Workplace Romances: “Going to Work Is Amazing and Really Fun”

Abstract

Much of the research on workplace romance has been conducted in the United States, and the focus has often been on negative consequences and risks for gender discrimination. The purpose of this study was to obtain an understanding of workplace romance through the point of view of those involved. Data were collected from five female participants and five male participants in separate focus groups; all participants had started a love affair at work. The thematic analysis of the transcripts showed that having a workplace romance was mostly a positive experience. However, all participants described the need to keep their romances secret for two main reasons: one, to avoid possible negative consequences, and the other, to enjoy feelings associated with a secret love affair. To some degree, the participants seemed to excuse themselves more readily than others whose behavior they thought was worse. When asked about workplace rules and policies, the participants wavered between expressing negative views and describing situations where rules could be needed.Keywords: excitement, focus group study, secrecy, sexuality, workplace romance IntroductionIn his article, "Coping with Cupid", Quinn (1977) examined workplace romances, focusing on people's motives to engage in such relationships. Subsequent research has not closely addressed the issues raised by Quinn's research. Mainiero (1986) described workplace romances as the "new sexual revolution" and Parks (2006) claimed the phenomenon was relatively common. Powell's (2012) study, one of the few to address the consequences of workplace romances from an organizational perspective, attributed their increase to the steady increase in women in the workplace at all organizational levels, offering the example of the United States, where women grew from 39% in 1973 to 47% of the labor force in 2010. Many Western countries have experienced a similar development, and in Sweden today 82% of all women are employed (Statistics Sweden, 2012).According to Powell and Foley (1998), managers of organizations and researchers in organizational psychology tend to be uncomfortable with discussing the topic of workplace romance and sexuality in a public forum; many researchers have no wish to be associated with the popular tabloid media's sensationalizing of romances, especially illicit ones that begin in the workplace. This resistance is less pronounced among researchers in the United States, where reportedly 90% of such research has been conducted (Boyd, 2010). However, the general theme in studies on workplace romance, especially in the United States, is often on negative consequences; positive experiences are seldom highlighted (Boyd, 2010;Wilson, 2015). Boyd explains that this harm-perspective may arise partly from a puritanical view of sexual relationships and partly from an increased focus on sexual harassment highlighted by the feminist movement. Zelizer (2009) wrote that many managers and employees may be wary of entering a workplace romance because the organization's policies ...