The Workplace is Fertile Ground for Infidelity

Four-in-ten say they know a married or seriously involved coworker who had a romantic liaison with someone while on a business trip, according to a news release on the survey results.

But the workplace is not just fertile ground for forbidden trysts. Vault.com found the office can be a pool of potential perfect matches. Twenty percent of respondents say they met their spouses or long-term significant others at work and 10% say they met their partners through co-workers.

According to the release, 82% of respondents say they have known of an office romance between two co-workers, and 50% know of at least one couple that went on to get married. Almost half (46%) admit to having an office romance themselves, with 23% saying they had a tryst actually in the workplace.

Romantic trysts have occurred in the boardroom, the janitor’s closet, the break room, a stairwell, the parking lot, the restroom, and the boss’ office, according to the survey

Forty-three percent of respondents say someone at the workplace has made an unwanted advance toward them.

The Vault’s Office Romance Survey was conducted in January 2008 and consists of responses from 945 employees representing various industries across the United States.

On a related note, Italian sexologist Serenella Salomoni claims that having an office romance actually improves the quality of your work.

Researchers found the thrill of a fling “raised energy levels and led to better professional capacity,” according to Reuters. Salomoni said ” “We discovered that people who had an office romance said they were happier, more energetic and more productive” – and one in three owned up to having a relationship with a superior to enhance their career.