Exploring the benefits and pitfalls of workplace romances.
At this very moment, there’s a solid chance a couple of horny coworkers are sneaking off to the supply closet, praying the boss doesn’t notice they’ve been conducting “business mergers” on and off the clock. Traditionally, human resources managers have routinely advised against “fraternization,” which is just a nice way of discouraging against dipping the ol’ pen in company ink. And for seemingly good reason, too. Mixing business and pleasure, in some cases, doesn’t end well, leading to disruption in the workplace. So if the head honcho catches wind of an office grab-ass session, it’s natural to think that worries of sexual harassment lawsuits, messy breakups and enough workplace drama to become a new Netflix reality series might take precedence over quarterly reports and payroll.
That’s been the conventional wisdom, anyway. However, if a new study holds any weight, the boss might not give two flipping shits at all whether employees are banging each other off the clock, as long as their workload doesn’t go spewing all over the breakroom table.
“I had a job at a restaurant many years ago where I got with almost all of the females there. I never called in sick, never took days off. Going to work was just that much fun, man.”
