Young Love at Work: Perceived Effects of Workplace Romance among Millennial Generation Organizational Members.

This study examined workplace romance perceptions among Millennial employees who had participated in a workplace romance and those who had observed one. Two samples (workplace romance partners and coworkers) of 18- to 29-year-old employees completed questionnaires in which they reported their perceptions of workplace romance's positive and negative effects. The relationships between the effects and respondent role (partner/coworker), sex (male/female), and the romance's status dynamic (peer-peer/hierarchical) were also examined. Results indicate Millennial workplace romance partners focused on personal benefits and difficulties, whereas coworkers tended to identify organizational impacts. Women were more likely than men to identify drawbacks of workplace romance, and employees reporting on hierarchical versus peer-peer romances were more likely to identify the partners gaining workplace advantages. Implications for work-life blending and workplace romance policies geared toward Millennial organizational members are discussed.