Workplace relationships are far more complicated than your usual relationships. 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 members of the opposite sex, given the time you spend in an office. Have you been wondering if a male co-worker is attracted to you? Do you feel a male colleague likes you?
Perhaps you do not like him. In any case, a wrong move can affect not only your relationship or friendship with him but also your professional life.
15 signs your male colleague likes you
Usually, the signs of a guy liking you are quite similar to the signs of a male co-worker liking you, but he may not be upfront in approaching you, as he doesn’t wish to sabotage his professional life. You could be a colleague or you could be in a different hierarchy. These are the reasons why before making any move, you need to be sure if a male co-worker likes you, and if you are willing to take things forward with him.
Read these 15 signs carefully in your male co-worker to find out if he likes you
1. He cannot take his eyes off you
Body language communicates very efficiently. 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 his 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.
2. He will find ways to bump into you or work with you
Wherever you go in office, you’ll find him around. Initially, it might be coincidence and he would be glad to put it that way. But 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.
If he is there to give you company for lunch and coffee, even if you have changed your usual times, it is clear he likes you.
3. He is helping too much
So you have a very helpful colleague, who makes your tasks easier to complete. He is always there to help you. Not only help, but he will guide you or let you know some well-guarded secrets of the job or office.But you need to be careful; selfless people are rarely to be found. Romancing your cubicle body isn’t hard when you coat it with helpful surprises!
If he is being very helpful, he surely has a motive to be in your good books.
4. He notices every detail
He may not have a strong memory, but he remembers everything you said or things you do. Maybe one day you wore a dress of his favourite colour 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, he asks about it.
5. 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 maybe he will initiate discussions. It could be about any social issues, a sale nearby, best restaurants or whatever interests you.
Sometimes he might even do the opposite, start discussions about things you don’t like because you cannot resist those topics and you’ll jump into the discussions.
Related reading: Breached lines, broken hearts: An office romance
6. He pampers you, and this is not what he does with everyone
He will bring chocolates or pastries for you and say I was just passing by so thought of getting chocolates/pastries for you. He may sometimes even get 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 time with him during breaks as well.
7. He compliments you for all the little and big things
This is a very obvious sign. If a guy is complimenting you often, he clearly is interested in you. He will never leave out a chance of complimenting the changes he notices or even your habits. You are having lunch with a bunch of your other colleagues, yet this slips his mind and unconsciously he isn’t even hesitant about complimenting you.
He will appreciate even you doing well at some tasks.
8. He wants to go out with you after office
You have a bond after office as well; we all have. After all, our work colleagues gradually become friends. But whenever he asks you for plans after office, he wants only you both. It is never a bunch of friends. He will always want a movie, a coffee or a dinner just with you rather than a group of people around you. You guys text a lot, you have phone conversations after office and that’s not about work.
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. He flirts a lot
Flirting is another obvious sign and all 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. He will crack a lot of jokes to make you laugh, sometimes he will pass cheesy compliments also to make you smile.
If its only you who he flirts with, then his intentions are clear.
Related reading: Here’s how to deal with office romance
10. He admires you as a person
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. Maybe he admires your intelligence, firmness or many other things. He’ll talk about how sometimes you have inspired him to do well.
11. He is protective towards you
You are in a meeting and you put up your ideas, but they get rejected by the mass and even when he knows that idea is not good enough, he will support it during discussions. He defends you or supports your view in public in meeting or discussions.
Or he will try to defend you if you are going wrong during the meeting. You will always find him around to save you.
12. He gets terrified if you talk of switching your job
After a bad day at work, you obviously don’t feel great, even have a bad mood. He will sympathise 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 about coming good days. He’ll freak out if you think of quitting your current job and finding another.
Related reading: 12 ways office affairs can spell trouble for you
13. He wants to know 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.
Soon he will know all about your family, friends and other details of your personal life.
14. You talking about other guys will annoy him
Whenever you talk about your crushes with him, it freaks him out. He gets jealous; either he avoids the topic or whenever such topics start, he excuses himself from the conversation. Because he does not want to imagine you with someone else.
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. Such jokes are very common and even though people think that they are teasing them in an indirect manner and girls might not understand, but if you are smart enough to understand you’ll know they are teasing him and it’s about you.
After reading these signs in your co-worker, you need to take the call. Maybe you are glad that this male colleague likes you, because even he tempts you. Although it can be another way around as well: you are not happy about the fact that your male co-worker is interested in you because you never had any interest in him or you are already taken.
Whatever you choose, do it judiciously! Relationships in the workspace don’t affect your mind alone; they affect your professional relationship and image both. If the conclusion is affirmative, then you need to figure out your next move. Do you want to avoid him or you want to encourage him to initiate the confession?
But the best answer to both questions is a confrontation. If you realise it and you are sure about it, confrontation can save both time and energy you would invest in waiting for the confession from the other end.
Why does he hide our relationship from our colleagues and friends?
You know what, I agree with pint 4 and 5!