You’re not in love with your co-worker — you just have ‘office goggles’, says relationships pro

There must be something in the water cooler.

Crushing on your colleague can be a many splendid thing. 

The dopamine rush that spikes when you bump into one another at the copy machine. The flirty glances you exchange while the boss holds yet another meeting that could have been an email. 

But a bubble-busting relationship expert warns that your NSFW fondness of Phil or Felicia from Accounting might not be real love. 

In fact, she says it’s likely nothing more than goofy googly eyes. 

“You’ve heard about beer goggles,” began dating podcaster Molly, from London, in a buzzy TikTok bulletin. “But let’s talk about office goggles.”

In her virtual address an audience of nearly 200,000 viewers, the redhead explained how the workplace often plays tricks on a hopeless romantic’s peepers.  

Much like beer’s rosy effect on the eyes — often causing a heavy drinker to become sexually attracted to schlubs they’d normally steer clear of when sober — Molly suggests that being at a job site for over 40 hours a week can make even the most dowdy pencil-pushers look like Mr. or Mrs. Right.

“[There’s] one person in the office who you would never look twice at if you had met them under normal circumstances,” said Molly. “But for some reason, in the office, they are a sex god.”

“They are everything you have ever looked for in a partner and more.”

And while the dating know-it-all couldn’t quite finger why folks at the job look hotter under the fluorescent lights beaming into a cubicle, she urges single 9-to-5ers not to get swept off their feet by the hotsy-totsy fantasy of an in-office fling.  

“Next time you [go out for after work] drinks on a Thursday night, a couple of glasses of cheap Sauvignon Blanc down,” she said, “I beg you, I implore you [to] just take 30 seconds, step back and think to yourself, ‘If I saw him on the street, would I actually like him?.’”

“‘Or is it just the [office] goggles?.’”

Molly guarantees that the warm and fuzzy feelings are more than likely faux. 

“I promise you,” added the Brit, “it feels like a sexy fling at the time, but it is not worth the anxiety.”

And she may be right on the money. 

An August 2023 study found that a whopping 40% of staffers in the US have either enjoyed a few lusty rolls in the hay with a co-worker or two, or have embarked on a full-fledged romance with a business associate.  

In fact, an October report found that cohorts working side-by-side (or backside) in fields such as sales, education, healthcare and the Armed forces have the highest propensity for get busy with one another. 

But sexologist Jess O’Reilly agrees that hot-and-bothered stiffs should cool out before taking a premature plunge while on the clock. 

“Look for social opportunities to talk and develop a connection as opposed to trying to flirt in meetings or when you’re supposed to be working,” she told The Post. “If you’re going to ask them out, be sure that you know how to manage rejection if the feeling isn’t mutual.”

“Be straightforward and don’t play games. If they say no, respect their boundaries and move on.”