The 2015 Vault Office Romance Survey Results

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Just in Time for Valentine’s Day, Advice on Workplace Romance

Vault.com is known for rankings of companies, internships, and schools. They just completed a national survey of office workers, and the results may shock even the most avid TMZ fans. More than ever, in the office, love is in the air, according to our findings below. These survey results suggest to us that too many organizations have a lenient workplace romance policy, have not promoted awareness, or have no policy at all.

Of course, this bodes poorly for risk mitigation, so we conclude with our advice for human resources professionals who see their own offices as microcosms of these national trends:

EMPLOYEE FINDINGS

  • 51% of employees have had at least some form of an office relationship.
  • 29% have had an office tryst.
  • 20% of surveyed employees are currently involved in a workplace romance.workplace romance
  • 47% of respondents have known a married co-worker who had an office affair.
  • No regrets—63% of employees would do it again!

BY INDUSTRY

The industries with the most workplace romance, with a little of our own commentary:

  • Retail (62%) Beware of shoplifting cameras.
  • Technology (60%) The “Revenge of the Nerds” for what they missed in high school.
  • Manufacturing (57%) Are factory workers manufacturing babies?
  • Human Resources (57%) If we can’t police ourselves, who can we police?
  • Insurance (54%). TMZ Headline: Insurance salespeople more romantic than Kim Kardashian.

BY GENDER

  • 30% of women and 26% of men claim to have an “office spouse”
  • 30% of men have dated a subordinate.

BY AGE

  • The older the employee, the more likely he or she is to have had at least 1 office romance.
  • 63% of workers 50+ have had at least 1 office romance in their careers.

COMPANY POLICIES

  • Just 28% of respondents say their company has a policy on intra-office relationships.
  • 43% are not sure.
  • Only 25% say their company discourages them.

ACCEPTANCE

  • Acceptance is on the rise – 29% say office romance is acceptable in 2015, compared to 23% in 2014.
  • Just 5% now say office romances are never acceptable, compared to 11% just 4 years ago.
  • Yet 31% resented that a co-worker gained a professional advantage because of a relationship.

OUR CONCLUSION

Intra-office romances present myriad risks to employers including sexual harassment claims, dysfunctional teams, employee resentment and discomfort, employee attrition, loss of productivity, putting marriages and families in jeopardy, and the potential for media scandals at the C-Suite level.

For a human resources professional, all you need is not love. If love is in the air – in the office – with Valentine’s Day still fresh on the mind, this may be a good time to revisit your company policy on intra-office relationships and your awareness efforts.

 

Post written by Alan Margulis