C.S.S To Release First “Work Spouse’ Survey In Kenya

Do you have a go-to person of the opposite gender in the office with whom you’ve formed a tight friendship? Then you most likely have a “work spouse.”

A work spouse is a colleague of the opposite gender with whom you have a strong friendship with and who meets your emotional needs in the workplace. They offer a close connection, support and advice on both work and personal issues. The relationship is ideally platonic.

Corporate Staffing Services Ltd commissioned the study to find out the extent of work spouse relationships in Kenyan organizations, their characteristics and their influence in personal, corporate as well as social lives of employees.

The survey was also aimed at finding how human resource professionals view work spouse relationships and their effects.

We believe that human beings are driven by the natural urge to be social. In the work environment, work spouses play a key role in fulfilling this urge.

Work spouses make employees feel safe and supported because they have someone to bounce their ideas off of without feeling shy. They also help employees get more done faster because they work more seamless rather than if either of them had to work with someone less in synch with them.

On the flipside, work spouse relationships have an adverse effect on work productivity. They can lead to hurt feelings, divisiveness, tarnished reputations, and even attrition if employees feel they are in an unhealthy work environment. Additionally, just like in a real relationship, fallouts can be very messy.

A total of 2,550 Kenyan employees comprising of 49% male and 51% female participated in the online survey. In addition, we interviewed 150 human resource professionals who comprised of 70% female and 30% male.

The report will be available for download here once it is launched on 10th February 2020, just four days before Valentine’s Day, the much-celebrated day for lover’s.