With Valentine’s Day looming large, Office Genie research has revealed Brits have major worries over the effect office romances can have on team morale.
Employee concerns
Almost half (45%) of the respondents to our survey of 1,148 people thought workplace romances could damange spirits in the workplace. A further 4% of people even thought they should be a sackable offence!
Around half this number thought workplaces could actually stand to benefit; only 18% of respondents thought office romances could be a force for good.
It’s not holding us back
However this doesn’t seem to be getting in the way of employees hooking up in the office. Our research found some 36% of respondents have had a workplace relationship at some point.
Romances peak amongst people aged between 35 and 44, where some 42% of respondents admitted to indulging in an office romance. Retirees are the coyest with their answers; 16% said they’d rather not divulge if they’d met a partner at work.
An honest bunch
Whether or not they’re a fan of the office romance, it appears our respondents draw the line at flirting to get ahead. The vast majority (85%) thought it was unacceptable to either flirt or enter a relationship in order to further a career. Flirting was the more acceptable of the two, with 12% of respondents thinking it was OK, while only 7% would enter a relationship to boost their prospects.
Men were more likely to do both: Some 15% thought it was fine to flirt to get ahead, while around 9% would enter into a relationship in order to further their career. However only 11% of women were likely to do the former, while only 6% were happy to indulge in a romance with the boss for personal gain.
Full results
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1,149 people from across the UK were surveyed.