The office is life to them. They’re the ones sending emails at 11:59 p.m., scheduling “quick syncs” during lunch, and somehow always talking about deliverables at the after-work drinks. Dating them means your relationship will basically turn into another job: unpaid, and with worse benefits. And you don’t want to compete with their Outlook calendar, ever. Plus, if they can’t respect boundaries at work, chances are they won’t respect them in love either.
The accountability escaper
You’ll recognize them easily: somehow it’s always the system, the client, or the weather that’s at fault when they miss deadlines or mess something up. In a relationship, this translates to a partner who never takes responsibility for their part. You’ll be the one apologizing for everything while they sulk like a kid, meaning the emotional labor is all yours. Not exactly a dream choice if you don’t want to be the project manager of someone else’s life.
The eternal competitor
This one’s tricky. On the surface, they’re ambitious, a little vain — and yes, probably very attractive. But if competition is their love language, you can let go of the idea of a partner who’s truly with you. They’ll be beside you, sure, but not exactly on your side.
You land a raise, they’ll only enjoy it if theirs is bigger. You share a personal win, and somehow it turns into a comparison. Instead of being proud, they’re quietly keeping score, often in ways you won’t even notice at first. And nothing undermines intimacy more than realizing the person you’re with would rather outdo you than build something together.
Office gossip machine
This one is lowkey dangerous. At first, it’s fun: you get fresh tea every day, knowing who’s secretly interviewing, which manager has a burner Twitter. But if they’re telling you everyone else’s business, yours will be tomorrow’s lunchtime content, too. Do you really want your entire floor to know you cried during The Bear finale? Exactly.
Office taboo
Pretty obvious, but still — don’t date your boss. This type of relationship is only hot in Netflix dramas, but giving HR violations in real life. The power dynamics are messy, and the favoritism whispers are relentless. Even if it works out, you’re forever branded “the one who dated the boss.” Unless your dream is being the star of the office group chat, just don’t.
The same goes in reverse. Dating your report puts you in a no-win situation, where every decision you make is suddenly suspect. A promotion looks like favoritism, a tough review looks like revenge. Either way, it’s a story better left unwritten.
Written by Charisse Cooke, accredited therapist and resident relationships expert at the dating app Flirtini