SINGAPORE: Men are more open to office romance than
women, while younger workers are more open about romantic
relationships with colleagues than their older
counterparts.
These findings came from a survey by Singapore's
online job portal, JobsCentral.
The survey found that 44 per cent of men are open to
dating someone from the office.
Nearly two-thirds (63.9 per cent) of female respondents said they
would not date their colleagues.
A total of 2,281 respondents took part in the online survey between
August and September 2011.
They come from all levels of occupation and income groups.
The survey found out that both genders are most open to dating a
colleague of the same rank as they are - 60.8 per cent of men and
49.4 per cent of women said they are open to it.
Men are most averse to dating their superiors, while women are most
averse to dating their subordinates - 60.5 per cent of men said
they will avoid dating a superior while 75.8 per cent of women said
they will avoid dating a subordinate.
Michelle Lim, COO of JobsCentral Group, said: "Singapore workers
are generally wary of potential gossip that may arise from office
romances, so many will either shy away from it or keep it under
wraps. There seems to be an unwritten rule to draw a clear line
between work and romance, particularly between managers and those
who report to them.
"However, if you are dating someone in the office, it is advisable
that you also socialise with other people in the company. More
importantly, keep work strictly separate from your personal
relationships," she advised.
"For managers, if you are seeing a subordinate, it is often not
enough to just make sure you remain impartial. You should let your
boss know about the situation.
In many cases, the company may require one of you to transfer to
another team to prevent issues like unhealthy gossips, allegations
of favouritism and management difficulties," she added.
The survey also found that younger workers are open to dating a
colleague, with 46.4 per cent of workers aged below 30 saying they
are open to dating or have dated someone in the office.
Older workers generally disapprove of office relationships, with
64.9 per cent of those aged 41 to 50 saying they will avoid dating
someone in the office.
The survey found that office romance does not affect work
relationships with others.
Close to 80 per cent of respondents who admitted to have dated
someone at work indicated that they were not treated negatively by
other colleagues after their office romance was made public.
However, those who dated a subordinate faced the most
hostility.
23.3 per cent experienced negativity at work, compared with 19.3
per cent of those who dated someone of a similar rank.
Managers and directors are most cautious about office romance,
while managers and directors showed the most objections against
dating a colleague.
64.3 per cent said they would not date someone from work.
On the other hand, associate professionals and technicians are most
liberal with office romance.
50.9 per cent indicated they would start a romantic relationship in
the office.
- CNA/ck