Love is all around us in the workplace : But how does it affect the romantically involved?

Purpose The paper examines relationships in the workplace. It considers issues such as employee engagement, decisions to be in a relationship with a co-worker and its effects on commitment certainty in a sample of adults. They all said they were currently working with their romantic partner. Design/methodology/approach Bearing in mind that workplace romance can be a taboo topic, the researchers recruited participants anonymously from online social media websites. Findings Some participants said that they were motivated to be in a romantic relationship with a co-worker to increase status. They tended to report lower levels of engagement. However, when relationships hit a tricky patch and/or they felt uncertainty about the relationship, these participants tended to commit themselves more, rather than less to their work. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the influence of workplace romantic relationships in the context of employee engagement. It also documents links between workplace relationships and performance variables.