Office romance is probably as old as work itself. Most people at one point in their careers engage in office relationships whether by design or default. Many people interviewed by this reporter on social network sites expressed different reasons why people engage in office romance.
Byron Mutingwende of Harare had this to say: “Relationships tend to develop among people who spend most of their time together. In the workplace both married and unmarried people of the opposite sex engage in informal conversations.
“Conversations may end up being personal when they discuss sexual relationships, marital bliss and domestic violence. They may end up admiring each other as they share ideas around problems occurring at their homes and they end up in a relationship.”
A Kwekwe woman, Angela Rungano, concurred and added the workplace is the only place to find love.
“Young professionals often spend more time at the office than at home.
“As a result, there are a lot of single men and women who don’t have the time to meet new people. Naturally, they seek their potential partners within their surroundings,” she said.
Godknows of Rushinga said office romance was a good idea because one already knows the character of the workmate.
“A second advantage to dating someone in the workplace is that since you spend so many hours together at work, you already have an idea of what she’s like. This can save you from lots of headaches down the road,” he said.
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However, Mlilo Ncube of Bulawayo chose to differ labelling the move a “recipe for disaster”.
“The fact that couples are in constant contact with one another day and night may cause friction within the relationship. Everyone needs ‘alone time’ to pursue hobbies or hang out with friends and the lack thereof may cause relationships to self-destruct,” he said.
Tariro Maponga, who confessed to have engaged in office romance, said jealousy would soon take its toll on the people.
“Jealousy is another negative issue. Because you must usually keep office relationships a secret, other employees may flirt with your partner or vice-versa. You have to keep in mind that this type of flirting is common and happens all the time in the workplace. So keep cool or the cat is out of the bag,” said Tariro.
The results of Vault.com’s 2010 Office Romance Survey showed that people appeared to be following their hearts rather than their heads when it came to weighing the wisdom of a workplace hook-up.
Almost 60% of respondents admit to having participated in some form of workplace romance. As one lovelorn respondent put it, “If the person you meet could be your soul-mate, you can’t pass up that chance.
“You can always get another job.”
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