How to let someone at work know you're interested without being unprofessional

[spoonfulofsugar1]

I have been seperated from exDH for over a year, we were married for 10 years. Im 37. I have just started to tentatively go on a few dates in the last month or so... just dinners etc, mainly through friends of friends.
I work in an office and there is a guy i like, i don't see him everyday but we work together on projects frequently.
The work environment is quite formal, i dont socialise with work people... not that i don't want to, I'm just always off to collect the kids etc...

There's a guy i like who I work with. He would have no idea as its strictly a professional relationship and i don't flirt or talk about myself personally. He's single as he mentioned it about 2 months ago in passing when he briefly mentioned going to a wedding at the weekend.
I suppose I'm wondering... how could i indicate I'm interested within a) making a fool of myself or b) being totally inappropriate?
Or is this just a stupidly bad idea anyway and i should forget about it?
My confidence was massively knocked by my divorce and i feel a bit thrown being back in the dating world.

I think before you act on any feelings, ask yourself how awkward/difficult it would get if you did hook up/date/have a relationship and then things didn't work out?
How would it affect your work life?

How did it come out that he was single? You could've said at that point oh me too, I hate going to weddings on my own, or something similar.

Yes... it would be negatively affected... I'd still need to work with him. I love my job as well.

Probably you shouldn't say, "I think you'd be a lot of fun in bed." (He was, though.)

I'm sure some MNers will say, "Yeah, go for it! If you don't ask you don't get!" etc., but I'm not one of them.
As a PP noted, work situations can get very tricky.
Also, I believe we reveal a lot more about ourselves, unwittingly, than we realise. You don't have to indicate your interest - he's probably already aware of it. Similarly, if he were interested in you, you would feel it.

And he may be single, but that doesn't mean he's straight, or available, or even sane. Again, I'm probably not in step with some, but my personal advice would be to tread VERY carefully.

I’d steer clear of workplace initiations.

Just don't unless you are willing to leave and get a job elsewhere.

You leave your job to work elsewhere and when you are leaving ask him for a date.

Workplace relationships are often the pits, unprofessional, your colleagues will notice, it can easily affect the teams you work with. If it doesn't work out one of you gossips and you are a tart or he gets ED or someone smells or makes a funny noise or there is a kink and that runs around like wildfire.

Stay well away, especially if your workplace is quite formal and double especially if you will have to work with him again.

It's really not worth it 99% of the time.

"He's only office hot" is pretty much how 99% of office crushes can be characterised.

Explain?

Haha yes, hard relate.

OP can you just try and become friends with him first before considering dating? Then you'll know if things go well and he'd also be interested in taking it further whether it's worth the mess than can be workplace relationships.

I married someone I worked with after asking him out. I think it can be done in a non-awkward way.

You do have to up the personal chat. We were chatting and I said I was going to an exhibition at a museum after work that week. Then I suggested he could come if he wanted. (He says he had no idea if it was a date or just a friend thing.) It works in that, if he says no to the exhibition (with no other suggestion of time etc), then you pretty much know he's not interested and you've not actually asked him out. If he says yes, he MIGHT be interested. You go and then ask if he wants to go to get dinner after the exhibition and, if he says yes, it's VERY LIKELY he's interested. After the dinner, you do just have to make a move and suggest another date or go in for a kiss

Check your workplace policy on intimate relationships. The realisation that I would have to disclose a workplace relationship to my line manager was like a bucket of iced water to the vulva.

Don't shit where you eat.