They’re back! Office romances may be all the rage after, because of pandemic

With employees returning to the physical office, employers are likely going to be dealing with a number of headaches they haven’t had to address during the COVID-19 outbreak. For instance, office romances may be an even bigger challenge for companies after the pandemic subsides because some coworkers got to know one another really well over Zoom calls and the like, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. In a January survey conducted by the Society for Human Resources Management, one-third of employees said they were (or have been) involved in a relationship with a coworker. The number was up from about one-fourth in 2020.

Potential pitfalls

Although romantic relationships among coworkers is now fairly common, they can cause problems and lead to sexual harassment claims of both the quid pro quo (essentially, a sexual favor for a favor) and the hostile work environment variety. Claims for quid pro quo harassment often arise after a consensual relationship ends and one of the individuals continues to demand sex. Likewise, a party upset with the relationship ending may engage in inappropriate conduct that creates a hostile workplace.

Employees outside of the relationship also may be affected. We often see coworkers make claims for favoritism when a supervisor is in a relationship with a subordinate.

Policies are key