DATING DOWNTURN

Gen Zs and millennials are not going on enough dates, which is taking a toll on their work performance, says Olivia Petter

- Olivia Petter

You’re not supposed to let your love life into the workplace. Traditionally, these are two very separate worlds. One exists between the hours of nine and five, and another extends outside of that. Amalgamate the two only at your peril - watch Severance, and you'll understand what we mean. Apparently, this isn’t the modus operandi among Gen Z. Not because they’re all having affairs with their colleagues - rather, it’s almost the opposite problem, given that this is a generation in the depths of a dating recession.

The evidence is everywhere, from surveys to social media. In terms of the former, the Institute for Family Studies recently found that 74 per cent of young women and 64 per cent of young men had not dated or dated only a few times in the last year. When asked how often the respondents were dating, only 31 per cent claimed to be active daters.

Meanwhile, according to a survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life, only 56 per cent of Gen Z arrived at adulthood having experienced a romantic relationship, compared to 75 per cent of members of older generations. That’s just the data side of things. Take one look at a single woman’s social media feeds, and you'll quickly see just how much heteropessimism is plaguing the current dating landscape. No one, it seems, is having a good time dating. And apparently, it’s affecting our workplace performance, with psychologists claiming that dating less, if at all, means our communication skills are slowly being eroded.