A match made in heaven... or in hell?

St Valentine’s Day celebrates the memory of a martyred priest who performed marriage ceremonies for Christians persecuted by the Romans. Nowadays, in more enlightened times, the 14 February is simply a day for couples around the world to celebrate their love. But it also brings to the fore an issue that every HR professional has encountered – romantic relationships forming in the workplace.

“We do some fun things on Valentine’s Day,” says Nichola O’Brien, a people experience manager at telephone and internet bank first direct, which employs more than 3,000 employees, predominantly as call centre staff. “One year we had string quartets serenading people as they came through the door. We’ve had barbershop quartets sing to people at their desks. We even get the whole place decked out with pink balloons.” And as a cadre, call centre workers really need no encouragement – a recent poll by Lloydspharmacy found them to be the friskiest, with almost one in three admitting to a romantic liaison with a colleague