Sexual attraction to a work colleague is far from rare. Taking into account that most people spend the majority of their lives working with the same group of people every day, there is no surprise that romance and sexual relationships happen in their plenty in work environments.
In fact, according to a 2013 survey by Businessweek, 90% of workers are turned on by someone they work with and 85% think that workplaces should not ban sexual encounters between their staff members.
How common are office romances?
Of the 90% of people attracted to their colleagues, 64% had made a move for a co-worker or have fantasized about being with them.
Just over half (54%) go as far as to sleep with their office crush and 55% of those only engage in the act the once with one night stands the most common form of office encounter.
These are pretty astounding stats, which show just how common office romances really are in today's culture.
Of the 90% of people attracted to their colleagues, 64% had made a move for a co-worker or have fantasized about being with them.
What types of office romances are most common?
While it is clear that Brits love nothing more than a saucy encounter at work, there are a few clear trends in the type of office romances that exist.
Almost half of sexual encounters actually happen on the work premises; although nearly 75% of those involved said their productivity was not affected by their relationship while 84% said there was no impact on their career.
When it comes to which workers hook up with each other, it seems that most staff avoid sleeping with the boss. 86% of workers said they avoided getting involved in this situation while the bosses themselves showed similar restraint with only 35% sleeping with a junior colleague.
Proving that sexual encounters aren't necessarily that rare, 55% also admitted to sleeping with more than one workmate.
How can you keep an office romance a secret?
If you have a crush on a work colleague but don't want to be the subject of water-cooler gossip, then there are a few dating tips you can follow to keep your romance a secret.
Firstly, you need to make sure that both you and your colleague are prepared for the risks of sleeping with each other while working together. You need to ensure that your productivity and work will not be affected and that there is no risk to your career.
Next, it is important to set clear boundaries at work to help you avoid detection. This means not engaging in trysts in public parts of the office or communal areas such as lifts - no matter how tempting.
You should also avoid sending any sexy messages via company email addresses or other communication methods which may be intercepted.
Avoiding engaging in sexual encounters in the workplace is another piece of relationship advice that can help you avoid being caught out. It may remove some of the intoxicating risk & excitement but it will guarantee that you're not caught in a compromising position that needs explaining to HR.
The most important thing is to be careful and remember, if things don't work out, you will still have to work with this person so be prepared for the uncomfortable atmosphere before you commit yourself to an office romance.
