People have been meeting their significant others at work for decades now. After all, we tend to spend a lot of time at work, especially when we’re single, so it’s often the place where we meet the most people. But, is it a good idea to date a coworker? Here are four questions to ask yourself.

• What’s your company policy? It’s less prevalent today, but there are still a few companies that forbid dating between coworkers. If your company is one of them, you have to weigh your options. If you’re very discreet, maybe no one will find out, but if you get caught, you could both lose your jobs. If he or she turns out to be “the one”, and you decide to get married, how will you handle it?
• Is the person you’re interested in your supervisor or subordinate? This is forbidden in almost all companies. And even if it isn’t strictly against the rules, it’s dangerous territory. As a boss, you risk a sexual harassment charge if you break the relationship off. As a subordinate, you risk unfair treatment by the boss if you’re the one to break it off.
• How will you feel about seeing this person every day if it doesn’t work? Even when there is no reporting relationship, you may still feel awkward at work if it doesn’t work out.
• Are You Willing to Be the Brunt of Office Gossip? If people find out, they’re gonna talk. Just be sure you can handle it. Eventually of course, if you say very little, they’ll move on to another topic.

Work can be a great place to meet someone. Just be sure you’re prepared for the many different things that can happen when you date where you work.

Dating Essentials Company Policy, Meet People, Work

Everybody who is looking to meet new people online wants to connect with others whose interests are the same as theirs. After all, this is the basis of just about any personal relationship, right? Having similar interests is nothing new and there are plenty of online dating sites out there that focus on matching up interests, sometimes even very narrow, specific interests.

These specific interest sites are a great way to meet like minded singles if there is something that is really, really important to you, like physical fitness, music, or the like. But what about books? Lots of people love to read, and these same people often want to meet others who love to read as well.

Enter Alikewise.com, a new online dating site that is set up especially to connect singles based on their reading habits. Instead of searching by height, weight, age, or the like, this unique online dating service connects you with others by allowing you to search by books they have read.

That’s right, books. When you set up your profile you list the books you’ve read that you really like, which can be sorted by author and book title. Then when you’re ready to search for other singles you search for those who have read a particular book or author. It’s that simple and that unique.

So let’s say you loved “The Shining” by Stephen King. You include it in your list of books read and then search for others who have included it in their list as well. Your search will return a list of singles who have read that book, allowing you to connect with any of them you find interesting.

Think of it as going to the library and looking over the shoulder of someone else to see what they are checking out. It’s a fun and unique way to connect with other singles!

Relationships Alikewise.com, Hobbies, Meet People, Reading

One of the challenges of online dating is actually getting out there to meet other singles. The pressures that come with having to meet face to face, one on one, can be huge and for many singles it’s intimidating enough to make them think twice about online dating.

Now there’s a good solution that brings together the best of online dating with the best of getting out there to meet other people. Urban Social is an online dating company that offers traditional online services, but also expands its reach into local areas by partnering with other companies to create in-person events and activities. This is not necessarily a brand new approach; other online dating services have tried to offer events and gatherings as part of their services.

What makes the Urban Social approach different is that they are not actually putting on the events themselves but rather working with third parties who do the actual event planning and execution. It’s a partnership model that works well, especially in smaller markets where the local partner knows what will be popular and cost effective for that area. All they have to do is set themselves up with Urban Social, put together an event outline for Urban Social to approve, and then Urban Social partners with them to promote and support the event.

So whether you’re a single looking for interesting events and activities in your area or someone who would like to create a singles event for your community, take a look at Urban Social. You just might find something exciting to really take off!

News & Views Events, Meet People, UK, Urban Social