Study by Blind Reveals Cupid's Arrows Are Targeting the HR Department

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- "Workplace Romance in America" study reveals the most romantic careers, companies with the most available professionals, departments with the best work-dating life balance

Blind, the anonymous workplace network with more than 3.2 million work-email verified users, today announced the results of its Workplace Romance in America survey. The survey polled thousands of employees from some of the country's most prominent companies to discover just how willing people are to explore extracurricular relationships with coworkers. It turns out, employees who work in the Human Resource department are most likely to date co-workers.

"We often hear the advice to not date coworkers, but that wisdom might be based on unrealistic expectations," said Kyum Kim, Blind co-founder. "We spend so much of our time at the office and communicating with colleagues that it's only natural for relationships to blossom. One-third of employees noted discussing their dating life with their peers while one-quarter of has dated a co-worker."

Human Relations Departments More Likely to be in Human Relationships

Employees in the Human Resource department seem to be most predisposed to finding love in adjoining cubicles.

• 42 percent of people who work in HR departments have dated coworkers at some point, compared to one-quarter for the entire sample.
• Nearly 8 percent of HR people are currently dating coworkers, nearly double the total of those surveyed.
• The Marketing and Communications department is the next-most excitable group at work. Almost 39 percent have dated a coworker, and 54 percent talk about their dating lives at work, the highest mark of any department.
• Thirty-six percent of those working in Sales, Service and Support departments have also dated coworkers.

Work-Dating Life Balance Does Exist, Just not for VPs

For 45 percent of employees, work does not interfere with their dating life. However, some rungs of the corporate ladder are more likely to feel otherwise. In particular, VPs and executives might be doing a bit more swiping than expected. "Having a balance between work and extracurricular activities such as dating might allow employees to feel more comfortable at work," Kim notes. "Keeping employees content will reduce the likelihood of turnover. That's why it's so important for companies to understand the impact of work on their employees' lives outside of working hours."

• People who listed themselves as VP or above are the second-most likely group (30 percent) to feel that work "very much" interferes with their dating lives. This group is also more likely than (31 percent) the sample as a whole (26 percent) to be active on dating apps or websites.
• People who record themselves as a "manager" are the most likely (32 percent) to report that work interferes with their dating lives.
• Dating is hard but working at these companies makes it even harder. Wayfair, Apple, Uber, Microsoft, Visa, and Amazon have the lowest scores when it comes to work dating-life balance.
• For those looking for a dating-life balance, employees at these companies reported that work does not interfere with their dating life.

1. Indeed (65 percent)
2. Oracle (57 percent)
3. WeWork, Spotify, Intuit (55 percent)
4. Google (52 percent)
5. Booking.com (52 percent)
6. VMware (51 percent)
7. Salesforce, eBay, JPMorgan Chase (50 percent)
8. Goldman Sachs, Expedia (48 percent)
9. Facebook (47 percent)
10. Bloomberg (46 percent)

Finding Love Might Be Easier at These Companies

If you are looking for love and don't mind potentially sharing a cubicle with your partner, there are a few places you might want to apply. Out of the 4 percent of the population currently dating a coworker, these companies have the highest rate of employees dating each other:

• ExxonMobil (14 percent)
• Symantec, StubHub, Booking.com (13 percent)
• DigitalOcean (11 percent)
• Splunk, American Express (10 percent)
• Indeed.com, Credit Karma, Twitch (9 percent)

Dating Apps: To Use or Not to Use?

For many, swiping left or right has become a second job. The majority of those surveyed (74 percent) have opted not to swipe to find romance. Nearly 4 percent are currently dating coworkers while 25 percent have dated a coworker in the past. Michele Leung, Head of Brand Marketing suggests, "that initial in-person meeting that most people prefer is something that even the most advanced dating apps can't replace. And given how much time people spend at work, it's not surprising that some would seek out those in-person interactions there."

• The companies with the least amount of employees on a dating app are: VMware, JPMorgan Chase, eBay, Oracle, PayPal, SAP, Adobe, and Salesforce.
• 77 percent of Indeed.com employees are not using dating apps, while nine percent are currently dating coworkers.
• 5 percent of Microsoft employees are currently dating coworkers, and a greater-than-average proportion (79 percent) are not using dating apps.
• NVIDIA and WeWork both feature workforces where 5 percent are dating coworkers and 77 percent are not using dating apps.
• Wayfair, IBM, Capital One, and Goldman Sachs have over 43 percent of employees active on dating apps.

Discussing Dating at Work

People in some industries are more likely than the entire sample size to discuss their dating lives. For example:

• People who work in tech (everything from Apple to Cisco) and for consumer goods companies (like Juul, eBay, and Groupon) are more buttoned-up about their dating lives.
• Just 34 percent of consumer goods industry people say they discuss their dating lives at work, compared to 38 percent for all respondents.
• Folks who work for Goldman Sachs are extremely hush-hush about their dating lives. Just 28 percent of respondents talk about their romantic endeavors at the office.
• Companies with the majority of employees trading dating stories and advice include:

1. Tesla (65 percent)
2. DocuSign (60 percent)
3. Digital Ocean (56 percent)
4. Spotify (55 percent)
5. Box, Overstock (53 percent)
6. Qualtrics (52 percent)
7. Zillow (51 percent)
8. Indeed.com, Mailchimp, ExxonMobil, Flexpoort, Bank of America (50 percent)
9. Yelp (48 percent)
10. Workday (47 percent)

The survey was conducted from January 17th - January 29th, 2020. Blind received survey responses from a total of 8,754 users.

For more study and survey results as well as the latest employee sentiment findings, follow Blind on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Join your company's conversation at teamblind.com.

ABOUT BLIND
Founded in 2013, Blind is an anonymous professional network where more than 3.2 million verified professionals connect to discuss workplace matters. Blind provides private company channels, where users communicate with co-workers, and an open forum, where users can communicate across companies and industries. Because it is anonymous, Blind users share information like job offer details, honest company feedback, and direct advice, without fear of judgment or retribution.

Blind is a platform for change, encouraging transparency in corporate culture by breaking down professional barriers empowering employees with knowledge. The company has raised $24M in funding from Softbank Ventures Asia, Storm Ventures, ID Ventures, and DCM Ventures.

Contact:

Michele Leung
Head of Brand Marketing - Blind
[email protected]

Or

Tiffany Schramm Behany
BOCA Communications for Blind
[email protected]

SOURCE Blind