Am I being friend zoned?

[CeyCeylovestoask]

There’s a coworker that I like and we’ve gotten close… He was always on my case on the shoes I wear, me not saying goodbye to him, always looking at me when he talks in a group and spotting me. He’s the only one who has something to say about me and when we text it’s mostly work or us having a joke battle and not leaving each other on read (we always like the last message). However, in a convo, he once has called me bro and he always playfully punches my arm when Im around. I do prefer becoming friends with a crush before I can see that it goes somewhere further, but im not sure if I should act on it

[SteveSmith1985]

There is nothing bad here whatsoever. You said yourself that you prefer to become friends first. That's all the "bro" and arm punching is.\

But the rest of it is very clearly more than friendly interest. It would be a mistake to think that "bro" and "buddy-punches" mean anything. They are completely irrelevant to your situation. They are meaningless.

You can proceed as though they never occurred. Which means you should definitely go for it when you're ready to, because he likes you. 🙂

[SnowedIn]

Nothing you've said here gives me the sense you're being friend zoned.

But... please please please don't do the coworker thing. I've never seen a workplace relationship work out. Never. They all crash and burn.

[Texaskid1]

May be.

Either way it is not a good idea to date coworkers. This could lead to all kinds of problems.

If you develop strong emotions for him and then break up. Guess what? You will have to see him everyday. And trust me it is going to suck.

It could lead to fights in the workplace that could get you both in trouble and even fired. It will also look unprofessional and can lead to a lot of gossip and backstabbing at work. Some 20 years ago I briefly dated a coworker and I developed some strong feelings for her. She rejected me and started to date with some other guy at work. The best way to describe seeing some one you are in love with who has rejected you and starts getting all lovey dovey with some else is like... a white hot knife being stuck in you and having the other person twist it around with a smile on their face. Healing takes time and distance. At work you see them every day.

From that moment on I never dated another coworker again and this rule has served me well despite havening multiple offers from female coworkers over the years and having many of them flirt their asses off with me.

When it comes to coworkers and dating it is a hard "no".

Truest me... the best thing you can do is never get your honey where you get your money.