Harmful effect of office romance on workplace culture, research suggests

The feeling of being excluded, ignored, or rejected at work is called workplace exclusion. Jun Qiu of the School of Nanchang, Institute of Technology, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China, and colleagues presented a study in PLOS ONE that suggests that romantic relationships between employees are associated with perceived exclusion and knowledge sabotage by other colleagues. Are.

Workplace romance can affect employees’ work-related attitudes and behaviors, such as performance results and job satisfaction. However, the relationship between workplace romance and workplace exclusion is unclear.

To better understand whether romantic relationships between co-workers may lead them to exclude others, social science researchers conducted a multisource, time-lapse research to collect data from service sector employees in Pakistan. Organized design.

They administered the questionnaire to participants three times every eight weeks, ultimately collecting responses from 343 individuals for a response rate of 69 percent.

The surveys inquired participants about their relationship status and attempted to measure workplace exclusion, such as being ignored at work, as well as knowledge sabotage, for example, a coworker supplying false information or a document. After collecting the final surveys, the researchers analyzed the data using statistical software.

The researchers found that romantically involved co-workers were associated with feeling excluded and sabotaged by other employees who may view their relationship unfavorably.

However, future studies are needed to determine the generalizability of the experiment as the participants were employed in the service sector of Pakistan, which may be confounded by cultural variables.

Additionally, the researchers did not report how many of the 343 individuals were currently involved in a workplace romance. Gender can also play a role in perceived exclusion. Future studies should also consider examining whether perceived instability increases after a workplace relationship ends.

According to the authors, “Although workplace romance should be a cornerstone of organizational interventions, a review of the existing literature reveals that only a few organizations maintain a workplace romance policy. Workplace romance is a committed and consensual relationship between two members and has a range of There may be implications on the creative spectrum as well. Organizations should conduct interpersonal training that helps employees understand acceptable versus unacceptable behaviors in the workplace.

The authors say: “An intimate relationship in the absence of proper HR policies can impede the intimate flow of knowledge.”