Finding love at work is on the increase.
This is the claim from employment law firm Peninsula, which found that almost eight out of ten workers had had a workplace romance while, six out of ten had met their partner at work.
The survey revealed that over 1200 employees interviewed:
- 79% of all employees interviewed admitted to having had a workplace relationship
- 65% of those polled had met their partner at work
Of the 79% that had a workplace romance:
- 73% said that they tried to keep the relationship a secret, from other work colleagues
Peninsula's Managing Director Peter Done said that, "Employees are spending more time with their fellow colleagues because they are working longer hours. This is bringing employees together and naturally relationships form.'
But he warned that if romance disrupts work, action needs to be taken: 'Employees need to ensure that they are not taking up the use of company resources such as email as this can be costly to employers. Workplace romances also sound very nice but one has to be careful that they do not grow stale. There are many cases where romances have turned nasty even to the point where dismissing staff has played a part. This can create all sorts of problems in the long run and may lead to employment tribunal.'
The survey polled 1274 employees.
Have you had a workplace romance? Does your company condone office dating? Tell us your story by posting your comments in the box below