Better Together 4: Fight for Love
It’s almost Valentine’s Day and you know what that means. It’s time to look at office couples! Not the inappropriate, making out in the parking lot couples. These are couples that even HR can love because they’ll help you work more efficiently.
This year we’ve decided to spice things up a little. This year the path to coupledom won’t be easy. Our couples are going to have to fight for their relationships. It’s love triangle time! Don’t get to worried though. None of our suitors is the mean, lying, cheating, steal the family business out from under you type. No matter which love you choose, you win.
The hot new thing vs the best friend
This is the most classic of all love triangles. Girl is looking for love. She thinks she’s found it with the cute, popular, new guy. He seems interested. They go on a few dates, but the relationship isn’t exactly smooth. They don’t have a lot in common. Maybe his friends don’t like her. She doesn’t fit in with their crowd. Was that him flirting with another girl? Is he giving up on her? Through it all, the friend is there to support her. He shows up with her favorite Chinese takeout and listens to her heartbreak. He knows how to cheer her up. They like doing the same things. It’s so easy and fun. It’s obvious that he loves her. Will she ever see it?
Every morning when you hit the breakroom you make a choice just like this. Coffee is the hot guy. Clearly. (1) It’s hot. (2) Everyone wants it. (3) It gives you that tingly feeling. (Caffeine jitters are like tingles, right? I may have had one cup too many.) But if you’ve had enough of the tingles, give tea a try. Tea is the best friend. It’s always been there even if you didn’t notice. It’s warm. It’s comforting. It’s pizza and movie night on the couch. True, it may not have enough caffeine to give you that coffee jolt, but it has more than enough to keep you happy in the long run.
The big city hotshot vs the hometown sweetheart
You know this story. It’s basically every Hallmark movie ever made. Small-town girl has moved to the city. Things are great: fancy job (vaguely described and consisting mostly of facetime calls with her assistant/best friend, coffee runs, and mood boards), handsome and ambitious boyfriend (businessman, lawyer or politician), big apartment. But our heroine is lured back home – Uncle Tim is injured and the family goat farm/bookstore/bakery won’t survive without her help. How can she say no? Once back in town, she keeps running into her former flame. Sparks fly! Will she pick the city guy or her hometown love?
When it comes to correcting your mistakes, correction tape is the big city guy. It’s new. It’s smooth. It’s slick and shiny. It’s fast: one swipe and you’re done. It’s the obvious choice, right? Correction fluid is the hometown hottie. It’s low key, understated. Maybe a little old-fashioned. Doesn’t mind taking the time to do things the right way. Sometimes the one you had given up on is the right pick after all. Just think of the little foam brush as a well-worn flannel shirt. It’s something simple that you can learn to love again.
The perfect pick vs the free spirit
Do you choose a safe, traditional life or do you give it all up for a life of freedom? This is your classic Titanic or The Notebook kind of story. Girl from a good family is set up with boy from fine, upstanding family. He’s well-off and handsome. Her family is strongly in favor of the match. It’s the life everyone around her has and the one she’s supposed to want. It will be perfect. Why would she say no? But then she meets someone new. He doesn’t have any money, and no one has ever heard of his family. His job may not be impressive, but he’s adventurous and has big ideas. He shows her a different way of looking at life. She begins to think that maybe “perfect” isn’t what she wants.
In most offices, a standard desk is perfect guy. It’s the traditional choice. It’s made to perfectly suit your office life. It’s what everyone gets. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Traditions are comfortable. It’s why they stick around. But if you’re looking for some freedom, a height-adjustable desk could be just what you’re after. Why limit yourself to one position all day when the whole world of movement could be yours? Sure, it won’t have a little drawer for your pens and binder clips, but you won’t be standing still long enough for that to matter. It won’t feel quite like flying on the stern of the Titanic, but it will definitely help you keep it moving!