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Ah, the age-old workplace romance.
How many employees hooked on shows likeThe Office hoped that they too would end up finding their Pam Beesly or Jim Halpert when entering the world of work?
In fact, spurred on by the pursuit of a picture-perfect romance, most people in the US have been happy to blur the lines between work, life, and love. According to a 2024 Forbes report, over 60% of adults have had a workplace romance, and 43% have married someone they worked with.
Whether HR likes it or not, the boundaries between the workplace and possible romance have never been more hazy, particularly in the era of flexible working.
Tinder and Hinge offer dating as an employee benefit
These blurred lines have not gone unnoticed by major dating platform companies.
In recent weeks, both Hinge and Tinder have revealed some variation of an employee benefit designed to encourage workers to go on dates.
Last week, Tinder partnered with Gushcloud International, a global influencer and entertainment company, to introduce Tinder as a benefit for eligible employees in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.
From retention to risk reduction: How to deliver training to improve employee experience
There are a range of challenges facing people leaders when it comes to creating a compelling employee experience. It can be difficult to keep workers engaged, particularly where training & development is concerned. But whether it's compliance risk through mandatory training, or retaining staff through career skills building, it's business-critical for effective learning programs to enhance the employee experience.
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Employees have access to company-sponsored Tinder subscriptions and an extra day of paid leave to “go on dates, seek out new connections or engage in social activities,” a press release stated.
And earlier this week, Angel Frankin, CPO at Hinge told Fortune about her company’s policy dating back to 2018 to offer employees $100 stipend a month to go out. Employees can choose how and with whom they spend their time and money, and don’t have to disclose any details to HR—though they can report back to the team on any successful (or unsuccessful) dates in a messaging channel called “Epic Dates" if they so choose.
The benefits implemented by Hinge and Gushcloud aren’t just meant to encourage inter-office romance, but instead to encourage and support employees in any pursuit of meaningful human connection. Tinder calls this “work-love-life balance.”
Whether it’s a nerve-wracking first date, a special occasion between an employee and their long-term partner, or even a friendship date, benefits like the stipend or leave allocation show staff that their employer is invested in their wellbeing.
“A healthy personal relationship is an increasingly important priority for this modern generation of workers,” a spokesperson for Tinder explained. “Employers need to start investing in benefits and initiatives that address employees’ social and personal lives to support their overall social health and wellbeing.”
Similarly, Franklin hopes that her company’s policy will make workers feel more included, connected, and at home in a workplace culture that values human connection.
Why a dating benefit could help employers address the loneliness epidemic
For all the benefits flexible and remote working has brought in helping staff juggle work-life balance and embracing autonomy, we now have a significant share of the workforce who are battling social isolation and loneliness.
Employees who aren’t connected socially with friends, family, colleagues, or romantic partners risk poor mental and physical wellbeing, with loneliness linked to dementia, anxiety, depression, and cardiovascular disease, among many other illnesses.
One study has even found the physical impact of social loneliness to be the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
This is why benefits like those introduced by Hinge and Gushcloud are such a brilliant idea.
While it could be a for a first date that blossoms into a meaningful relationship, it might also give employees the chance to catch up with an old acquaintance, nudge them to meet a new friend, or push them to spark fresh life into a long-term relationship.
Indeed, the US Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community, which declares loneliness and social isolation as an epidemic, advises employers to “make social connection a strategic priority in the workplace at all levels,” and to “create practices and a workplace culture that allow people to connect to one another as whole people, not just as skill sets.”
This report emphasizes that employers should put in place policies that protect workers’ ability to nurture their relationships outside work.
The idea of offering a stipend or leave for employees to grab a movie or enjoy a candlelit dinner may seem novel, risky, or outright bizarre. But they show employees that the company sees them as people, rather than disposable resources, who deserve a rich life of human connection outside of work as well as within it.
And after all, who wouldn't love a workplace wedding?
