It may not be the first place you’d think of when it comes to considering where you could meet your future partner, but an office is a prime place for romance to blossom.

Think about it: you spend an awful lot of your time there (maybe less since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, though), you have to interact with the same people regularly, and you get to know them in an environment they are completely comfortable in.

Online dating has become an increasingly popular way to meet a partner, but the workplace can be somewhere it happens in a more natural way and without all the pretence.

What are our thoughts on office romances?

Romantic relationships in the office aren’t always welcomed by businesses and other colleagues, as they can lead to difficult situations.

Corporate banner producers Instantprint surveyed 1,500 UK employees before the start of the pandemic in 2020 and found that 56% of people were against office relationships. The top reasons given included that break-ups created a bad atmosphere (43%) and made other employees feel uncomfortable (37%).

Of course, we now live in a very different world from the one we did when those questions were initially asked.

How remote working changed things

Clearly, people were not massive fans of others going beyond a professional relationship with their colleagues back then.

However, the rise of remote working brought about by the coronavirus pandemic led to a softening in attitudes. Another survey in February 2021 showed that just 16% of people were now against office romances, while 27% were dreaming about being involved in one themselves!

This was in no doubt influenced by the lockdown restrictions that had been imposed in the UK, leading to many people feeling isolated.

What does the future hold?

With restrictions having been completely lifted in England, offices that did not shut down entirely have reopened.

People are unlikely to be spending as much time in them, however, with more than half of UK workers saying they would contemplate leaving a job if the option to work from home was taken away.

While there will be less time for romance to blossom between colleagues if they spend fewer days in the office together, it also means the stance against such relationships is likely to remain softer.

In conclusion…

The pandemic brought about a huge shift in how people viewed office romances.

Things should obviously never become unprofessional in the workplace, but the circumstances of the past couple of years mean it could remain a hotbed for the emergence of loving relationships in the long term.

Published by HOLR Magazine.