The holiday seasons have jetted in all over the globe, and singles may be tempted to look for the fling and short-term adventure. Yet, the fling seekers might not spare their fellow staff, and co-workers might not be spared.
As office romance becomes unavoidable for a number of reasons, such as tendencies of closeness among the staff and other factors, the tendencies of office romance are high. Recent research conducted in the U.K. shows more than a quarter of Brits or British people had admitted to having flirted with a colleague once in professional work.
The report shows that 28% of Brits admitted to having engaged in a relationship with their workplace crush, with 24% marrying a co-worker. But 15% of Brits said it's unprofessional to engage romantically with co-workers.
The report indicated that 19% of the people reported that office romance only lasted less than a month.
"In fact, 24% of the relationship cultivated from the office was found to last no more than three years with 12 % lasting a decade or more." the British tabloid Metro reports.
As per the Metro reports, the Brits cities are likely to marry their co-workers features Belfast 37%, London 29%, Birmingham 25%, Bristol 25% and Edinburgh 25%.
Office romance in the workplace is still commonplace, especially in modern times, where people are in diverse kinds of relationships.
A study released in 2014 estimated that up to 30% of all relationships started at work. However, the figures declined to nearer 18% due to the increasing approach taken by employers to discourage such relationships. Though, the number remains trending.
Previous studies have investigated the impact of office romance, and they revealed dissenting findings.
In a survey conducted by Vault.com in 2008, 46% admitted to having experienced office romance. While 13% said, they would be willing to have an office romance if the opportunity arose. 20% of them admitted to meeting their spouse or long-term significant other on the job.
As the relationship between managers and subordinates is concerned, the relationships at the workplace have been limited by the legal implications. Some internal companies can have installed regulations that limit office romance to exist, and as a result, they may be threatened by the bylaws.
Theoretically, office romances are legally permissible, but due to the company's inside regulations, employees are sometimes obliged to sign "love contracts", so staff are barred from engaging in the relationships.
Among the characteristics of love contracts, the staff in the relationship must abide by the workplace environment and avoid harassment in case relationships do not flourish.
In some instances, staff are advised to avoid conflict of interests or professional priorities, especially if the nature of the relationship could mingle with the job's serious matters, such as promotions and assignments of job duties.
Meanwhile, the trend of love contracts as a measure of office has been criticized for its flaws in the countries where it has been applied, and a labour law specialist is recommended to hire when companies are seeking to impose love contracts on the staff.
Labour experts have indicated the effects on a company's compliance when a senior staff member in the hierarchy of the administration dates the subordinates.
It has been found that it could have consequences either on the horizontal or vertical hierarchy as it could trigger morale problems among the juniors and be perceived as favouritism, and on the other hand, managers on the same level would see the conduct as undeserving.
According to the Love Work survey that interviewed 41 respondents said, office romance can have an impact on the employee and can put the company at risk.
Some jurisdictions take office romance as a serious matter that might be treated as serious ethical violations when the staff are found in such conduct. For instance, in 2018, the Marine Corps infantry was discharged after admitting to an intimate relationship with a subordinate.