As workers continue to return to their offices following the pandemic exodus, they're apparently looking for love.
A new survey by Resume Builder shows 3 in 10 workers have started a work romance since returning to the office.
"Dating someone you work with, especially in the early stages, can be thrilling," Julia Toothacre, Resume Builder's resume and career strategist, said in a statement. "It improves the person's work experience because they have something to look forward to during the day. In a relationship outside of work, you're usually counting down the hours until you can leave to see your person."
Since returning to the office, 29% of workers say they have started a romantic relationship with a coworker, according to the survey. Another 25% say they developed a crush on a coworker, but it never led to a romantic interaction.
Of those who started a romantic relationship, the survey shows 46% did so with one coworker, while 41% did so with two coworkers, and 14% did so with three or more.
More than half (55%) say at least one relationship involved a superior, while 47% say one of their relationships involved a subordinate, according to the data.
And the love appears to be lasting. Of workers who say they've had a relationship with a coworker since returning to the office, the survey shows 94% are currently romantically involved with a coworker. The nature of these relationships include dating (38%), serious relationship (28%), marriage (17%), very casual (9%), and engaged (7%).
According to the survey, two-thirds (66%) of employees who have had a relationship with a coworker since returning to the office say their romantic relationship has or had a positive impact on their work, while 6% say it has or had a negative impact, and 28% say no impact.
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"A relationship at work could also lead to being distracted, not completing work on time, or being the subject of gossip around the office," said Toothacre. "Similarly, if the relationship has a rough patch or you break it off, there are a lot of negative feelings that can impact your work or other work relationships. If it's really bad, one of the parties might feel like they need to find a new job, which can take time."
Less than half (47%) of survey respondents said they neither started a romantic relationship nor developed a crush since returning to the office.
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