Working well with someone means being relaxed with them – and that is impossible if you’re not sure whether they’re trying to seduce you or not.When someone operates in this manner, it is difficult to know when to say “no, thank you”. This would entail getting someone to work late at the office and then taking them out for a meal “because it’s too late to go home and cook” or taking them away on a business conference and making sure your rooms are next door to one another Hedging your bets in this way is mean. Working with someone means forging an effective relationship. Hinting that you would like to take things further but never being specific can make the whole relationship uncomfortable, especially if it’s a boss/employee situation.Trying to blur the lines between business and pleasure will appear sleazy. What do you expect the company will think about a romance between you?Etiquette: Dating a work colleague requires a good amount of old-fashioned social etiquette, not because it will make you any more attractive but because it will make the whole process a lot more comfortable and a lot less difficult, if and when the whole thing ends.Subtlety is not the wisest ploy.

How highly do you value this person as an employee/ colleague/ friend? Will a relationship compromise that situation?5. What if you see one another and then break up? Will that affect the business relationship?6. Are you in any danger of being accused of favouritism if you start to see each other outside work? Will the charge of confidentiality come up?4. What are your positions in the company pecking order? Are they compatible?3. Do either of you have attachments – are you or this other person married/living with one another? Do either of you have a steady partner? Does that partner work in the same company?2.

Prior to making a play for a colleague, work out the following – however hard it is to be coldly rational under the circumstances:1. It’s always wise to keep in mind, though, that in the workplace you should think and plan before you act. If your interest is not reciprocated you could be accused of sexual harassment or – at least – end up looking sad and sleazy once the office gossips have done their worst.The Chat-up: Fancying someone you work with is not a criminal offence and neither is asking them out. Everything is in order, from stress-busting massage at the desk to on-site counselling, so why not pick a mate there too?Making a pass is a dangerous manoeuvre in the workplace.