In The Digital Age, Online Dating And Swiping Right are the Status Qui for Romance.

Practically gone are the days of meeting "the one" in a pub. But what about flirting by the water cooler or over Zoom? The consensual office relationship has been both a romance trope and a taboo for decades. There are many reasons someone might enter a workplace relationship.

Research shows that people gravitate towards like- minded people with common personality traits, backgrounds, belief systems and ideas. Proximity and familiarity also influence attraction; something psychologists call the mere exposure effect.

For better or for worse, offices are a place where like- minded people are in close proximity to each other for many hours, so it's no surprise that many people are open to love at work. A 2020 YouGov poll found that 18% of Brits met their current or most recent partner through work.

If you're thinking about entering a relationship with your desk neighbour, or even your boss, here are some things to consider.

1. Is It a Heretical Relationship?
Despite their prevalence, office romances are still frowned upon, and more so after the #MeToo movement. Deciding to enter a hierarchical workplace relationship (when one partner is in a higher position at work than the other) is not something to be taken lightly.

2. How Might It Affect Your Work Performance?
With love and sex on the brain, is anyone getting any work done? The general stance is that canoodling is bad for business and affects productivity. Studies have found that feelings of passion and love, especially in the early stages of a relationship, can negatively impact productivity because our minds are elsewhere than the task at hand.

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Do you agree with these theories