Office romance in the work-from-home era? It’s not as remote as you think
There are few things less libidinous, less erotic than booting up Microsoft Teams in your work-from-home sweats, with last night’s bedhead still rocking. But the office romance has persisted into the remote work era nonetheless, from young Gen Z workers all the way to the executive ranks ― and even, as we’ve seen recently, to the salacious, sultry corridors of Toronto’s City Hall.
A survey by ResumeBuilder.com found that among remote workers, one in three has started an office romance in the past three years, while nearly one in four did so with a co-worker. And comfort with this seems to be increasing: a different study, this one by the Society for Human Resource Management, found that younger millennials and Gen Z workers are “significantly more likely to say they’d be open to being in a workplace romance than older millennial workers, Generation X workers and baby boomer and traditionalist workers.”
You would be correct in assuming that the office romance, even in a remote work environment, is a real minefield. “The career consequences are no joke, as the [Mayor John] Tory affair shows,” writes the Financial Post’s Victoria Wells. “Workplace relationships aren’t illegal in Canada, but they are still risky for all involved.”
It all might even seem a bit counter-intuitive ― how are office romances blooming when there is so much less office time? One organizational psychologist says that’s actually exactly why they are continuing to flourish.
The office, she explains, was a judgy, judgy place. “The hybrid world will have enhanced office romances,” said Cary Cooper, who teaches at the University of Manchester. “It’s easier to form a relationship when you’re not in the office five days a week. You don’t have everybody looking at you.”
Content written by Kieran Delamont for Worklife, a partnership between Ahria Consulting and London Inc. To view this content in newsletter form, click here.