Workplace romance is prevalent and consequential in modern organizations, yet research on the phenomenon remains theoretically fragmented across organizational behavior and human resource management perspectives. Accordingly, this study synthesizes the workplace romance literature using a theory-driven framework to develop a more integrated understanding of its antecedents, mechanisms, and organizational consequences.
This study employs a systematic literature review of 61 research articles published in Scopus-indexed journals.
The findings show that workplace romance operates as a multi-level organizational phenomenon shaped by interaction patterns, power dynamics, fairness perceptions, and social interpretations, with both positive (e.g. engagement, commitment, well-being) and negative (e.g. bias, conflict, ostracism) consequences. These outcomes are contingent on relational motives, contextual conditions, organizational governance, and broader institutional environments.
The findings provide insights for decision-makers in designing balanced workplace relationship policies, strengthening fairness and governance mechanisms, and fostering inclusive and ethical organizational climates.
The study contributes to broader discussions on inclusion, fairness, and employee well-being by highlighting how workplace romance intersects with issues of gender, power, identity, and organizational ethics, supporting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
This study contributes by offering an integrated conceptual framework and a multidisciplinary future research agenda that advance theoretical integration in workplace romance research while highlighting emerging areas such as identity diversity, organizational governance, and contextual variation.
