:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-1417607889-754ee439047f4ea6ba643c95b73d8233.jpg "Thinking of Dating Your Boss? New Research Shows What Happens to Your Paycheck (Spoiler: Drama)")
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Key Takeaways
- Dating a manager can boost a subordinate’s pay, but a breakup can slash their earnings, a recent study found.
- The financial and career fallout lasts for years—employees were more likely to leave the workforce and less likely to make strategic job moves after a breakup.
- Workplace romances can also hurt team morale and retention, as coworkers may perceive favoritism when someone dates a manager.
When the married CEO of Astronomer, a start-up, was spotted on a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert with the Chief People Officer at his company earlier this year, the fallout from this public display of their affair was swift—both the CEO and the HR executive resigned in the following days.
As it turns out, the cost of a workplace relationship—even for those who aren’t executives—can be significant, according to a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
The economists looked at data on couples living together in Finland. They found that while entering a relationship with a manager resulted in a 6% boost in earnings for the subordinate, breaking up cost that person a whopping 18% in earnings.
And the negative consequences of dating and breaking up with a manager followed the employee for roughly four years after the break-up.
The subordinate was 13 percentage points more likely to leave the workforce after a breakup and less likely to make strategic moves to different companies afterwards.
Break-ups also had negative effects on others in the workplace. There was a six percentage point decline in the retention of other workers at the company when the relationship began. This is because other workers may believe that a subordinate is receiving special treatment for being in a relationship with a supervisor.
“For instance, workers who observe a peer dating a manager may attribute the pay increases we document to favoritism rather than merit, potentially undermining morale,” wrote the economists. “Such perceptions can have broader consequences, including increased turnover rates within affected establishments.”
While workplace romances are already on the decline (just 11% of heterosexual couples in 2017 reported meeting as coworkers or through coworkers or compared to 19% in 1995), these findings suggest that people should continue to exercise a great deal of caution when considering whether to date a supervisor.
A workplace breakup could affect more than one’s emotions—it might influence their future paychecks, too.
