Dating Expert Links Workplace Disconnection to Similar Patterns in Modern Relationships

Lakshmi Rengarajan, founder of How to Date Humans, spoke at the Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit on Wednesday about parallels between dating and workplace relationships. She said companies could apply lessons from dating to strengthen connections among employees.

com and as a workplace connection advisor at WeWork. She is now hosting talks and workshops through How to Date Humans to examine current dating practices and identify ways to improve them. She compared ghosting in dating to quiet quitting in the workplace.

Both behaviors involve withdrawal rather than direct communication, she said, and often occur when people lack the skills to handle difficult conversations.

Rengarajan noted that younger workers are increasingly separating their personal and professional lives. A 2025 Randstad study found that 62% of Gen Z workers worldwide hide aspects of themselves at work, compared with 55% the previous year. She said some of her closest relationships formed at work, including a colleague who later became a bridesmaid at her wedding.

Rengarajan argued that companies should develop a connection strategy that accounts for remote work, artificial intelligence tools, and other recent changes. "What people are starting to say about love and about work is what is going to keep me human," Rengarajan said.