DR. WALLACE: I'm 19 and work at a good job in a large office that has now fully reopened after this pandemic has finally begun to subside. I have a lot of good friends here at work, and these friends are other ladies and even a few guys, too.

One guy in particular, a regional manager who is 26 years old, has taken an interest in me lately. I've found this to be very flattering, but there is one problem with his advances: He's a married man, and I understand he has been married for nearly five years. He and his wife have no children, and I've never actually met her in person, although I've seen a picture of her in his office before.

This manager asked me out on a date the weekend after next, and I told him I would think about it. I was actually surprised he asked me out directly, so I didn't know what to tell him. He went on to explain that he and his wife are in the process of getting a divorce even though they still live together. According to him, she would not mind at all if he were to date other women.

Do you feel this gives me enough cover or clearance to go out on a date with him? I like him but am a tad timid thinking about dating a married man. — Interested but timid, via email

INTERESTED BUT TIMID: No, I don't believe you have either "enough cover" or the "clearance" to ethically go out on a date with him.

Not only that but consider that he may also be your superior at work. You did not mention whether or not you report directly to him, but in any case this would become a workplace romance if it were to build momentum.

These are the facts: He still lives with his wife. He is still currently married. You have not spoken with his wife to get her opinion on his suggestion that he take you out on a date. Everything you have heard is only his side of the story.

Based upon the facts detailed in the four sentences above, I strongly suggest that you give a hard pass to his current offer.

If and when his marriage formally is dissolved, and once you quite carefully consider all of the ramifications of a potential workplace romance, only then can you even consider moving ahead to be an ethical decision. And even then you might want to pursue a few second thoughts as well.

LEARN TO EFFECTIVELY DELEGATE

DR. WALLACE: I'm a young lady of 18 who has her eyes on a nice career in the business world after I graduate college in a few more years.

I do a lot of reading and networking when it comes to both broadening my circle of contacts and my personal business skill sets.

I know I'll learn a lot more about the business world in general during my four years of college, but do you know of any overlooked tips you might suggest to a lady seeking to carve her own path in the business world someday? — Business lady to be, via email

BUSINESS LADY TO BE: Although my career has primarily been in the educational world, I have also had an interest in business throughout my life. My father was an avid reader of the Wall Street Journal, and his habit of scanning the business headlines and stories a few times a week was passed down to me.

Recently, I saw an interesting article in the Journal that mentioned that women are much less likely to delegate work tasks than men are. Effectively being able to delegate tasks at work is correlated with overall managerial success.

Every employee in an organization has a limited amount of time, so being able to master the skill of effectively delegating work is essential to a successful career path of anyone seeking to climb the corporate ladder. The reasons listed for this were that women were more likely to feel guilty about delegating work to subordinates, and this can leave them with less time for the larger-picture work responsibilities needed to move both the firm — and their careers — successfully forward.

I suggest that you take the time over the next few years to delve into this aspect of business and to do your best to polish and perfect the strategies that can best round you into an excellent delegator when the time comes for it in your career.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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