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Looking for love in all the wrong places? Many workers turn to the once taboo office pool in search of companionship, and the search appears to be paying off. More than a third of workers (37 percent) say they have dated someone they worked with over their career; 18 percent report dating co-workers at least twice in their career. Additionally, 30 percent report they went on to marry a person they dated in the office. This is according to CareerBuilder’s annual office romance survey of more than 3,900 workers. Of those who have dated in the workplace, one-in-ten say they have dated someone at work within the last year.
Some workers are dating those above them on the office ladder. When it comes to dating higher ups, women were more likely than men to date someone above them in their company’s hierarchy. One third of women said they have dated someone who holds a higher position in their organization; 20 percent of men report they have done the same.
“Workplace relationships no longer carry the stigma they once did, as 65 percent of workers said they aren’t keeping their romance a secret. However, it is the responsibility of the individuals to understand company policy and make sure they adhere to it,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. “Especially in this economy, workers are spending more time in the office, and the lines between working and socializing are being crossed. Workers need to keep it professional under all circumstances, though, to ensure that the quality of their work is not negatively impacted.”
Some workplace relationships may have their beginnings in current workplace crushes. Eight percent of workers currently work with someone whom they would like to date, with more men (11 percent) than women (4 percent) reporting they would like to do so.
Twelve percent of workers reported that their relationships started when they ran into each other outside of work. Some other situations where Cupid’s arrow flew between co-workers include:
• Happy hour
• Lunch
• Working late at the office
• Company holiday party
• Business trip
Haefner offers the following tips for workers who may want to spark a workplace romance:
• Know your company’s policy on office dating: While some companies may have a formal policy, others may not have anything at all. Make sure both parties in the relationship are aware of potential rules or consequences.
• Social media – office relationship friend or foe?: Before you start posting pictures and status updates about your newfound coupledom, it may be better to inform your co-workers or boss in person. That way, there is less chance for gossip or speculation.
• Keep the relationship out of the office: Do your best to maintain professionalism and not let the dating issues affect your performance or others on the job.
The survey also showed the repercussions of workplace romance, with 6 percent of workers saying they have left a job due to an office romance.
This is just a fancy way of saying that the senile CEOs surveyed here royally screwed up by being over leveraged in legacy commercial real estate and are forcing workers back into the office to save face to their own stakeholders.
At the same time these truant “leaders” are announcing these decisions from the comfort of their vacation homes on the other side of the country that everyone else must return to the office, they’re also talking out of the other side of their mouth when it comes time to exploit workers in the developing world for outsourced office jobs.
Remember, these are not serious people being surveyed. They’re just trying to coast to their bonsues on short-sighted decisions with long term consequences they themselves will never face because the silver wave is about to waah them all away in a few years.
I am somewhat on track with you, but I am trying to see it from both sides of the coin. It is a little hard to support the CEO’s and their careless remarks that the employee’s no longer have any power, I think if every one of them walked out on you right now you would see things in a different light. These remote employee’s are happy and enjoy their job’s and do not mind working long hours that is required during tax time because they can see their children and spouse and not feel disconnected from their families due to the long hours required by the job. My wife is one of these remote workers and she said as long as I can see all of you, it put things into perspective for her, she could see the reasons she works so hard and it gave her more focus and more drive to work as hard as she could to ensure the ones she loves are taken care, she gives her all so the company will see how hard she is working for them so that she can continue to work remotely.
At my company, the CEO has been on a jihad for close to two years now to get everyone back in the office, despite the fact that less than half of the employees now live in the same city as the office. There is absolutely no evidence that working in the office results in higher productivity, greater quality, more revenues, etc., but that doesn’t stop these CEOs from making declarations that its necessary for everyone to be in the office. Amazon has had record growth, revenues and profits over the last few years, and yet they still feel the need to force everyone back into the office for some reason. Seems like its more about power than collaboration/teamwork, doesn’t it?
But back to my CEO. Dude is almost never in the office, which all of the employees definitely notice. The vast majority of his time is spent either at one of his homes in a different state than the office, or on vacation. So, yeah.