Your Boss Doesn’t Hate That You’re Dating a Co-Worker—Survey Says So!

Romance at work may get a bad rap. But new SHRM research—released in time for Valentine’s Day—indicates it may actually have benefits that extend beyond those directly involved.  

In fact, 63% of the managers surveyed said workplace romances had a positive impact on their team’s dynamics, according to SHRM’s 2025 Workplace Romance Research. Another 25% of managers indicated these relationships had no impact, and the remaining 12% said at-work romance negatively impacted team dynamics.

The 2024 edition of the survey also had good news on this front: Researchers found 85% of workers who were romantically involved felt their relationships improved their mood at work, and 83% said their relationships positively influenced both their motivation and sense of belonging at work. 

All of this is especially important because workplace romance is common. Slightly more than half of the 1,071 U.S. workers surveyed for 2025 (52%) said they are either currently in a workplace romance or have had a relationship with someone at work in the past.  

But this trend may not continue at the same rate, if workplace crushes are a reliable indicator: 22% of workers surveyed said they’d had a crush on a co-worker in the past year, and 16% said they’d been on a date with a colleague in the same period. Both figures are down from 2024, when 49% of workers said they had a co-worker crush and 21% had gone out with someone from work in the past year. 

Managing Workplace Romance 

Most managers (77%) reported that they felt prepared to handle these romances when employees disclosed them. More than two-thirds of managers—67%—told researchers their organization had equipped them sufficiently to guide the situation. Managers who had dealt with the issue also self-reported “effective” handling of the situation, at 80%.  

However, the 2,283 HR professionals who were surveyed had a bit less confidence about their own preparedness. Just shy of 60% said their training was “sufficient” for managing voluntarily disclosed romances, and the number dropped to 54% for relationships reported by those not involved in the romance.  

The SRHM survey also found that policies about romance at work differ, both in content and presentation, by organization.  

One-third of respondents indicated their guidelines were “clear and structured,” while another third said described their policies as “flexible,” and 22% characterized them as “hands-off.” Only 5% considered their company’s policies to be “strict and restrictive,” and 7% reported that policies were “evolving” at their organization. 

The employee handbook is the most common way employers communicate their policies on workplace romance. Almost two-thirds (64%) spell out their guidelines there. The onboarding process is also a relatively common time to set expectations around this issue, and some companies provided training sessions where romance was covered. However, 22% of respondents said their organization does not have set policies for workplace romance. 

Many HR professionals cited the perception of favoritism or unfair treatment (68%) as their top concern regarding these relationships, and 61% feared they would cause conflicts of interest. But reputational harm to the organization was not viewed as a primary worry: Only 10% of HR professionals indicated it was top of mind. 

“This research underscores the need for clear policies, effective training, and an organizational culture fostering transparency and fairness,” SHRM President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, said in a news release announcing the research. 

Review the complete findings via this downloadable infographic.