Could an office tryst cost you your career?

Quick question for you: office tryst, yay or nay?

Conventional wisdom says you probably shouldn’t date your boss. Many a CEO head has rolled due to an office romance.

But until the axe falls, it might bag you a pay rise. Especially if you’re a dude.

Research published in the journal Strategic Organization in August found that when chief execs get pinged for personal misconduct, the result is usually fatal to their career – and costs the company too.

As an example, the researchers refer to the case of Hewlett-Packard’s Mark Hurd. After he was forced to resign for sexual harassment in 2010, the company’s share price took a 10 per cent hit. So we know personal indiscretions are bad for shareholder value.

But a new report by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Finland has found for the subordinate in the pair, favouritism has its perks.

Dating your boss can increase earnings by 6 per cent, it found – thanks to promotions, pay bumps, and other perks awarded by the person in the higher role.

The lower-ranked person also benefited from extra mentoring and work support that helped them extend their skills as well.

And while the most common profile was women who were dating their male managers, in the rarer instance of men dating their female bosses, the boost to earnings was “even higher”.

But when the wheels fall off the romance, so do the perks. In spectacular style.

A break-up leads to an abrupt 18 per cent decline in the subordinate’s earnings, which persisted for four years after the end of the relationship. Ouch.

The study also found retention of non-involved colleagues (innocent bystanders) fell 14 per cent over the four years following the start of a boss-subordinate office romance.

So basically, dating the boss might offer a short-term personal benefit, but it will really annoy your colleagues, and if it doesn’t work out, your career will suffer in the longer term.

Not telling you what to do, but at least now you’re well-informed.

On a different note, this week saw more WFH drama as the Financial Services Union called on the big banks to review their return-to-office mandates following the infamous Westpac Fair Work decision.

Patrick Durkin takes us inside the proxy wars drawing blood this AGM season as investors let their dissatisfaction be known – and boards fight back.

And we deep dive into sleep and performance: how much do you need, and how do you get it?

Lastly, listen to 15 Minutes with the Boss where we hear why relationships, not hard graft, are the key to landing that promotion.

🎧 Find that episode here, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

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We hope you enjoyed this newsletter. We welcome your comments and feedback, which you can send to rachael.bolton@afr.com.