Studies show that as many as 80% of U.S. employees have experienced an office romance. According to Montana State Professor Charles Pierce, the workplace is actually the most likely place for Americans to meet a romantic partner these days. And more and more bosses are looking the other way when their employees hook up with fellow employees.
While legally a company can use "no-fraternization" policies to prohibit workplace romance, that precept is increasingly seen as outdated. Some businesses actually embrace the love. "Employees often channel romantic energy into work tasks," says Pierce. "They bring enthusiasm and energy to their work." Ben & Jerry's, Bankers Trust, Apple Computers, Bain & Company, and Johnson & Johnson are just a few of the growing number of corporations with pro-interactive positions on inter-office dating.
A generation burned out on online dating will be happy to learn that according to Dennis Powers, author of The Office Romance: Playing with Fire Without Getting Burned, fifty percent of workplace romances result in marriage or a long-lasting relationship. But, warns Heather Dugan of Salary.com, beware the downside. "Sparks can be wonderful, but entangling your personal life with your job could create a general instability with no "safe place" should the relationship fail," she says. "It's a huge risk and worthy of some serious thought."
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