Weird Friendships? Inappropriate?

[Glamourice]

I work in a customer facing reception role and don't like it very much. There's one older customer who is in his 50s, looks a bit younger who is attracted to me, I'm a 26 year old woman. I work in a truck shop and he is a driver. He often comes in to bring me coffee, food, and other things even when he is not booked for any service. We have hung out outside of my work place but it kind of makes me uneasy, but I'm also very thankful he wants my company cause many people don't. I'm a bit of a loner and don't make new friends easy. I'm not attracted to him at all and nothing will come of this except what it is now. He knows that.

 

My parts manager is also in his 50s and very lonely, been through a lot, we have gone for coffees and dinners and he invited me to a friend's wedding and I went with him. He flirts but it's just innocent and all jokes. It has helped and I want to get out more than I do, but the few friends I have left closer to my age who are women are older, have kids and/or a significant other who is their priority. I'm the opposite. Or they have relocated or travel a lot for work.

 

I know it may not be 'professional' but I'm thinking beyond that. We are a diesel shop, not a church or law firm. If you don't hear at least 50 swears a day and 20 dirty jokes, it's an off day. That goes for employees and even customers.

 

Should I have a friendships like this? Or is that too unusual? I like having people in my life, it's hard not to, and sometimes anyone is better than no one. Isn't it?

[ParisPaulette]

If these are just friendships and boundaries aren't being crossed I see no problem with it. A majority of my friends are men, some older, some younger. And I'm married too, but just tend to get on better with men in general. As long as personal boundaries are maintained and you're open and communicate clearly I don't think this is a problem.

 

While I don't normally advocate friendships and work mixing I understand the setting you work in is more informal. And really this sounds like people who share something in common just getting together, so nope not really seeing where anything you describe here is a problem.

 

The older I get the less I'm convinced that anything is really conventional or that there is one set of rules that exist that we should all be living up to beyond the obvious thou shalt not hurt another human being or worse. People are all just too individual, too different, to be put into categories of clear cut norms.