What challenges could HR face?

Hearing of romantic relationships between colleagues is not unheard of in workplaces. This is echoed in 2020 data from Reboot Digital Marketing, which found that 45% of employees had admitted to some form of a romantic relationship at work during their career.

While many companies will likely have policies in place that forbid or altogether ban workplace romances – a 2013 study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that more than twice as many employers have written or verbal polices on office romances than in 2005 – with the vast majority of employees now working remotely, monitoring this type of behaviour is now proving to be more tricky.

And with the most romantic event in the calendar just under a week away – Valentine’s Day – HR teams may have their work cut out when trying to keep an eye out for potential remote trysts between colleagues. This is certainly something that Louise O’Connor, Associate at CM Murray, believes could be true as she told HR Grapevine that these relationships have the potential to “flourish”. “Many commentators believe that the recent shift to remote working spells the end for office romances. However, there is also a view that, during a time where the lines between work life and personal life have become increasingly blurred, it is possible that inter office relationships could flourish,” she explained.

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New technology has made the potential for workplace romances easy from afar, as instant messages can be sent and calls can be made, allowing employees to pursue something of interest. This of course has created new challenges for HR teams, which can be problematic for all involved, as messages could be sent to the wrong recipient or allegations of harassment could arise.