Valentine’s Day is around the corner, a time when some people buy flowers, candy, jewelry and more in the name of romance. As the lines between work and personal time continue to blur, those who make a love connection in the office might find it harder to separate the two.
A new poll from Workplace Options asks Americans about work and romance.
Respondents indicated that nearly one out three (31 percent) had dated a co-worker and one out of ten (10 percent) had dated their boss. Likewise, one out of ten respondents who dated a supervisor found themselves discussing work for more than an hour per day outside of office hours.
And while one out of ten have faked a job-related emergency to get out of a bad date, twice that number (23 percent) admitted to checking work email during any date at all. Of those who checked email during a date, one-third did it because they felt that they had to, while one in five simply wanted to.
“People are connected to their jobs more than ever,” said Dean Debnam, chief executive officer of Workplace Options. “Although it can be beneficial to have instant access and tempting to look at your smartphone, taking some time to unplug can boost productivity at work and satisfaction with work-life balance.”
“It’s natural for romance to blossom in the workplace, since people spend so much time working together,” said Debnam. “It’s also normal for people to discuss work after hours and their personal lives at work, whether or not it’s an interoffice relationship. Nowadays, work and life are inextricably connected – think ‘integration’ instead of ‘balance.’ It only becomes a problem when it affects employee productivity or morale.”
The national survey was conducted by the North Carolina firm of Public Policy Polling, January 23-26, 2014. The survey polled 693 working Americans and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7%. View complete poll results HERE.
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