The office is always brimming with activity and energy, making it a good place to find someone interesting. It is not unusual to feel attracted to someone at the workplace or even notice signs a male coworker likes you, given the time you spend there. However, workplace relationships are far more complicated than your usual relationships. That’s why it’s important to tread more cautiously if you think something might be going on. Have you been wondering if a male colleague is attracted to you? Do you feel that a male coworker likes you? Are you here because you want to know what signs indicate a male coworker is into you?
Well, if a male coworker likes you, it might get pretty confusing for you because most colleagues are helpful toward each other and many strong friendships blossom in workplaces. So to know the difference between a guy who is just being friendly and helping you out and a guy who is hitting on you, can feel a little blurry in the workplace. However, if your gut tells you that a male colleague is giving you more attention than usual, he might just be interested in being more than just your colleague.
Maybe you have similar feelings toward him as well. This is why it might be a case that you want to know whether you are interpreting his behavior correctly before actually concluding that your male colleague likes you and taking the wrong step. In any case, a wrong move can affect not only your relationship or friendship with him but also your professional life. That’s why, after reading this article you will be able to make an informed decision about what’s really happening in your dynamic with him, and what you can do next.
15 Signs Your Male Coworker Likes You
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Usually, the signs of a guy liking you are quite similar to the signs of a male coworker liking you. The only difference that appears is that a guy in your workplace may not be as upfront as a regular guy in approaching you for the fear of sabotaging his professional life. Put yourself in his shoes for a second. He wants to be as professional and respectful as possible, so it’s possible he’s shy about letting you know he likes you. This is exactly why noticing the signs your coworker has feelings for you is important.
You could be a colleague on equal footing or you could be in a different position in the hierarchy, compared to him. Nevertheless, unless you are sure that he likes you, you should not infer anything major. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Does my male coworker like me?” because he handed you over that file a little too nicely, you might just be lost in your own head and perhaps it’s you who has a crush at work.
Professional relationships can turn sour and ugly if you wrongly interpret a man’s friendly behavior and equate them with signs your coworker is interested in you. At times, your or his job can also be on the line as a result of any such premature moves and misunderstandings. Before making a move or addressing the elephant in the room, you need to be sure if you are correctly interpreting the signs a man is attracted to you at work, and if you are willing to take things forward with him and indulge in a workplace romance.
To help you out with all that, we have a perfect list that is ready for you. Read these 15 signs a male coworker likes you very carefully to get to the bottom of this. If he is into you, these signs will spill the beans and you’ll know what to do next. If not, however, at least you’ll know it’s time to re-download that dating app you thought you didn’t need anymore.
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1. He cannot take his eyes off you
Body language at the workplace communicates intentions very efficiently, especially when you two spend all day in an office together. You will have to observe him for a couple of days, but you’ll come out with a fair idea of just what he might think of you. Especially if you think there are signs a male coworker likes you but is hiding it, don’t worry because his body language will certainly give it away.
Do you see him constantly looking at you? Maybe from across the hall or during meetings? When you both are working together, he doesn’t lose a chance to look at you from the corner of his eyes. If your male colleague’s eyes are always finding you, then this is the first sign and a quite clear one to know he may be attracted or interested in you.
If you feel the same way about him too, consider upping your dressing game a little to leave a more lasting impact on him. But keep it subtle. You don’t want to walk into the office with a complete makeover with new hair, new heels, and the loudest lipstick you could find. That’d be a dead giveaway. Instead, make small but noticeable changes. Order a few new lips colors that accentuate your lips and make them seem irresistible.
2. He will find ways to bump into you or work with you
Wherever you go in the office, you’ll find him around you and this is one of the signs a shy coworker likes you. Initially, it might be a coincidence and he would be glad to put it that way. But gradually, you’ll know when he finds excuses to work with you on the same projects or keeps bumping into you, whether it is the cafeteria or even when you are around some other colleagues. A dead giveaway will be if he tries becoming friends with the closest of your office pals, and this is how you can tell if a guy is interested in you at work or not.
If he is there to give you company for lunch and coffee, even if you have changed your usual times, it is clear that there are signs your coworker has feelings for you. If you do notice this often, we have a smart trick for you. Get yourself a premium perfume that is different from your signature fragrance. That way, you can stir him up just by walking past him, leaving a lingering trail of irresistibility behind.
A man who is already fawning over you will go over the tipping point with this slight change. And will know that you are egging him on to act on his feelings. If he has been holding himself back owing to a lack of clarity about how you feel, this will crack open a window of possibilities.
3. Signs a male coworker likes you — he is always eager to help you
So you have a very helpful colleague, who makes your tasks easier to complete throughout the mundane work day. He is always there to help you, no matter what you might need. Not only help, but he will guide you or let you know some well-guarded secrets of the job or office. In fact, he might even discourage you from asking other colleagues for help. This ought to be your hint that these are one of the signs your male colleague likes you. Romancing your cubicle buddy isn’t hard when you coat it with helpful surprises.
Although do keep in mind that on the flip side, he might just be someone who’s helpful in general. If so, it doesn’t necessarily mean your coworker has a crush on you. The answer to how to tell if a guy likes you at work can’t really be found in the smileys and the “Always happy to help” he ends his work emails with. You’ve got to look a little deeper than that.
If he’s going out of his way to help you, that’s when you know there’s something here. A simple text or an email or a 5-minute favor isn’t really one of the best signs a male coworker is attracted to you. But if he’s staying late with you to help you out with a project that will benefit him in no way, you should know he’s going to think about you on the drive back home as well.
4. Signs your coworker has feelings for you: He notices every detail
One of the signs your coworker is interested in you is that he is extremely good at noticing things about you. He may not have a strong memory in general, but he remembers everything you said or the things you do. Maybe one day you wore a dress of his favorite color and he mentioned that in a conversation sometime later. They might not be big things, but very small details like the footwear you are wearing or a bracelet you usually wear but forgot someday. If that happens, he will surely make a comment on it.
Not sure if he is actually paying attention to you or are you cooking it up in your head because you have feelings for him? Well, try to mix things up a little about the way you dress. If you typically wear pants to work, order a few pencil skirts instead. Or replace your striped shirts with fancier silk ones. If he notices it instantly, you know your assessment has been on point. He does pay a lot of attention to you.
Think about it, he’s a little too attentive for just a colleague, right? This is definitely among the signs that your male colleague is attracted to you. One of our readers, who is now married to her coworker, said that during their courting period he remembered small details about her like the fact that she only drinks black coffee in the morning and needs a minimum of five pens and a highlighter at her desk to get work done. This is not something that the average person in your life would care to remember about you.
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5. He’s always trying to talk about things outside of work
He will find out the topics you like to talk about and he will come around to start discussions on them. Talking only about work may not give him enough time to be around you, especially if you do not work next to each other. So initiating these discussions is his way of getting to know you better and spending more time with you. If you’re actually worried about signs that a married coworker likes you, this might be it too. He probably feels uncomfortable sending you flirty texts straight up or asking you out to dinner, which is why your married coworker uses these tacit methods to get your attention.
So then, he tries to chat you up constantly. It could be about any social issues, a sale nearby, the best restaurants in the city, or whatever else interests you. He wants to know more about you as a person, not just a coworker. Sometimes he might even do the opposite and start discussions about things you don’t like because you cannot resist ignoring those topics and you’ll jump right into the discussions.
Imagine one day you tell him you’re into books, and the next day he comes to work with a novel of your favorite author in his hand, making sure you can see the book on his desk. The efforts he makes to get you to talk say a lot about how this married coworker has a crush on you.
6. He pampers you and treats you better than anyone else
He seems to be well-acquainted with other coworkers as well, but you do not see him putting effort into pleasing them. But when it comes to you, the game changes entirely. He will bring chocolates or pastries for you and say, “I was just walking down the road where you told me your favorite bakery is, so I thought I’d bring you a treat!” If you’re smart, then you know that he wasn’t just walking down that road and he definitely took a detour to get you those goodies and impress you. Do you really even need any more signs your male colleague likes you?
He may sometimes even grab a coffee for you. Or if you are swamped with work, he’ll come around and remind you of the breaks you need to take. He’ll want you to spend quality time with him during breaks as well. Yes, honey, your male colleague is definitely into you and he’s not ready to back down any time soon.
On the other hand, it can be just as embarrassing if you think that the coffee he got you was one of the biggest signs a male coworker is attracted to you because then you see him getting coffees for everyone because that’s just the kind of person he is. So before you sit on your high horse thinking “Does my male coworker like me?” just because he got you a coffee, notice how he treats other people as well. Is he making you feel special or is he just the loveliest man in the office?
7. He compliments you for all the little and the big things
One of the signs your coworker is interested in you is when he never fails to make you feel indescribably beautiful and lovely overall. “You look great today, this color looks wonderful on you.” “I noticed you’re wearing your hair differently, it’s nice.” “Are you donning a new perfume? Smells great”. These aren’t things an uninterested coworker will notice and compliment you on. So keep an eye out for the kind of compliments he gives you.
If he notices the difference in your hair or the earrings you wear to work, there isn’t even a debate about whether it’s one of the signs a male coworker has a crush on you or not. Unless he’s into the makeup industry and wants to become a hairstylist, chances are, he’s taking note of how you like to dress since he can’t get his eyes off you.
This is a very obvious sign. If a guy is complimenting you often, he clearly is interested in you and finds you irresistible. Say you are having lunch with a bunch of your other colleagues, yet this slips his mind and unconsciously he isn’t even hesitant about throwing a compliment at you. In the middle of the group, he flat out says something along the lines of, “Nina, you did an incredible job at the presentation yesterday. Nobody could have done it better than you” and leaves you blushing in front of everyone. This just shows how much this male coworker likes you.
8. He wants to go out with you after office
You have a bond that extends beyond the office as well and that’s one of the sure-shot signs a male coworker likes you. That’s not unusual at all, to swing by a bar on Friday night after a long day at work. After all, our colleagues gradually become our friends. But here’s where things cross over into the territory of him wanting to hit on you. Whenever he asks you for plans after office, he wants it to be only the two of you. It is never a bunch of friends and he usually begins to sulk if you think about inviting someone else as well.
He will always want to go to a movie, a coffee date or dinner just with you rather than a group of people around you. Moreover, if you guys indulge in a little bit of romantic texting and you have phone conversations after office where he explicitly mentions “no shop talk”, you don’t really need to wonder if your coworker is crushing on you.
Slyly dropping it into a conversion, he might say “There’s this great new coffee shop that opened nearby, wants to go and check it out with me?” What’s important here is the implication that he wants it to be just the two of you. That is how to tell if a guy likes you at work or not. The fact that he initiates most of it clearly shows that he wants to have a bond outside the office and a bond more than work colleagues.
9. How do you know if a male coworker is into you? He flirts a lot
Flirting is another one of the obvious signs your male coworker is interested in you, And like all the girls you can read this very efficiently. He will tease you about small things, irritate you, and then will find cute ways to make it up to you and cheer you up again. He will also crack a lot of jokes to make you laugh, sometimes he will pass cheesy compliments also to make you smile.
If you’re still asking yourself “Does my male coworker like me?” when he calls the way you laugh cute, you might just be ignoring all the signs your coworker has feelings for you. Yes, the constant compliments and the giggles and smiles he gives you can count as unknowingly flirting, so don’t turn a blind eye to any of this. If it’s only you who he flirts with, then his intentions are clear. He is interested in you, no matter if he met you at the workplace. It’s an absolutely clear sign your make coworker has a crush on you.
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10. He admires you as a person
If you have a hunch that you’ve been noticing signs a married coworker likes you, it might just be right if the following is true. When he’s married, he may not take the more conventional and obvious routes to show it to you. He will do it in a way that he will try t hide his feelings for you. It is possible that he will often mention what traits of your personality he likes, and he will say things like he has never seen a girl like you before in his life. For someone who has a partner already, this is a major thing to say to another single woman and it definitely means your married coworker has a crush on you.
Maybe he admires your intelligence, firmness, or many other things. When he likes you, he’ll talk about how sometimes you have inspired him to do well, and when that happens, do recall the dangers of dating a married man before you take any hasty steps. If you’re his superior at work, however, he might just be after a raise. Make sure it’s clear from his actions that he’s not complimenting you to get some gain out of you, and that he genuinely means it. A compliment before he eventually says “So, can you cover for me this weekend? I’m taking my wife to the Hamptons” isn’t really a compliment at all.
11. Signs a male coworker likes you but is hiding it: He is protective of you
One of the signs a shy coworker likes you is when he tries not to express his feelings, but does it anyway in the following form. You two are in a meeting and you put up your ideas, but they get rejected by the rest of the people present in the conference room. Even when he continues to be apprehensive about the idea and knows that it is not good enough, he will support it during discussions and vouch for you in front of everybody. He defends you or supports your view in public in meetings or at discussions.
Or, he will try to help you and guide you if he feels you are wavering off-topic during a meeting. Whatever route he might take, his intention is the same. You will always find him around to save you because he is attracted to you and likes you immensely.
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12. He gets terrified if you talk of switching your job
How do you know if a male coworker is into you? Note the following example carefully. After a bad day at work, you obviously don’t feel too great. When that happens, your coworker will sympathize with you and console you if you didn’t have a good day at work. He’ll stick around to make you feel good or motivate you to do better. He’ll freak out if you think of quitting your current job and finding another.
Clearly, the pangs of separation anxiety are already hitting him hard. If you find him coaxing you to stay put in your current job and not switch, it is one of the most common signs a man is attracted to you at work. There’s no doubt that your coworker is crushing on you.
13. He wants to know more about your personal life
He is curious about your personal life more than your professional life. He will find excuses to bring up your personal life more often. He wants to know what your relationship status is or if you are interested in someone outside of work. These are some of the signs a shy coworker likes you.
Soon he will know all about your family, friends and other details of your personal life. “So what do you like to do for fun?” followed by a 2-hour long conversation solely about you isn’t something guys do with anyone they’re not interested in. He may even indulge in some fun get-to-know-me questions to keep things light and keep the conversation running with you further. If he’s putting in the effort in getting to know who you are outside of work, it’s one of the biggest signs your coworker has feelings for you.
14. You talking about other guys will annoy him
Whenever you talk about your crushes with him, it freaks him out and he gets shifty. He gets jealous and it is clear to you making it one of the signs a male coworker likes you. Either he avoids the topic altogether or whenever such topics come up, he excuses himself from the conversation. All this, because he does not want to imagine you with someone else.
This particular male colleague of yours would not like you to have friendly conversations with other men in the office too. So how do you know if your male coworker is into you? Well, if he frowns when another man approaches your desk, even though it’s just for work, he surely likes you.
15. You’ll see his friends teasing him when around you
Whenever you are near him, you will find his friends pulling his leg or teasing him indirectly with you. Such jokes are very common in the workplace when you are young. Even though people think that they are teasing them in an indirect manner and girls might not understand, if you are smart enough in that situation, you’ll understand and know that they are teasing him and it’s all about you.
After reading these signs your coworker likes you or maybe signs your married coworker has a crush on you, you need to now take a call. There are some dos and don’ts of dating a work colleague, so make sure you take care of those. Maybe you are glad that this male colleague likes you because you like him back. It could also be the other way around as well. Perhaps, you are not happy about the fact that your male coworker is interested in you because you never had any interest in him or you are already taken. Moreover, if you see signs a married coworker likes you, that can only spell disaster.
Whatever you choose to do about this guy falling in love with you, do it judiciously. Relationships in the workspace don’t affect your mind alone; they affect your professional relationship and image in front of others as well. If the conclusion is affirmative, then you need to figure out your next move. Do you want to avoid him or do you want to encourage him to initiate the confession?
But the best answer to both questions is to have a talk with him. If you realize it and you are sure about it, having a talk can save both time and energy you would invest in waiting for the confession from the other end. So if you’ve noticed and confirmed the signs a male coworker likes you, consider broaching the topic with him and having a healthy discussion.
FAQs
When a coworker is interested in you, he will constantly find reasons to talk to you. Not just that, but they may pepper you with compliments throughout the day, find reasons to swing by your desk, and help you or make frequent eye contact during meetings.
Some of the signs a male coworker likes you but is hiding it, go like this. He might go out of his way to help you, try to find moments to speak to you about things other than work, and even try to get to know more about your love life. If you see him probing into your life and asking about your crushes along with always finding ways to “casually” hang out with you, he might secretly have a big crush on you.
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You know what, I agree with pint 4 and 5!