The hypothetical: Your SO has to stop by your work to drop off some important paper work. While there you two chat it up for a couple of minutes, then, upon leaving, he/she gives you a peck on the lips.
Cool? Not Cool? (poll to follow.)
My feeling: Please tell me this world has gotten so over the top PC that this is a big deal.
Is this based upon a real incident? Either way, it’s cool, it’s just a kiss. Full-on making out is obnoxious, but then it is in public places anyway, not just work.
I think that must have been their specific office environments. Some places you just don’t do it, and maybe you were with two people who worked in places like that. I think most places it’s OK. When in Rome.
I have to tell this one story, though. These two people came in here once, a couple. They came in to sell us something, and my boss knew they were coming, but they were a little early, so I had them wait while she finished up something else. So 5 or so minutes go by, and they are talking, and then they turn to each other and smooch. Bwuh? It’s not like one of them was leaving or anything. They just randomly decided to stop everything and go KISS! And then a few minutes later, did it again.
I thought that was a little inappropriate. They were five feet from my desk, and it was just weird. I have no problem with “goodbye” kisses but generally I prefer that if you are over the age of twenty you refrain from kisses every five minutes.
My husband and I work in the same office area. At work, we barely acknowledge each other’s existence. I think it just makes us easier to work with if we keep our home life strictly at home. There is no kissing!
I voted “It depends,” for one reason only: If this becomes an issue at any office, I’m CONVINCED there has to be more to this story.
A short smooch from a visiting spouse at the office is absolutely no big deal. I’ve done it myself many times. So, if somebody complained, there are (as I see it) only two possibilities:
The complainer is a fruitcake, and this will all blow over in no time.
This was MORE than a quick kiss, and SOMETHING distasteful did happen that we’re not being told about.
In an extremely conservative work environment, I suppose it might be seen as an issue. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have an issue with it (and I work at an ad agency, which is about as far away from a “conservative work environment” as you can get, among “office jobs”).
No, Shakes, you missed her point. She said “**their specific **office environments.” You said “**an **office environment.”
Their objection wasn’t from the fact that they were in an office. It was the culture of their individual office that was the issue. See the difference?