There’s something especially attractive about power. Superheroes have it, business people have it, and bosses have it. Maybe your boss has that little something that makes you wonder if you two could ever be an item. There are five signs your boss likes you but is hiding it that you can look out for to see if there’s any possibility of romance between you two. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you twice that dating your boss could have its fair share of professional consequences, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.
1. You always get the best shifts or projects.
A fair boss will try their hardest not to play favorites, but it’s hard to do that if their feelings get in the way. If you’re your boss’s favorite, that favoritism might be shown in the workplace when you get the most highly-sought after shifts or are assigned the top projects or clients that your coworkers were vying for. Note that this sign alone does not mean your boss likes you. If you’re a top employee, it’s natural for you to be given top assignments, but personalities and relationships also factor in to a degree. There have been plenty of professional studies and everyday examples of how someone with a positive and engaging personality is presented with more opportunities at work than someone capable yet closed off or quiet. Never underestimate the power of your professional relationships. Speaking of relationships, do you mind supporting ours and subscribing to keep the channel going? You know I appreciate it!
Anyway, alternatively, your boss may also give you very particular shifts that happen to align with their shifts. What a coincidence that they only work evenings this week and so do you. If this happens more than once and it doesn’t have to do with the actual work you’re doing during that shift, something funny is going on.
Check out: Can you sense when someone likes you
2. You hang out one-on-one outside of work.
The boss is the boss. They’ve got to answer to the higher-ups and be able to delegate, hire, and fire those below them on the corporate ladder. There are certain boundaries you can’t return from after you cross them, and one is hanging out with your boss one-on-one. If you’re doing a work happy hour but everyone cancels except you and your boss, this doesn’t constitute as a romantic one on one, but it’s still a line that you’re crossing. It will change your relationship with this boss to a degree. The real sign that your boss likes you is if they somehow coordinate you hanging out in a personal environment outside of work, and they try to keep it low-key from the other employees because they know it’s going to give unprofessional vibes. Sometimes these hangouts are presented under the false promise of a work event. I mean, think about it – how many boss-employee relationships do you think have started during a weekend trip for some conference or work presentation? Throw in a trip somewhere completely new and almost anything could happen. Another example is your boss asking you to meet up after work to discuss the so-and-so project or run some numbers. If it happens once, maybe it’s professional and done with, but if it happens multiple times, they may be looking to dive into more than just the numbers with you. Scandalous!
3. They’re super close to you if you’re alone but get awkward and distant if another coworker is present.
Most bosses aren’t going to be cool with the idea of dating an employee, and even if they are, it’s not something they’re going to flaunt because it can cause issues with some of the other people at work. Unless your boss has been in this situation before or is pretty good at keeping things quiet – two things I’m not too sure are positive – then they are going to have some awkward moments when your interactions are interrupted by other coworkers. I never dated my boss, but I did feel some sparks between myself and my old manager at a waitressing job I had back in the day. We would be pretty flirty whenever we ran into each other at some corner of work, and once the assistant manager walked in in the middle of it. My manager quickly tried to cut the conversation short and leave, but I was fumbling around and making no sense. I’m almost certain that you could see the surprise on both of our faces. The assistant manager didn’t say anything at the moment, but I’m sure she mentioned something to my boss later on. I was uncomfortable, and these are the vibes you are going to get if your boss likes you and someone interrupts a private moment that they think they had with you.
4. They include you in their decision-making.
If you’re in with the boss, they will likely consider your opinion for some of their decisions. This is also true if you’re a good employee, but it changes a bit when there is romantic interest involved. In this case, they may consider your opinion in everything from their personal lives to large-scale changes in the workplace. This could ruffle some feathers at work too, like when we all knew that one of my old bosses liked a particular coworker of mine named Gina. He was not good at hiding his attraction to her, and although it was never confirmed whether or not they hooked up, he would always prioritize her feedback and opinions during group meetings. He wouldn’t say this out loud, but it was funny when suddenly her preference of food for the office lunch was chosen or desks were rearranged in a way that gave her the coveted corner space. It’s going to be an unfair advantage for you here, and you may get some warranted heat for it from your coworkers so be prepared.
5. They call or text you when you’re home.
We live in a day and age where labor laws grant us the ability to create boundaries between our personal lives and our work lives. Unless it’s stipulated somewhere in your role or job contract, most of us aren’t required to talk about or do work outside of work. Even so, if your boss likes you, they will eventually want to get to know the real you that lies outside of the 9 to 5. In cases like this, he or she may shoot you a message, like a photo, or even call you with no work to speak of. Maybe they’ll preface it with a quick comment about what happened at work or a simple question that could’ve been saved for the next workday, but the real purpose is to connect with you via a non-boss role. They may even use one of the texts from our video, “10 Good Conversation Starter Texts.”
If you have a high-stress job that usually makes you bring your work home with you, then this sign will look a little different. It may be normal for you to get texts or calls from your boss outside of working hours to follow up on a project or give you more information that you need. Even so, the conversation will provide a professional piece of information and then steer away toward the personal. Your boss won’t let the conversation die, but they’ll instead ask you about what you’re up to, discuss plans for the weekend, or dive into some other personal topic that isn’t relevant to the professional purpose of their call. It’ll sound casual and nonchalant, but your boss is diving into some personal chitchat for a reason… Unless they’ve just always been a chatty Cathy, that is.
Conclusion:
If your boss is a good boss, they’re going to hide the signs that they like you and try to be as professional as possible. But, let’s be real; you are one hot tamale, and it’s hard to hide those feelings for you! If you’ve decided that your boss likes you, what are you going to do about it? Let me know in the comments!