Attitudes have apparently become more open toward office romances in this prolonged period of social distancing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the chances to meet new people at bars, restaurants and other places in public. Often, the only opportunity for lonely hearts to find a potential mate is through the workplace, even via online meetings.

Tameny Inc., a company that offers bridal services as well as help in finding a marriage partner, conducted a survey in spring 2021 on 162 young people who just started their careers.

It found that 45.7 percent of respondents “desired office dating,” up by 7.5 points from a similar survey conducted four years ago.

The top reasons given for seeking workplace romances reflect the realities in the pandemic: there are no opportunities to meet people; in terms of the infection risk, it feels safer (to date) within the company where we regularly meet, and; the constraints are lower because we are working remotely.

But there are other risks nowadays, especially if the lovers want to keep their relationship a secret.

A 29-year-old woman who lives in Tokyo started dating a 28-year-old co-worker about four months ago.

Things were going well until Jan. 21, when the man told her, “I tested positive for the virus.”
He also gave the workplace her name as a “close contact.”

“My office love affair got out because I was a close contact,” she said. “It is a small company, so word spread easily. I just hate being teased, so I hid the relationship because revealing it would have made my job more difficult.”

The pandemic had brought the two together in what has been termed a “coronaka” (corona relationship) on social media.

After the fifth wave of infections died down last year, the two hit it off by sharing their frustrations about COVID-19-related restrictions in life.

During the New Year’s holidays, they returned to their hometowns. They later met and exchanged souvenirs brought from their hometowns.

The following day, her boyfriend tested positive.

Although their relationship is now out in the open, the pandemic also seems to have changed opinions about such secrecy.

According to Tameny’s survey, 16.1 percent of respondents said workplace relationships should be kept private.

Four years ago, 41.3 percent of respondents called for secrecy.

In May 2021, Yushun Kido, 29, reported his relationship with a co-worker to the company. They had dated for about a year and a half and decided to get married.

“We grew even closer as we spent more time at home,” Kido said.

Publicly announcing the relationship “makes it easier to do the job than hiding it from (the company),” he said.

A COMMON MEETING PLACE 

Yoshihiro Kawana, a professor of psychology in relationships at Rissho University, said opportunities to meet a mate “happen overwhelmingly at workplaces.”

In August 2021, Kawana surveyed 1,000 people between the ages of 20 and 49, instructing them to “think about the one person whom you are most romantically interested in.”

The survey asked where or how they met their love interest.

More than 40 percent of respondents, both male and female, said it was the workplace.

Eight to 15 percent of the responses were: “introduced by a friend,” “in my school days” and “through social media,” while “matchmaking party” and “through a matchmaking service company” were chosen by about 2 percent each.

“Meeting someone outside was way less common than I expected,” Kawana said. “I think the coronavirus has had a big impact.”

The professor added: “When a person feels unsure about his or her life, both men and women may feel a desire to produce offspring and build a mutual support system, and that’s how psychology works. A person you know at work, whom you would never think of as a love interest, may be promoted to a lover because of the uncertainties in the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Companies usually have clearly defined regulations concerning harassment and office relationships.

Even if a relationship is consensual, it can be frowned upon if there is a big age difference or if it involves a boss and a subordinate.

“Office romances are always dogged by the possibility of criticism by others just because they happen at the workplace,” Kawana said. They are actually common, but the fact that they tend to be kept secret remained true after the COVID-19 pandemic started.”

DYM Co., a human resource services company, has encouraged interoffice relationships since 2011.

If a couple reports their workplace relationship to DYM, the employer pays them 30,000 yen ($260).

The company implemented the voluntary system in hopes of enhancing the lives of its employees.

Over 11 years, 13 couples have reported their affairs to the company, including one report within the past year, DYM said. The couples included Kido and his lover.

But it is only a one-time offer, the company said.