Buying shares in the company you work for means you're less diversified than if you'd bought the shares in some other company. The biggest investment most people make is the investment of their time into their job+career. If you also invest your money there, you'll be in bigger trouble if your company/sector of the economy tanks than if you'd invested your money somewhere else.
Not really sure why someone would want options though... maybe if you feel like taking a little bit of risk on you can invest a smaller amount?