We pride ourselves on being rational, professional, and restrained. Offices are supposed to be places of productivity and decorum, governed by HR policies and ethical guidelines. And yet, beneath the surface of team meetings and water cooler banter, desire can hum like background static—unacknowledged, but undeniably there.

It’s thrilling. It’s terrifying. And when mishandled, in one way or another, it’s tremendously destructive.

Sexual tension in the workplace is often treated like a glitch in the matrix—something that shouldn’t be there in a professional setting, and therefore, it simply isn’t. But let’s be real: human beings don’t stop being human when they swipe their employee badge. We don’t shed our emotional, physical, or psychological complexity and evolutionary traits at the door.

When we pretend attraction doesn’t exist at work, we don’t neutralize it - we push it underground, where it can warp into secrecy, shame, and confusion at best. And be weaponized at worst.

Attraction isn’t just a cultural phenomenon. It’s biology. Humans are hardwired to connect, assess, admire, and sometimes desire one another. In evolutionary terms, attraction isn’t a moral failing—it’s a survival mechanism.

Throw in the ingredients of modern work - shared goals, mutual admiration, proximity,........

© Psychology Today