Slightly More Than Half of You Don’t Allow In-Office Romances … Many of the Rest Are Married to Co-Workers!

question: Do your or don’t you allow in-office romance?

Yes: 48%

• I’m the only one in the office and single. — A J Saper, Exceptional Opticians, La Marque, TX
• The only males that work for us are married to the doctors (myself and my sister). My husband does our accounting and my sister’s husband is an optician. To be fair though we were married before we worked together. — Jenni Drake, 3D Vision, Broomfield, CO
• We have no restrictions at this time and have not had the need to. — Selena Jachens, Urban Eyecare & Eyewear, West Des Moines, IA
• Doc’s wife started cutting jobs last year in the office part time so saying no would be hypocritical. — Josh Bladh, Dr .Bladh, OD, Diamond Bar, CA
• I’m the owner and the office manager is my wife, I guess I have to… — Dennis Iadarola, OD, Center For Vision Care, Monroe, CT
• Not sure I have any say over this. It has only happened in the past with a rep and an employee. Both got fired but not over the romance; over the fact the rep was still married and the employee made too many errors. — Kristina Swartz, The Eye Site, Mishawaka, IN
• My husband and I met in optometry school and are partners in our practice … so every day is an in-office romance. — Bethany Fishbein, Somerset Eye Care, North Brunswick, NJ
• This goes back to my days as a GM in Tucson, a lab tech and a married optician. It became a huge problem for a number of reasons but the tech was a very valuable associate. Never late, never missed work and was reliable as hell. Any good manager worth their weight in salt knows this is an associate you want to keep. The optician did not fit that mold but the tech was head-over-heels in love. Blind as could be. Come to find out the tech wasn’t the only one she was seeing. As luck would have it he found out and the fiasco ended. — Rick Rickgauer, Vision Associates, Girard, PA
• In the 38 years I’ve been at this office, we’ve had three marriages (and all have worked out!) We also had a few torrid affairs, but I refuse to name them publicly, as they all ended in flames! — Susan Spencer, Council Eye Care, Williamsville, NY
• Not by choice but don’t believe it’s our place to judge. — Dave Goodrich, Goodrich Optical, Lansing, MI
• Since 1990, my wife and I have worked together. She is my optician. We have been married 37 years. One employee married one of my patients. I have no problem with romance in my office. — Robert M. Easton Jr. OD, FAAO, Oakland Park, FL
• We kinda have to allow it? The boss and I worked together before dating, so we set a pretty bad precedent. Two of our current staff members are dating guys they first met as customers/patients. I always make really hesitant noises when this happens, but in both cases all parties were very careful to find a way to develop and express that interest outside the workplace, in a very appropriate way, not involving use of patient files to access phone numbers. That’s a no-no for sure! — Jen Heller, Pend Oreille Vision Care, Sandpoint, ID
• My wife and I are partners in business and in bed. — Ron Catterson, Clear View Optix, The Villages, FL
• No horror stories. — Miguel Rodriguez, Fava & Maria Eye Associates, Lebanon, PA
• Soloentrepreneur with no employees. I get to love myself! — Elle Tatum, Elle’s Island Spectacle, Bainbridge Island, WA
• Married to my office manager. — Richard Frankel, OD, Atlantic Cape Eyecare, Wildwood, NJ
• We are all women that are married and two male doctors that are married, so if someone is having a romance here then it’s going to be trouble. — Caitlin Wicka, San Juan Eye Center, Montrose, CO
• If we didn’t allow it, my wife and I would have to divorce! — Andrew Romeril, OD, Torrey Highlands Optometry, San Diego, CA
• Our doctors are married, however there is no romance. Kidding. It hasn’t been an issue for staff yet, so no policy. — Heather Aites, Family Vision Center, Westminster, CO
• Can’t stop romance! — Dave Schultz, OD, Urban Optics, San Luis Obispo, CA
• If it does not affect work I do not feel it is my place to stop people from doing things outside of work. Plus my wife works at the office from time to time. — Zachary Dirks, OD, St. Peter and Belle Plaine Eyecare Centers, Saint Peter, MN
• There has been people dating here before, so I’m not sure if it’s a no-no or not. Most everyone that works here now is already married. — Frances Ann Layton, Eye Associates of South Georgia, Valdosta, GA
• We’ve never really had to address it. Hopefully, I didn’t just jinx us! — Barbara Bloom, OD, Weber Vision Care, Harrisburg, PA

No: 52%

• My husband owns my business with me and that’s never romantic! — Jennifer Leuzzi, Mill Creek Optical, Dansville NY
• You are opening the company up for many compromising issues. Revenge, harassment, favoritism, real or perceived. — Chris Dudley, Lake Eye Associates/Precision Optics, Lake County, FL
• We are all married. — John LaShorne, Brown County Eye Care, Nashville, IN
• No, but we are a “family business.” Our OD hired his wife as our biller years ago and she has transitioned into a front desk position. Their relationship doesn’t affect our staff in any way but positively. His wife has become an indispensable part of this practice. — Tiffany Firer, Lifetime Eyecare, Jenison, MI
• We don’t have a large enough staff for this to be an issue. — Harris Decker, Eye Designs Of Westchester, Scarsdale, NY
• It’s counterproductive for the work environment. — Pablo E. Mercado, Optima Eye Care, Alpharetta, GA
• Not appropriate. — Ken Weiner, OD, Livingston, NJ
• I’m not really sure what the answer is here…we’re a super small office (five employees total including the OD) and no one was single when they started so that wasn’t a concern. — Christine Howard, Attleboro Vision Care, Attleboro, MA
• Can’t kiss with a Coved mask on. — Texas L. Smith, OD, Dr. Texas L. Smith & Associates, Citrus Heights, CA
• If a break up occurs, it could wreak havoc on office morale. — Sonja Franklin, OD, Modern Eyes, Austin, TX
• We try to discourage in-office romance but it can be tough to stop Cupid! Mark Perry, OD, Vision Health Institute, Orlando, FL
• Our staff is all female with the exception of one doctor and a part-time college student. — Deb Jaeger, Eye Center of the Dakotas, Bismarck, ND
• Been there. Done that. Never ends well. — Ann-Marie Weaver, Optimal Eye Care, Lewis Center, OH
• Fortunately, we have not had to deal with this. — Elizabeth Atkinson, OD, Atkinson Eye Care, Algonquin, IL
• We are a family business. — Travis LeFevre, Krystal Vision, Logan, UT
• It’s just me and a part-time OD. Our wives would be really mad if we started dating. — Kevin Count, Prentice Lab, Glenview, IL