Workplace Romance

The subject of workplace romance is hardly a new one; Robert E. Quinn published his groundbreaking article on the formation, impact, and management of workplace romances in 1977. In 2004 it was estimated that nearly 10 million workplace romances develop annually in organizations throughout the United States. Highly publicized examples include the illicit relationship between Boeing's CEO Harry Stonecipher and executive Debra Peabody and the genuine relationship between Microsoft's Chairman Bill Gates and manager Melinda French.

A workplace romance is a dating or marital relationship that involves mutually desired sexual attraction between two members of the same organization. Workplace romances are classified as one of the following five types:

• 1.
  Companionate: Both employees are genuinely in love with one another and seeking a long-term companion or spouse.
• 2.
  Passionate: Both employees are genuinely in love with one another and seeking adventure, ego satisfaction, excitement, or sexual gratification.
• 3.
  Fling: Both employees are seeking adventure, ego satisfaction, excitement, or sexual gratification.
• 4.
  Mutual User: Both employees are seeking advancement, financial rewards, increased vacation time, lighter workloads, power, security, or other job-related benefits and resources.
• 5.
  Utilitarian: One employee (e.g., a subordinate) is seeking advancement, financial rewards, increased vacation time, lighter workloads, power, security, or other job-related benefits and resources, whereas the other employee (e.g., a supervisor) is seeking adventure, ego satisfaction, excitement, or sexual gratification.

One study revealed that 36% of workplace romances are passionate, 23% are companionate, 22% are utilitarian, and 19% are flings. Workplace romances are also described in terms of each participant's organizational rank. Lateral romances occur between employees who have equal rank such as two peers, whereas hierarchical romances occur between employees who have unequal rank, for example, a supervisor and a subordinate.

Workplace romances can affect vital organizational variables such as participants' job performance and motivation to work. In addition, dissolved workplace romances can foster sexually harassing behavior between former relational participants. Accordingly, scholars in fields such as industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology, organizational behavior, and human resource management have conducted research aimed at providing an understanding of the formation, impact, and management of workplace romances.