Attraction in organizations: A model of workplace romance

Pierce, Charles A.; Byrne, Donn; Aguinis, Herman

doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-1379(199601)17:1<5::aid-job734>3.0.co;2-e

Cited by 121 publications

(223 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(103 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

210

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Romantic relationships at the workplace are consensual and mutually welcomed (Clarke, 2006). Ariani (2011) explained that workplace romances are characterized by desiring to be with the other person and feelings of emotional and physical attraction, which may lead to a sharing of personal information, mutual caring and respect, and quite likely sexual behavior such as touching, kissing and hugging, and sexual intercourse (Pierce et al, 1996). Lickey (2009) described workplace romance as working together allows people to get to know each other and as familiarity grows, workplace romances may be more likely to occur.…”

Section: Romance At Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Levels of productivity may be lower at the start of the relationship as large amounts of time and energy are invested in it. Once the initial excitement of the new romance lessens, productivity tends to rise steadily (Pierce et al, 1996). Those who show a love motive avoid the negative consequences of inadequate performance by demonstrating increased effort in order to impress their supervisors.…”

Section: Romance At Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The nexus between informal relationships at work and employee retention: a review

Priyasad

Weerasinghe

2018

Kelaniya J. Hum. Res. Mgt.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The present paper reviews and summarizes the key findings ofresearch on the effect of informal relationships at work on employee retention featuring the main three aspects of informal relationships at work: friendship; romance and negative relationships. Building on Maslow's (1954) hierarchy of needs theory, a narrative literature review of all the relevant research papers known to the authors was conducted. It is found that friendship at the workplace is positively correlated with employee retention whereas negative relationships at the workplace inversely effect on employee retention. However, the underline relationships between romance at the workplace and employee retention is not clear and consistent in extant literature, so that, it remains yet to be investigatedfurther in future research studies.The findings ofthe current review support the general notion that workplace is not a mere place to come and work, but it is a complex societal system through which people try to fulfill their social needs, included relationships at the workplace.

show abstract

Section: Romance At Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Romance At Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nexus between informal relationships at work and employee retention: a review

Priyasad

Weerasinghe

2018

Kelaniya J. Hum. Res. Mgt.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Since people are more likely to be sexually attracted to people who share similar attitudes and interests, the workplace is a suitable setting to start a love relation (Smith, Becker, Byrne, & Przybyla, 1993). "Working closely with others appears to foster interpersonal attraction" (Maniero, 1986, p. 752), and when employees work overtime and attend out-of-town conferences together, they are naturally more inclined to socialize with each other (Pierce, Byrne, & Aguinis, 1996). Gutek, Cohen, and Konrad (1990) found that non-work-related sexualized behavior such as sexual jokes, comments, and innuendo had no significant effect on employees' self-reports of romances at work, but did influence their tendency to others' romances.…”

Section: The Context Of Workplace Romancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Workplace Romances: “Going to Work Is Amazing and Really Fun”

Tengberg

Tidefors

2016

IJPS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Much of the research on workplace romance has been conducted in the United States, and the focus has often been on negative consequences and risks for gender discrimination. The purpose of this study was to obtain an understanding of workplace romance through the point of view of those involved. Data were collected from five female participants and five male participants in separate focus groups; all participants had started a love affair at work. The thematic analysis of the transcripts showed that having a workplace romance was mostly a positive experience. However, all participants described the need to keep their romances secret for two main reasons: one, to avoid possible negative consequences, and the other, to enjoy feelings associated with a secret love affair. To some degree, the participants seemed to excuse themselves more readily than others whose behavior they thought was worse. When asked about workplace rules and policies, the participants wavered between expressing negative views and describing situations where rules could be needed.Keywords: excitement, focus group study, secrecy, sexuality, workplace romance IntroductionIn his article, "Coping with Cupid", Quinn (1977) examined workplace romances, focusing on people's motives to engage in such relationships. Subsequent research has not closely addressed the issues raised by Quinn's research. Mainiero (1986) described workplace romances as the "new sexual revolution" and Parks (2006) claimed the phenomenon was relatively common. Powell's (2012) study, one of the few to address the consequences of workplace romances from an organizational perspective, attributed their increase to the steady increase in women in the workplace at all organizational levels, offering the example of the United States, where women grew from 39% in 1973 to 47% of the labor force in 2010. Many Western countries have experienced a similar development, and in Sweden today 82% of all women are employed (Statistics Sweden, 2012).According to Powell and Foley (1998), managers of organizations and researchers in organizational psychology tend to be uncomfortable with discussing the topic of workplace romance and sexuality in a public forum; many researchers have no wish to be associated with the popular tabloid media's sensationalizing of romances, especially illicit ones that begin in the workplace. This resistance is less pronounced among researchers in the United States, where reportedly 90% of such research has been conducted (Boyd, 2010). However, the general theme in studies on workplace romance, especially in the United States, is often on negative consequences; positive experiences are seldom highlighted (Boyd, 2010;Wilson, 2015). Boyd explains that this harm-perspective may arise partly from a puritanical view of sexual relationships and partly from an increased focus on sexual harassment highlighted by the feminist movement. Zelizer (2009) wrote that many managers and employees may be wary of entering a workplace romance because the organization's policies ...

show abstract

“…Collaboration increases the likelihood of having a fair or falling in love at work (Karl & Sutton, 2000;Pierce, Byrne, & Aguinis, 1996). It can lead to informal interaction and to feelings of affection.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Workplace Romances on the Example of Partner Selection Among Teacher-Couples - Student Teachers’ Perceptions

Mikkola

Salonen

Määttä

et al. 2013

jsss

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Romantic relationships in workplaces have remained unexplored from the lovers' perspective even though the research on love, partner selection, and workplace romances is relatively extensive. The purpose of this study is to contribute an analysis of partner selection among colleagues, and student teachers were selected as an interesting target group because of the special nature of teachers' work. Two research questions were set for the study: how do teacher-couples start their relationship and what factors explain partner selection among them according to student teachers' perceptions and experiences? The purpose was to describe their opinions on why teacher-marriages are so common, how love begins, and what combines teachers. The data were collected in the form of essays through an email that was addressed to the members of Finnish student organizations in colleges of education. Altogether 32 replies were received. The essays were analyzed with a theory-based approach by categorizing answers into six pre-determined categories. The purpose was to find out how partner selection among teachers corresponded to the select types of partner selection. Homogamy and completion-based partner selection appeared the most common. In addition, teachers' role as emotional educators is pointed out and discussed in the light of the results of this study.

show abstract

Attraction in organizations: A model of workplace romance

Cited by 121 publications

References 79 publications

The nexus between informal relationships at work and employee retention: a review

The nexus between informal relationships at work and employee retention: a review

Workplace Romances: “Going to Work Is Amazing and Really Fun”

Workplace Romances on the Example of Partner Selection Among Teacher-Couples - Student Teachers’ Perceptions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About