There’s an old saying — Never fish off the company pier.
Where’s the line? Should the boss be able to dictate your dating life? What are the do’s and don’ts of dating in the workplace? Should a boss ever be allowed to date a subordinate?
How do you handle an office romance in the post-#MeToo world?
Shades of Gray: Should HR regulate romance at work?
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If this year’s TV and film is anything to go by, flirty, ill-advised workplace romances have really captured pop culture’s imagination — but office relationships aren’t just reserved for our screens. In fact, according to one anonymous survey, they happen more often than you might realize. To shine a light on the hushed topic, Kickresume asked more than 1,000 workers about their attitudes towards office romances. Around a third (33 percent) of respondents said they have been involved in a workplace romance, with the majority (38 percent) engaging in no more than flirting. However, 13 percent of the workers’ flings progressed into serious relationships, while 14 percent resulted in marriage. While more than half of employees said they would stay in their job after a breakup, 11 percent of those who had participated in an office romance said one partner left the company after the relationship ended. Fifty-four percent of workers consider post-breakup awkwardness to be the biggest risk of getting into an office romance. Conflict of interest (43 percent), particularly if the relationship is between a manager and a direct report, was the second complication on the list. As much as 40 percent of employees said their workplace romance sparked gossip among colleagues, but 36 percent reported that that their time at work wasn’t affected at all. |
