(Ecns.cn)—For 26-year-old Chen Yan (alias), being single doesn't always mean freedom and happiness. Three months ago, she experienced the "worst blind date ever" and is still bitter about it.
"It was like a honey trap," Cheng said. "I was a pawn in a chess game."
Chen's boss set up the date with a key business partner. Bad idea. The evening ended in embarrassment for all parties when Chen ran out after the man got a bit too frisky.
Chen's behavior irritated her date and her boss, indicating that it's probably a good idea for some people to avoid blind dates set up by their employers.
Boss or matchmaker?
Married bosses can sometimes be awkwardly overenthusiastic matchmakers. "I'm new at the company, but from the second I walked in my boss has been eager to set me up on blind dates," a young man called 'popping candy' was quoted as saying in a report on cnhubei.com Tuesday.
To some bosses, playing matchmaker offers a way to bond with employees, but it often puts tremendous pressure on them. Some bosses may mean well, but few employees have the nerve to reject such a gesture, even when they feel uncomfortable about it. This is particularly true when the boss appears kindhearted and hopes to see the date go well.
"If I'm the one who feels uncomfortable and I want to stop dating the girl, the boss may think that I'm too picky," said 'popping candy'.
Impaired judgment
"My boss is quite nice and has set me up on several blind dates," said Guo Weiqiang, who has gone on seven blind dates set up by his employer. But lately Guo has begun to doubt his boss's judgment. Guo said that some of the dates were "awful," given that one of them was six years older than him and didn't even plan to stay in the same country.
After a series of failed dates, some bosses may lose patience and begin sticking their noses into the details, sometimes even during meetings.
In the worst cases, they may start to doubt if the employee in question is a "nice person," creating serious awkwardness at work.
