No one starts a job expecting to meet their soulmate, but relationships happen–even in the work-from-home era.
When employees spend 40 hours a week together, forming close relationships is inevitable. We've all heard about "work spouses"–someone an employee is particularly close with, though not romantically involved.
But sometimes the attraction goes even further. According to a recent survey from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), 33% of workers say they are or have been involved in a workplace romance, and a full 50% have crushed on a coworker.
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Related: Half of workers say they have a work spouse
(Click to enlarge) Has remote work put a damper on office romances? According to a different survey from Seyfarth at Work consultancy, less than 5% of workers expect to find love at the office, a significant decrease from recent years.
"Past office romances have gone off the rails in more ways than we can count," says Philippe Weiss, president of Seyfarth at Work. "Lovelorn employees often will find themselves stuck in live or Zoom meetings staring at their former beau or bae – which is highly awkward, at best."
Unfortunately, such situations are the least of HR's worries when it comes to office romances. Inappropriate relationships between supervisors and employees can lead to legal woes, and bad breakups can destroy or divide entire teams and decimate productivity.
"If workers are finding romance in the workplace, it's key that employers have a workplace romance policy in place to prevent harmful situations should relationships go awry," says Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, SHRM president and chief executive officer. "It is the responsibility of HR professionals to protect employees in these situations, be it from favoritism, retaliation or sexual harassment. It's important to encourage transparency and professionalism while providing information on acceptable and unacceptable conduct, including instructions on when relationships need to be reported and to whom."
With Valentine's Day right around the corner, now is a good time to remind employees of policies for disclosing office relationships and proper in-office conduct. Weiss offers up some pointers to pass along to employees, as well:
- DON'T mourn any current lack of "romantic action" with or between your office mates. It may well turn out best for you and colleagues to stay squarely focused on the team's work goals.
- DO step up and report any pressure to date, whether it comes from co-workers or managers. Find a trusted person in leadership/HR with whom you can share the information.
- DAMPEN the temptation to talk with colleagues (either live or on Zoom) about any outside-of-work flings. The content of the conversation and details can rapidly morph from a 'PG' rating to 'R' to 'NC-17'… and maybe worse.
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Emily Payne
Emily Payne is director, content analytics for ALM's Business & Finance Markets and former managing editor for BenefitsPRO. A Wisconsin native, she has spent the past decade writing and editing for various athletic and fitness publications. She holds an English degree and Business certificate from the University of Wisconsin.
