Managing Sticky Situations at Work

Sticky Romantic Situations in the Office 135interest in one another and it works out, he may have found his soulmate. The costs are high either way.Calvin sets limits. Calvin does not want to lose Melissa, but he doeswant to know if she welcomes his feelings. He decides that he cannotgo on wondering. He must risk offending her in order to learn howshe feels about him. If they share a mutual attraction, the two of themcan talk about future steps together instead of him making this decisionalone.Calvin determines the power sources. Even though Calvin isMelissa’s boss, he does not see himself in a very powerful place. Sheis an excellent employee who can find a job anywhere. If things donot work out between them and she wishes to leave, he would gladlygive her high recommendations. He, on the other hand, has a lot tolose. His boss was relieved when they hired Melissa and quite pleasedwith her results. He will not be happy if she resigns because Calvinhas taken a shine to her.PERSONALITY OVERLAYCalvin is a cautious and sensitive person. He’s not a Bold and likelynot an Expressive. The cautious part of him is holding back his feelingsand the sensitive part of him wants to know how Melissa feels. Basedon these behaviors, he is probably a Sympathetic with a high Technicalbackup style.Melissa, on the other hand, is friendly, outgoing, and easy to bewith. She quickly turned around a very difficult territory. Her easymanner and quick wit suggest she’s an Expressive personality.Recognizing that Melissa is an Expressive, Calvin can approach herwithout necessarily losing her as an employee or as a friend becauseExpressives appreciate attention. Technical personality types mighthave trouble remaining in a job when the boss is physically attractedto them because they tend to make feelings logical and consider thosefeelings dangers to their careers. A Sympathetic might be so concernedwith how Calvin feels that she’d have trouble turning him down.She’d likely construct barriers between them to enable her to do herjob but feel as if she were constantly hurting him. Her ultimate decisionwould be to leave the company. A Bold personality would beannoyed with Calvin, perhaps even angry with him. If the Bold didnot share Calvin’s feelings, she’d see him as a threat to her progressin the company and either leave or file a harassment claim.