The post-COVID-19 return to the office has contributed to a rise in office romances, according to the “2024 Workplace Romance Study" from the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). Nearly half (49%) of respondents reported having a crush on a co-worker and 21% said they had gone on a date with a co-worker.

Unfortunately, not every Pam finds their Jim. And when workplace romances come to an end, things can get messier than dropping a pot of chili. While 62% of workers who used to be in a workplace relationship continued to work with their ex, 10% left a job they liked because of a breakup.

“From the employer's perspective, it's one issue if you have to hire a new worker because there's a cost to that, but the entire work environment could be impacted by a relationship that goes south in the workplace—not just for the two people that are involved in that relationship," says Chris Williams, employment practices liability product manager at Travelers.

From an employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) perspective, the primary risk an office romance brings is sexual harassment, which is “prohibited by the federal statute Title VII," Williams explains. “Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees and prohibits unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. It constitutes sexual harassment when that conduct affects an individual's employment, interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment."

While Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges alleging sexual harassment dropped during the pandemic, from 7,514 in 2019 to 6,587 in 2020 and 5,581 in 2021, claims saw an uptick in 2022 to 6,201 and again in 2023 to 7,732. The increase is “driven by people going back into the office and interacting more, as well as work dinners and business travel picking back up," Williams says.

Williams outlined three scenarios that could create potential liability for employers, with the first one being “an employee pursuing a romantic relationship with a coworker and that pursuit is unwelcome," he says. “It could be during work hours or outside of work hours, and one party may think they're engaging in innocent behavior, but the other person may perceive it as harassment. We've seen this manifest in claims through off-the-cuff remarks, unwelcome hugs, text messages—and alcohol tends to exacerbate these situations."

The second risk scenario is when “two employees are in an office relationship and then one party terminates the relationship, but the rejected party doesn't accept it," Williams says. “That can give rise to a sexual harassment claim or potentially a retaliation claim."

The third scenario is if a senior employee is engaged in a relationship with a subordinate employee. “There's a power imbalance, and it can be difficult for the subordinate employee to extricate themselves from the relationship," Williams says. “We've seen claims in which a manager required the sharing of a hotel room or wrote up a separate job description for the employee."

To reduce risks resulting from office romances, companies must first of all “create and enforce a company culture that doesn't tolerate sexual harassment," Williams says. “The organization leadership should lead the charge on that. The company should also have a policy on sexual harassment that is provided to all employees—and followed."

“Consider sexual harassment training for all employees, which some states actually do mandate," Williams adds. “Also, consider a hotline for employees to report sexual harassment issues."

While banning all romantic relationships in an office might not be realistic, “banning relationships between managers and subordinates is reasonable" and “agents should urge businesses to purchase an EPLI policy," Williams adds. “It's impossible for employers to control every relationship and interaction between employees, but there's always a risk for a claim."

AnneMarie McPherson Spears is IA news editor.