When you like someone you work with, when you have a crush you can’t squash, one of two things happen. You’re either excited to start your day or you consider calling out. You’re either eager to flirt with them or too nervous to see their face.

When you like someone you work with, you have to be careful about who you express your feelings to, because if you tell the wrong person, then it will spread like wild fire, from coworker to coworker.

If you reveal your secrets to a friend with a mouth too big for their own good, then by the end of the week, everyone will know how you feel — including the person that you’ve been crushing on.

That’s why you have to be careful about how much you reveal. Even if you work with people in their twenties and thirties, people who are currently in college or are already graduates, they will still gossip like high schoolers. They will still talk about your love life as if they are supposed to be involved.

When you like someone you work with, you feel pressured to look your best during every shift, just in case they happen to be there at the same time as you. If there’s a uniform you’re required to wear, then you’ll work extra hard on your hair in order to make up for it. In order to show them that you’re attractive beneath your mandatory slacks and name badge.

At the same time, when you like someone you work with, you get used to them seeing you at your worst. When you’re pissed off at your boss or a bitchy customer. When you’re overtired from only five hours of sleep or hungover from five shots of tequila. When all you want to do is quit so you can crawl back into bed.

When you like someone you work with, you have to be careful with your flirting because you don’t want the wrong person to overhear. If you overdo it the way you would inside of a club, then you could make someone uncomfortable. Depending on the policies, you could even get fired. You could ruin your career over some stupid little crush.

When you like someone you work with, it’s a risk to tell them how much you like them. If they don’t return your feelings, things can get awkward, because they can’t ghost you. They are still going to see you every single day. They are still going to be in your sight, which means you won’t be able to get them out of your mind.

When you like someone you work with, it’s impossible to get over them, because you can’t escape them. You are reminded of them every time you see their car in the parking lot. Every time you spot their jacket in the break room. Every time another coworker tells a story about them and you have to act like they mean nothing to you. Every time you step through the doors of your building, waiting to see if they’re going to be there or not.

When you like someone you work with, it’s either going to end in happiness or heartbreak. There is no in between.