Single at work? Chinese company offers cash incentives for dating

With people spending most of their adult lives in workspaces, one may think that offices provide fertile grounds for blossoming romances.

However, that's usually not the case, but a Chinese company is looking to change that.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, a company in southern China has introduced a new initiative to promote workplace romances: cash incentives.

With the goal of enhancing the sense of belonging of workers and their overall happiness, Shenzen-based Insta360 has promised to award workers money for finding love. But it's not very straightforward.

As per the report, the company—Insta360—has promised to pay its employees $10 (Rs 850) for each valid post that introduces a single person outside the firm on its dating platform.

But it gets better: if an employee matches with one of these outsiders on the dating platform and maintains a successful relationship with them for three months, Insta360 has promised to reward both people in the relationship, as well as their matchmaker around $140 each (approx. Rs 12,000).

SCMP reported that nearly 500 such posts had been published on Insta360's forum by November 11, while the company had already distributed awards worth 10,000 yuan or approximately $1,400 (approx Rs 1.2 lakh) to those who shared posts about single people.

However, Insta360 has yet to give out any dating bonuses: with the initative being less than three-months old, it's understood that the payment criteria is yet to be fulfilled.

The publication further reported that the initiative has been well-received by the staff (no surprises there) and it remains to be seen whether a wave of new relationships breaks Insta360's bank.