Transforming the workplace into a living space is a trend that is on the rise. Particularly at large companies such as Google, or even within young dynamic start-ups, everything is done to make the employee feel like at home. open space, sleeping pods, all-inclusive kitchens, relaxation and games rooms, integration days and even company trips. Everything encourages the employee to enjoy spending time at work…
This fashion has the effect of blurring the distinction between professional and private life, but it is not the only cause. We also note that relations between employees are also subject to transformations that have a significant impact on what was once a tight boundary between our life at work and our life outside. Let’s explore the subject.
Friends at work: advantage or disadvantage?
94%. This is the percentage of employees saying have a colleague at work whom they consider to be a true friend. Can we be surprised? When we pass almost half of our week with our colleagues, there are many opportunities to form friendships. If we add the time spent with these people outside working hours, it is certain that some employees spend more time with their colleagues than with their own relatives. Indeed, 88% of them admit that the time spent with their colleagues extends well beyond 38 hours spent at work.
Apart from the lack of constructive feedback and the negative impact on productivity that these friendships cause, 74% of employees agree that these relationships result in blur the line between private and professional life. Gone are the days when we had two very separate lives. These mix more than ever.
However, this observation is not only negative. Indeed, a large majority of employees say that having friends at work is an advantage for their professional life. They consider, for example, that these relationships increase their job satisfaction, improve communication between the different employees of the company and encourage collaboration. Friendships between the employees of a company make it possible to establish a climate of trust, almost family, within a company.
It is up to everyone to judge whether maintaining such close relations with their colleagues is worth it, and to impose limits when necessary. These limits are all the more important when we know that friendships made at work are just as easily undonein particular by the feeling of competition, jealousy or gossip that are omnipresent in the workplace.
A friend can then quickly turn into an enemy. As 74% of employees say, having an enemy or rival at work not only causes stress, but can also have a significant impact on an individual’s private life. Difficult indeed not to brood over an argument at work in the evening after work.
Imposing some limits therefore seems necessary. Speaking of boundaries, let’s look at the topic of the impact of romantic relationships at work.
The impact of romantic relationships at work
If there is a situation where any concept of the boundary between private and professional life can be forgotten, it is when a romantic relationship forms between two employees.
It may come as a surprise, but this type of relationship is extremely common. 75% of employees claim to have had a romantic relationship with one of their colleagues. This represents three out of four employees. In the age of dating apps, the workplace is therefore an essential place to meet your other half in a more natural way.
The impact on the privacy of individuals is obvious, since this colleague suddenly transformed into a partner will necessarily have to share your daily life well outside working hours.
Nevertheless, it would seem that the majority of employees adapt well to these relationships at the office. No more taboos and relationships hidden from curious eyes: 75% of working people say they have no problem with their colleague having a romantic relationship with another employee, even if it is a romantic relationship. between a colleague at the same level and a hierarchical superior!
All is not all rosy, however. These romantic relationships formed at work can have a very dark impact on employees’ private lives. In fact, 67% of the latter say they know someone who has cheated on their spouse or partner with one of their work colleagues.
One can hardly imagine a more negative consequence of the blurring between private and professional life than a marriage or a relationship destroyed by a love affair at work. This is probably why 8 out of 10 employees would consider leaving their current job if they started a relationship with a colleague. A little common sense, it would seem.
Redefining relationships at work
The heart is governed by its own laws, so it can be difficult to come to a consensus on what is or is not an acceptable relationship in the workplace. Having colleagues with whom you get on well seems essential, but when certain relationships ignite (negatively or positively) this is not without consequences for the private lives of employees.
At a time when questions of sexual harassment are omnipresent, one can also wonder what role companies play in controlling these relationships that flourish in the workplace. Of the’other side of the Atlantic, organizations, for example, suggest that fellow lovers use an application to confirm their consent to their relationship. Whether this in itself is an invasion of employee privacy.
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