Relationship between workplace romance, job involvement, and work effort: moderating roles of gender and workplace romance types

This study advances research on workplace romance, employees’ work-related attitudes, and discretionary work behaviors by drawing on a positive psychology theory to theorize interrelations between workplace romance, job involvement, and employees’ work effort and provide empirical evidence of these interrelations. Data were collected in two waves (three months apart) from 365 supervisor-employee dyads in 64 firms from different Chinese manufacturing sectors. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM), bootstrapping, and multigroup techniques. The present study found that workplace romance was positively related to employees’ work effort. Moreover, employees’ job involvement fully mediates the positive relationship between workplace romance and employees’ work effort. Importantly, by using multigroup analysis, the current research found that workplace romance types – hierarchical/lateral and licit/illicit (extramarital) moderate the indirect relationship between workplace romance and employees’ work effort. This study offers important implications for managers and policymakers of business organizations in China and elsewhere.