Are Your Coworkers Dating Each Other?
Have you ever noticed a line cook sneak a beautiful hostess free food from the kitchen? What about those two coworkers you always seem to catch alone together in the break room? The workplace is ground zero for gossip and no scandal spreads faster than relationship rumors, but the truth is that office romances happen all the time.
To find out what dating in the workplace really looks like, we asked over 1,990 professionals across 13 different industries about their experiences. Warning: The tea is hot!
Over 4 in 10 Americans Have Dated a Coworker
If you’re one of the hopeful few searching for your soulmate at work, don’t lose faith—according to survey results, 42% of Americans have been romantically involved with a coworker. Let’s take a look at a few Jim and Pam-esque love story stats.
Should we start playing the wedding march over the loudspeaker now? Nearly 1 in 5 Americans (19%) found their long-term partner at work!
Think the hot guy in accounting has been flirting with you? Despite what your coworker bestie might have told you, you’re not being delulu. A striking 77% of Americans have felt an attraction towards a coworker at some point.
41% of Americans are comfortable with the idea of dating a coworker, with people under the age of 43 leading the pack. Eat your heart out, Millenials and Gen Z!
No surprises here: Men in particular show a high rate of attraction to coworkers (81%). If women are more your speed, however, there’s no need to panic; they also show a relatively high rate of attraction (72%).
A lurid office affair may not be on the books for everyone, though. Of our survey participants, 52% stated that they’d prefer not to meet potential partners at work or online. If you’re worried dating a coworker might go down in flames like it did for, well, almost everyone on “Grey’s Anatomy,” you should consider these stats:
Don’t say yes to the dress just yet; 28% of the workplace relationships in this survey lasted less than 6 months.
With 34% of Americans being aware of current relationships between coworkers, a sneaky link might not stay on the DL.
Workers over the age of 43 are the largest age group (16%) to disapprove of workplace relationships despite also being the most likely to have found their long-term partners at work… Go off, we guess.
52% of people dating in the workplace chose to try to keep their relationships under wraps. Are you really even dating if you can’t post jealousy-inducing Insta stories?
Here Are The Industries Where You Have The Best Chance At Finding The One
Wondering what your chances are of finding the one in your workplace? We’ve got you covered!
The industries with the highest percentage of respondents who reported having dated a coworker are manufacturing, transportation, food service (duh!), and retail. Of these industries, transportation (73%) and food service (68%) worker relationships are the most discussed in the workplace. In fact, 70% of food service workers say they openly dated their coworkers, and nearly 9 in 10 have been attracted to another coworker. Maybe that’s why the secret ingredient is always love!
Unfortunately, for anyone looking for the Emmett to their Elle Woods, people in the legal industry are the least likely to date a coworker, with 72% of respondents stating that they have never dated a coworker. More than half of them reported not even being comfortable with the idea of getting involved with someone at work.
When it comes to finding a lasting relationship, public administration is the place to be—1 in 5 respondents in this industry found their long-term partner at work. Who knew paperwork could be so alluring?
Closing Thoughts
To answer the question: Yes, your coworkers are absolutely dating each other. Whether or not you see them post their relationships online, they’re going on dates and looking their best while doing so. If you’re going out with a coworker (or even just dating in general), check out the perfect date night fits offered by Fashion Nova! Our wide selection of clothes for going out, slaying at work, or a comfy night in with your boo will have you grabbing the attention of your love interest in no time.
Methodology
To gain insight into workplace relationships, we surveyed 1,992 working professionals across 13 different industries from 12/12/2023 to 12/13/2023 and asked them about their experiences with coworker relationships, the prevalence of relationships in the workplace, how open or secret office relationships are, and their attitudes toward workplace romance.