While over a third of Brits know someone who has had an affair with a colleague, Belfast is revealed as the city most likely to engage in an office romance. Relationship coach Alex Limanówka reveals the factors to consider in order to make a colleague relationship work.
Strictly Come Dancing season is back and outside of the competition itself making the news, over the years there have been a number of headlines surrounding the “Strictly Curse”. This said curse is rumoured to threaten the relationships of contestants who sign up to the show.
But is it strictly just a Strictly curse or are workplace romances impacting Brits across the country? Mecca Bingo has conducted a survey* to reveal the UK’s attitudes and experiences with workplace romances.
Brits are meeting the love of their lives at work
The research revealed that over a quarter of Brits (28%) have had a relationship with a colleague and 24% have married a co-worker. The study also saw 28% of Brits admitting to flirting with a colleague.
However, when it came to speaking on behalf of their colleagues, the numbers surrounding workplace romances were a little higher. Almost two in five (38%) said they know someone who has had an affair with a colleague, suggesting that it’s not just Strictly that’s to blame for infidelity! 36% of Brits also know someone who has married a colleague and 30% said they know someone who has had a relationship with a colleague.
How do Brits really feel about workplace romances?
General attitudes towards office relationships were mostly favourable, with 36% expressing that they think it’s acceptable to have a relationship with a colleague and be open about it. However, one in six Brits (15%) said they think it is unprofessional to engage in an office romance.
Almost one in ten (9%) said they felt that workplace relationships never last. However, despite the survey revealing that 19% of people said their office romance only lasted less than a month, there was a fair share of success stories, with 24% of relationships cultivated from the office lasting more than 3 years and 12% lasting a decade or more.
The cities that love a workplace romance
The research went on to reveal the cities that were most likely to engage in a workplace romance and Belfast came in first place for being the most likely to marry and have an affair with a colleague!
The cities most likely to marry their colleague:
- Belfast (37%)
- London (29%)
- Birmingham (25%)
- Bristol (25%)
- Edinburgh (25%)
The cities most likely to have an affair with a colleague:
- Belfast (28%)
- Birmingham (19%)
- Plymouth (17%)
- London (17%)
- Leeds and Manchester (16%)
Relationship coach Alex Limanowka comments: “Maintaining a healthy relationship is hard work even without the additional challenges associated with a workplace relationship. It’s not necessarily a bad idea, but you need to be aware of the risks and weigh up the challenges that come with it.
Some companies have a code of ethics which prohibits some employees from being involved in office romances. This can be the case if a romance is formed between members of the same team or with a superior.”
The specialist, who is a qualified mediator continued: “News of an office romance can become a ‘hot topic’, so make sure you are resilient to the attention and opinions you may receive in the workplace and bear in mind it will subside in time.”
Alex Limanovka added: “You also need to consider how you would feel knowing that your partner gets a salary raise or a promotion and you miss out. Make sure you deal with competitive instinct, so that your relationship isn’t impacted by your partner’s success.
The average person changes their job every few years, but if you’re fortunate with a workplace romance, there’s a chance you may end up with a best friend and partner for life.” concluded the Relationship Coach.
Source *Censuswide survey on behalf of Mecca Bingo to 2000 UK respondents – October 2022.