Office colleagues spend an entire day together at work, laughing, chatting, teasing, eating—office colleagues often spend a minimum of 8–12 hours daily in the company of each other. And this has practically become the “new normal” in today’s high-pressure office culture. Thus, family time decreases, and friendships take a backseat. And often, even after leaving the office, too, there is just no peace. Perhaps you sit down to gossip with a colleague or steal a moment with someone you like. In the course of all this, is it really so wrong or out of place to pay that little extra attention to a favourite colleague? Apparently not, if recent insights are to be believed.
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A study commissioned by the company Ashley Madison suggests that the trend of dating office colleagues is on the rise. India, in particular, is at the top of this trend. Conducted in collaboration with YouGov, the survey was carried out across 11 countries.
A list of countries where office dating is most common puts Mexico at the top, while India comes in second. The study covered Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and included a total of 13,581 adults.
These findings prove that a romance in the workplace is no longer an oddity in India. While offices still enforce guidelines and professional codes of conduct, none of these stop romance. In fact, 4 out of 10 Indians mentioned having dated, or currently date, a colleague, according to the survey.
43% of the participants in Mexico reported having been in a romantic relationship with a coworker. In India, this rate is close to 40%, whereas it stands at about 30% for countries like the US, UK, and Canada.
Interestingly, men are more likely to date colleagues than women- among men, the figure is 51%, while for women it's 36%.
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It also determined that, overall, women are more cautious in workplace relationships because of the potential professional implications. About 29% of women reported their avoidance of such relationships for fear that it might affect their careers, while 27% of men did the same.
Age is a factor as well. Young adults aged 18–24 are most circumspect: 34% of them believe that office relationships can damage careers. The trend does not stop here. Acceptance of open marriages is also on the rise in India. A survey conducted by the extra-marital dating app "Glidden" found that 35% of Indians now prefer open relationships, while 41% said they would consider an open relationship if their partner was interested. This trend is increasing not only in metro cities but also in smaller towns.
