4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Fall In Love with Your Virtual Assistant

Love can be found in just about any place out there. But no matter where you look, you just can’t find that somebody that instantly fires a spark in you. Just in case you’re wondering: yes, the workplace is a place out there. But before you go jumping the fence here, think about it: falling in love with your virtual assistant may not be the magical experience you’re hoping for. In the outsourcing services industry, unfortunately, distance is not your friend. Well, that and a lot of things.

There are reasons that may enlighten you on the subject. It isn’t taboo, just, well—here:

Your little romance may make you abandon ship—nay, work

With a new apple of your eye, work may fall second to your romance. That’s not impossible. You may get sidetracked from talking about work to talking about your romance, and end up spending work time working out your relationship. Your virtual assistant may also take advantage of the fact that you are the boss and hint for lighter workloads – and while you may agree to this. Your intimate relationship may affect your decision and her performance—the classic conflict of interest. Even if you don’t subject to this though, people might still think a bias or an abuse of power is imminent.

The relationship’s not going to last

Let’s face it: this relationship’s bound to end, if not crash and burn. Given the distance between you two, there is minimal face-to-face interaction—unless you ask your “virtual” assistant to report to the office anyways. You’ll always be thinking about your new love, possibly making it impossible for you to focus on your own tasks. And you know what happens when you don’t get your tasks done—you get burned.

Remember that you do not believe in long distance relationships? Well, the one you have with your virtual assistant is exactly the same—and worse, it’s online. First, you don’t see each other as often, and then there’s the risk of jealousy. If this doesn’t bother you, then what you have may not be real love at all. Consider that.

Your virtual assistant is probably a free soul who wants to control his/her own time

Your virtual assistant’s always on the go, busy for clients. This means extra time apart—and it bothers you—and then you have to accept that your virtual assistant loves being in control of his/her time. Your VA’s naturally a free soul, which may make it more difficult for you to tie her down. The fact is: your VA’s time might not always be shared with you. Now, can you take that?

Being in a relationship with a co-worker is already awkward with the eyes of the workplace lurking, but sharing it with a virtual assistant can be more difficult. It may not be easy for them to understand what your motivation is for falling in love with your virtual assistant—again, someone who doesn’t work from the office. So why not look for somebody else? After all, there are a lot of fish in the sea. Wouldn’t you want to be in a relationship where you can actually reach each other—like with arms, not just by phone or email? Your VA’s most likely to know more about you than you know about him/her. Better step away before you fall even more—and even before you end up being broken.

Having a relationship means you are encouraged to wake up every day because this new love gives you a purpose. Think about it. Are you being encouraged by this romance? Is it worth the trouble? If you believe it’s going to last then fight for it. But if every reason in this list has hit you hard, then just don’t—unless your VA’s blackmailing you.

S/he does have control over your accounts. Oh no. Is s/he? Well, you’re on your own buddy.