Return to Office Brings CEO Relationships Back to the Forefront

The resignation of BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney marks the latest in a small but high-profile list of corporate leaders who have run afoul of company policy related to relationships with subordinates. As more workers are in the office again, such relationships are likely to become more visible.

“It was easier to keep the workplace romance a little more discreet when everyone was in lockdown,” said Amy Nicole Baker, a psychology professor at the University of New Haven who studies workplace romantic relationships. “Now that people are transitioning back to the office it might look like there’s more workplace romance, but now it’s just ...