Dating in the Workplace...Good or Bad?

I have never actually dated a girl that I have worked with. In my job history, there were girls that I worked with that I was interested in but I never bothered to approach them about going out on a date.

There were a few issues. The first was that I was pretty fat growing up and my lack of confidence made it difficult to approach a girl. Now, in my 20s, I am in pretty good shape and I would consider myself fairly good looking, so confidence is a bit better. The other issue was the fact that I always thought that if something ever went wrong when you dated a person from work, your personal life and work life could mix and cause some really bad results.

I have worked at the same place for over two years and in that time, I have had both an attraction towards a few female employees and had a few of them show interest in me. In the situation where I was attracted to the girls in question, I did not approach them because of my fear. While in one case of an fellow co-worker interested in me, it did result in one of those nights.

The girl that was interested in me, and I believe still is, is a cute girl but I just never felt the same way about her. While her flirting with me, I would constantly tell her that I thought work-place relationships are a bad idea and that we shouldn't go any further with our flirting. She seemed to accept that and I thought we were slowly become platonic friends until something occurred.

Recently, I started noticing another employee, one that actually sits across from me. She's a cute girl, not necessarily a knock-out but she has the features I really find attractive in a girl. I honestly find it difficult to work and have become even more subconscious about how I act at work so that I don't look like a fool. But because of my attraction and the fact that the other girl knows this, I am put into quite a situation.

If I try to approach the girl I am interested in, I fear that the other girl will get really jealous or angry and might cause problems. The other fear I have is that I enjoy the friendship I have with the other girl, considering I have only a small group of female friends, and I would hate to lose that.

I wonder what do most people feel about dating in the workplace. Have you done it? Has it worked out? What are some things I should try to do or not to to ensure things work out?

Maybe I am acting too quick. I have yet to approach the girl that I fancy about my interest in her. I have 'joked' on occasion about being smitten by her, but I do not believe she believes me, believing it to be an actual joke. I think I stand a good chance, but again, the fears of dating in the workplace put in a tough situation.

The Joys of Love!