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When made to choose between romance and work, most Indians say 'I don’t', if they want to advance in their career. According to a global poll conducted by Monster.com, 39% of respondents are opposed to office romances, saying that dating a colleague would harm their career and they would never start a romantic relationship at work.
Among Indian respondents, only 9% were willing to pursue an office romance despite believing it would harm their career.
Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com - India/West Asia/ Southeast Asia said that Indians are conservatives when it comes to emotions such as love. "Career on the other hand makes a large part of a person’s social standing. Especially so for men! In view of that, classically an Indian chooses career over a casual fling but having said that there are examples of many Indians finding their soul mates at work," he said.
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Almost 27% of international respondents do not think an office romance would harm their career and would consider dating a colleague. A cavalier 19% believe that while an office romance would hurt their career, they would pursue a colleague anyway if there is mutual attraction.
Respondents from the US were the most opposed to office romances. More than half (52%) believe office romances are harmful and would never consider dating a colleague. US also has the lowest rate of 'not harmful and I would date a colleague' answers, at only 18%.
On the other end French respondents upheld their country’s reputation for l’amour: 72% think an office romance would harm their career but, if there was a mutual attraction, 49% would throw caution to the wind and pursue a colleague anyway (doubling the responses from Germany, a distant second place in reckless romanticism at 24%).
"If you’re interested in pursuing a colleague, treading carefully is always the smart approach. An equally important factor is seniority. Dating between employees at the same company, when either one works for the other or is in a more senior position, can be very controversial and many companies prohibit it. No one should jeopardize a good job for a quick fling. But, if you develop a very special connection with a co-worker, remember that exploring other career options is easy; true love is hard to find," said Mary Ellen Slayter, Career Advice Expert for Monster.
The Monster Global poll, a product of Monster, the premier global online employment solution and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc., is a series of online polls that gauge users’ opinions on a variety of topics relating to careers, the economy and the workplace. The results of the current Monster Global Poll are based on votes cast by Monster visitors from January 6-20, 2014.
