There’s nothing juicier than a new office fling, and they’re only becoming more and more common. So what should we know about this certain type of love affair? Read on to find out.
Why We Fall for Our Co-workers
It has long been known that the more familiar we are with someone or the more time we spend with them, the more we’re going to like them (unless of course they slowly drive you insane). Therefore, it’s only natural that we end up falling for someone that we see almost every day of the week.
Another reason why office romances are popular is because people working in the same industry as you are likely to have similar interests and life paths as you, and so you’re naturally going to have some fundamental things in common with one another.
Research has also attributed an increase in office romances to the fact that in this modern world we live in today, people are working much longer hours than a few decades ago. This means that there’s less time for socialising outside of work, and so our workspace ends up working as a dual environment for both work and play.
How Romances Affect Employee Performance
If done in the right way, office romances have been found to have a significant positive impact on the environment of the workplace which then helps to improve employee performance and work satisfaction.
In a study conducted in South Korea, based around the Hospitality industry, it was found that romances improved the productivity and overall wellbeing of the staff.
Although this may seem like a win-win situation for both employees and employers, things can quickly turn from Hollywood-esque dream romance to something that resembles more of a passive-aggressive warzone. Keep reading to learn what to look out for to avoid this from happening.
Keep Things Civil
A bad breakup is always going to be a source for tension and stress, and when this happens within the office, things only get worse as there’s no escape as you have to go in and face the drama every day. Not only can in-house breakups cause unnecessary drama for you personally, but a recent study found that 67% of people worry about the risk of revenge through work sabotage after an office breakup.
At this point you may be kicking yourself, muttering things under your breath like ‘I’m never doing this again’ (you probably are).
If it’s not too late, then try your best to leave things as civil as possible so that you can keep the peace and stay focused at work. If this proves to be too hard, then it’s possible you may be forced to move jobs or at least move departments within the same company.
Keep Things Professional
Similar to keeping things civil, even when you’re getting along it’s still important to keep a healthy between work and home. This may not come as a shock, but people really don’t like being made to feel like they’re intruding on someone else’s private love nest when they really just want to get the payroll done.
This is supported by studies done in England and America which found that people don’t mind office romance as long as they don’t impact the workplace. In another study, it was found that a whopping 85% of workers see romance in the office as a distraction. Bottom line – keep it in your pants until at least 5pm (or whenever you clock off).
It’s also a good idea to be aware of your company’s policies around office relationships and to be transparent about it. People will tend to question your professionalism and trustworthiness otherwise.
Stick to a Lateral Direction
Going up or down the office hierarchical ladder is rarely if ever going to be a good idea.
If you start dating someone that’s your subordinate, you risk either them taking advantage of you to climb the career ladder, or else you (and the company) can risk ending up in legal trouble over taking advantage of someone who has less corporate power than you.
This is also a cause for colleagues around you to call into question the level of professionalism that you bring into the workplace
Author – Madeleine Goodman
With a background in Sales and Psychology, Maddy combines her knowledge & love of words to bring us all of the things we need to know on how to survive modern day working life. She currently works as the in-house writer at deskPlex.
