Mixing love and business may be more common than you think, according to a new Manta poll, which found that more than half (53 percent) of responding small-business owners reported that they currently work with (or have worked with in the past) a significant other!
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According to the Manta press release, with only so many hours in the day, 31 percent of small-business owners said they regularly choose work over their romantic relationship, in a stark contrast to the 10 percent who said they regularly choose their relationship over work. However, 58 percent have work-love balance figured out, devoting equal time to their relationship and their business.
And how does working with a significant other affect the relationship? Two-thirds of small-business owners (66 percent) noted the extra time together had a positive impact on their relationship, one in five felt it had no impact at all, and 12 percent said it had a negative effect.
For the small-business owners who did experience a rift, the poll unearthed a few key factors that contributed to losing that loving feeling:
- Nearly half (48 percent) felt the negative impact on their relationship was a result of too much time together.
- 40 percent had difficulty leaving work troubles in the office, noting that the main focus of their fights at home was about work.
- 5 percent said that simply talking too much about work weighed down on their relationship, and another 5 percent expressed frustration that working together caused them to neglect other interests.
In the end, the results came out slightly in favor of workplace romance in small businesses: 57 percent of respondents felt being a small-business owner made keeping the romance alive easier, compared to 42 percent who did not.
And despite the potential difficulties, most respondents said that mixing business and pleasure had a positive impact on their relationship–bringing them closer together!