| Summary: | <p> The purpose of this research was to understand how people working in California’s San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley technology industry love one another platonically in the workplace, as well as what effects they perceive from this love. Through this constructivist grounded theory study, a theory was developed. This <i>Work-based Platonic Love Theory</i> involves workplace relationships that are heavily centered around work itself. These relationships can begin in admiration for one another, conflict with one another, or even dislike. They are transformed into loving relationships through shared experiences of work-related hardship, challenging or innovative work, and/or spending long work hours together. Participants describe the relationships as familial, often team-oriented, caring, and rooted in work. Effects of these work relationships include the perception of greater individual and team success, high performance, and shatterproof teams. <i>Work-based Platonic Love Theory</i> resulted from data produced by in-depth interviews with 17 participants who reported experiences with platonic love in San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley technology firms. The study underscores the value of platonic love in the workplace to the work itself, to teams, and to individuals. It also suggests a heavily work-centric nature of loving relationships within the technology industry in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley.</p><p>
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