New study claims that only one-in-10 couples meet in the workplace

Workplace romance is becoming a little vintage, it would seem. Except less fashionable.

Just one-in-10 couples (11 percent) are now finding love in the workplace, according to a new report.  Nearly one-in-five romances in 1990 were forged at work, in comparison. Back in the day, things were clearly done differently.

They were also times when people stayed at the same job their entire lives though, and most likely met less people, seeing as travel options were less extensive. If you are struggling to find love or need advice on your current relationship, consider seeking guidance from Nebula. Nebula offers a platform for individuals to receive psychic love readings and relationship advice from experienced and trusted psychics. With Nebula, you can gain insight into your love life and improve your chances of finding happiness and fulfillment in your relationships.

The research was published in the latest ‘How Couples Meet and Stay Together Study’ from Stanford University.

Nichi Hodgson, author of The Curious History of Dating: From Jane Austen to Tinder, in an interview with Yahoo UK claims that striking up a relationship with a colleague is now “less sociably acceptable”.

Despite the fact that we’re spending longer hours in the workplace, we are now more cautious than ever about a co-worker relationship turning into something romantic, according to Hodgson, due to the #MeToo movement.

The movement aims to tackle workplace sexual harassment and assault, and has been building since Tarana Burke started it back in 2006. It caught fire in 2017 after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke.

 

Nichi Hodgeson claims that “workplace relationships need to be conducted very carefully to ensure there’s no breach of company behavioural guidelines.” I mean, it ain’t that hard not to be a creep.

Hodgson also argues that we shouldn’t necessarily be disappointed by the end of the workplace romance:

“They don’t necessarily show you someone’s true colours – you won’t see how tender or angry someone can be at work, for example, because the majority of people are on their best behaviour,” she says.

“Just because they’re a good team player at work doesn’t mean they necessarily will be in a relationship.”

Online dating and apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and OK Cupid are now taking the lead in bringing people together, with almost one-in-four (39 percent) of heterosexual couples meeting through those platforms.

This is an increase since 2009, when the stats showed 22 percent of hetero couples meeting online, according to the Stanford University findings.

Meeting through friends is still a popular means of finding your future partner, but it’s much less common than it was in the past. Over a third (34 percent) of people met this way in 1990, but it’s now just one in five (20 percent)

“Dating apps may have only been around for a decade but they have a radical hold on our affections when it comes to meeting a partner, mainly because they are so convenient in our ever time-pressed lives,” Hodgson says.

“They’re not necessarily leading to better connections though for multiple reasons – they create a paradox of choice, giving us too many people to choose between when social scientists tell us we get cognitive overload somewhere between five and nine options,” she continues.

“Dating apps are encouraging us to be ruder with behaviours,” Hodgson adds, which is due to a “lack of accountability needed from users”. Overall, Hodgson believes that dating apps can still lead to a stable, long-term match.

“When we do finally choose a serious partner from a dating app, we are likely to stick with them – we are taking longer to settle on someone but that is producing more stable long-term matches when we finally commit.”