Do people ever like being asked out by people they are not attracted to? Isn't that always an imposition, regardless of the venue?

If too many bros hit on you at the bar, you can leave and go to the bar next door. If too many bros hit on you at work, sure, you can quit, but that's rather more disruptive to your life.

I've seen many coworkers have passionate love affairs and marriages. Are they monsters? Would you deny them?

No, but I would discipline a subordinate who was the subject of complaints about hitting on coworkers, and fire a subordinate who hit on one of their own subordinates.

Back in the day, Microsoft female employees were known to wear t-shirts with "Marry Me Bill" written on them. As we all know, Bill did marry one of his subordinates, and it is apparently a happy relationship.

I know another Microsoft employee who is now happily married to his assistant. Office romances are very commonplace, I recall reading somewhere that 40% of married couples met at work.

Interested in your opinion.

BTW, if someone continues to ask for dates after being told "no", then I'd agree that is harassment and must stop.

Roger Sterling married his secretary on Mad Men. The point of that show, and that story arc, was not that things were excellent in the workplace in 1963.

The point of the show is social commentary on today via an imaginary view of the 1960s. Just like Battlestar Galactica was thinly disguised commentary on the Iraq war.

I'd be careful taking it as an accurate picture of the 1960s. Hollywood pieces, even period pieces (and most especially period pieces) are creatures of the time in which they were filmed, not when they are set.

I think you've missed my point.

Mad Men isn't historical evidence of anything. It's a fiction. It's as relevant as The Planet of the Apes.

Maybe we should consider it's no longer 1988. All manner of bad practices resulted in at least some good outcomes, but we nevertheless stopped.

If you believe that the bad results overwhelmed the good results. Are you sure that is true? Consider that 40% of marriages are between people who met at work. That's a lot of good outcomes.

Most of my socializing and friends come from work. What a sad world it would be if work was strictly for work.

I think that's the wrong stat. Do 40% of men hitting on women in the office result in happy marriages?