According to Business Insider, the average person spends more than 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime, so its no surprise that a third of people find love at work, according to the office for national statistics.
With today being Valentine’s day, we wanted to talk about love at work as well as give you tips and advice to think about if you have found a connection with someone in your office.
Are you allowed to be in a relationship with someone at work?
This would be down to the discretion of your employer, so it would be worth going through your contract to see if there is any information regarding this. If there isn’t anything specific about relationships at work, you can either talk to HR if you feel it’s appropriate or just keep it completely separate from your work life.
It also depends on who you date, as dating a colleague or your boss can’t really be compared and will most likely have different consequences.
Back in November 2019 One of the McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook was dismissed for having a consensual romantic relationship with his employee. Their company policy for senior employees strictly prohibited workplace relationships.
Dating your boss is a whole other ball game as they are someone with power in your company, so here are some things to think about if you have started a relationship with your boss.
Perceived favouritism – If you’re dating your boss this could mean you get better opportunities at work, which won’t go down well with your employees.
Lowered employee morale – If you’re employees see you getting special treatment, this may start to create awkward working environments.
Internal gossip and rumours that can impact the overall work environment and the longer-term careers of the individuals who are involved in the romance – Work gossip is sure to increase if you’re dating your boss, as well as rumours that may not even be true.
Disruption and Risks
If you let your relationship intervene with your work life, this is where problems can occur. If you have a relationship at work that causes disruption, this can potentially put your job in jeopardy, according to Personnel Today.
You also need to consider the chance that the relationship could break down, and what the implications of that would be. If there is awkwardness or mistreatment from the other person involved this could mean possible legal proceedings may take place, which isn’t going to go down well with your employer. This result may mean you have to leave, and if that reason was to come up in any future job interviews this could make it difficult for you to find work.
Having a relationship with a colleague or boss isn’t something that should be taken lightly, especially if there is a chance it could affect your career, so it is important to make sure you are doing the right thing for your well-being and your future.