Workplace affairs are romantic relationships that develop between two coworkers. These relationships often start off innocently, but can quickly cross professional boundaries. Work affairs are fairly common, though the exact statistics vary. Let’s take a closer look at how often workplace affairs really happen.
Key Statistics on Workplace Affairs
Various surveys and research studies have tried to pin down the prevalence of workplace affairs. Here are some of the key statistics:
- In one 2018 survey from Vault.com, nearly 60% of workers admitted to having at least one office romance at some point in their career.
- A 2020 survey from Bloomberg Law found that 58% of workers admitted to dating a colleague at least once over the course of their career.
- A survey from CareerBuilder found that nearly 40% of workers admitted to having a romantic relationship with a colleague.
- In a SHRM survey, 19% of HR professionals said they had noticed an increase in intra-office relationships over the previous 2 years.
The numbers vary slightly across surveys, but they consistently show that a significant minority of workers – often 40% or more – have engaged in a workplace romance at some point.
Frequency of Workplace Affairs
Looking beyond whether workers have ever had an office romance, some surveys have tried to pin down how frequently active workplace affairs are occurring at any given time.
- A 2020 survey found that 22% of workers were currently involved in or recently had a workplace affair.
- In a different poll, 38% of workers admitted to currently being involved in or recently having an affair with a colleague.
- One 2021 survey put the figure at 15% of workers currently involved in a workplace affair.
The numbers vary across surveys, but generally fall somewhere between 15-38% of workers actively engaged in or recently involved with a colleague romantically at any given time.
Gender Differences
Looking at workplace affairs broken down by gender reveals some interesting trends:
- In one survey, 60% of men admitted to having an affair with a colleague at some point, compared to only 40% of women.
- However, a different survey found a much smaller gap – 56% of men and 50% of women conceded to an office romance.
- When it comes to active workplace affairs, one poll found that 30% of men were currently involved in one, compared to just 12% of women.
The numbers vary across studies, but research consistently shows that men are moderately more likely to engage in workplace romances compared to women.
Affairs by Age
Office romances also appear to peak for workers during certain age ranges:
- Multiple studies find that workplace affairs are most common among younger employees under 30.
- One survey found that 70% of workers who admitted to an office affair were under 35.
- However, affairs span all age groups – one poll still found that 28% of workers 45 and older had been involved with a colleague.
So while office romances tend to occur more frequently among younger employees, they certainly happen at meaningful rates among older workers as well.
Affairs by Industry
Certain industries seem to foster more workplace romances than others. Here’s the breakdown by sector:
| Industry | Employees Admitting to an Office Romance |
|---|---|
| Media & Entertainment | 54% |
| Real Estate | 42% |
| Health Care | 40% |
| Financial Services | 39% |
| Technology | 33% |
| Legal | 31% |
The media and real estate sectors have the highest rates, with over 50% and 40% of employees respectively reporting a workplace romance. Meanwhile, more buttoned-up sectors like technology and legal have lower but still substantial rates.
Reasons for Workplace Affairs
There are some common reasons co-workers end up getting romantically involved or having full-blown affairs:
- Proximity – Being in constant close contact with and having regular interactions with colleagues makes romantic feelings more likely to develop.
- Long work hours – Spending excessive time together, including outside normal work hours, fosters intimacy.
- Stress – The stress and intensity of the workplace leads people to seek comfort in a colleague.
- Boredom – Boredom with a current spouse or domestic life motivates people to pursue the excitement of an office romance.
- Admiration – Working closely with someone leads to admiring their work ethic and professional skills, making romantic attraction more likely.
Essentially, the excessive amounts of time spent together in stressful work environments leads co-workers to seek solace in office romances.
Consequences of Workplace Affairs
While workplace romances may seem harmless, they can actually exact severe consequences when things go awry:
- First and foremost, office affairs can destroy marriages and families when they involve infidelity outside of the relationship.
- 70% of workplace affairs culminate in the participants leaving their respective partners.
- Messy breakups lead to awkwardness, hostility, gossip, and plummeting morale in the office.
- Workplace productivity goes down as workers deal with the fallout from office relationship issues.
- Co-workers often have to pick sides after an office romance breakup, dividing the office.
- In extreme cases, someone may have to leave their job after an office romance. Up to 20% of workers end up leaving their job after an affair with a colleague.
Suffice to say, office romances that end badly carry severe consequences for workers’ personal and professional lives.
Preventing Affairs at Work
While workplace affairs are common, there are strategies both employers and employees can use to reduce their likelihood:
- Employers should cultivate a ethical, professional office culture that discourages inappropriate relationships.
- Many workplaces enact policies that require disclosing relationships to HR.
- Providing ethics training brings awareness to potential pitfalls.
- Employees should maintain strong professional boundaries with colleagues.
- Avoid excessive time alone or contact outside work with attractive co-workers.
- Make an effort to disengage and spend time with family outside of work.
- Ultimately, resist the temptation to start an inappropriate relationship, no matter how strong the pull seems.
While attraction between co-workers is natural, maintaining ethical boundaries preserves work culture and prevents severe consequences in workers’ personal lives.
The Bottom Line
Workplace affairs are fairly common, with estimates ranging from 15% to nearly 60% of workers engaging in an office romance at some point. While these relationships may seem harmless at first, they frequently cross lines and end disastrously, wreaking havoc on workers’ professional reputations and personal lives. By cultivating ethical office cultures and establishing strong boundaries, both employers and employees can reduce the incidence of affairs at work.