A quarter (26.7 per cent) of UK workers admit to having had an office romance, with nearly half (44.6 per cent) believing that it is acceptable to date someone that you work with. This is according to the latest research from CV-Library.
The study, which surveyed 1,000 UK workers about their views on relationships in the workplace, finds that more than half of workers (52.5 per cent) think that workplace relationships can be a good thing, just over one in ten admit to fancying someone that they currently work with. This figure even rose to one in five amongst 18-24 year olds.
Furthermore, the research finds that employees working in certain cities and industries were some of the most likely to have a workplace romance.
Glasgow (71.4 per cent), Newcastle (68.6 per cent), Manchester (63.8 per cent), Cardiff (59.1 per cent) and Birmingham (57.7 per cent) sit in the top five cities where office romances are most likely to happen.
The top five industries where office romance may occur are recruitment (83.3 per cent), property (71.4 per cent), marketing (66.7 per cent), IT (61.3 per cent) and hospitality (59.1 per cent).
Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, comments, ‘Despite there often being taboos around office romances, our findings suggest that UK workers are more up for workplace relationships than originally anticipated. In particular, it’s interesting to see that professionals in key cities and industries are more open to meeting a potential partner at work.’
However, more than three quarters (78.5 per cent) of respondents do think workplace relationships can cause problems, men are more likely to agree with this statement than women. A further 71.1 per cent say that they wouldn’t like to work with their significant other. Furthermore, of those who say that they have had an office romance, 24 per cent feel that it had impacted their career.
The top problems that people think they can cause include: bringing private issues to the workplace (35 per cent) making co-workers feel uncomfortable (25.9 per cent) awkward situations if the couple was to break up (22.2 per cent), and that it could lead to favouritism in the workplace (14.2 per cent).
Biggins continues, ‘It’s clear that while some employees do value relationships in the workplace, there can potentially be some problems if not dealt with appropriately. Remember: it’s always best to remain professional at work so if you are looking for love around the office, try to keep it out of hours!’
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