The water cooler is not for flirting anymore
Niv Bavarsky
On Tuesdays, the Brew’s Matty Merritt brings you the news you need to make life a little easier during your 9-5, 5-9, or OOO.
Looks like y’all are actually clocking in and locking in. People aren’t dating their coworkers like they used to:
- Just 16% of survey respondents said they went on a date with a coworker last year, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
- Back in 2008, 40% of those surveyed by The Harris Poll said they went out with a coworker.
Even cubicle yearning is down: Last year, 22% of people reported having an office crush compared to 49% in 2024, according to SHRM.
What changed? More sexual harassment trainings, blanket bans on intra-office romance, and the boom of (and burnout from) online dating all seem to have played a role.