A work affair: Third of office romances involve married or engaged employees


Survey also shows 1 in 10 workers admit to sleeping with their boss


NEW YORK — It’s not uncommon for workmates to become, well, mate-mates. After all, a recent survey finds more than 2 in 5 people have taken part in a work fling. What may surprise you, however, is that a large portion of office romances are actually affairs: the survey shows that a third involve an employee who is cheating on a spouse or partner.

The poll of 2,000 American workers, commissioned by online sex shop EdenFantasys, found out  plenty of people have dirty laundry they’re hiding that stems from the office — literally. In fact, about 1 in 7 people — or 14 percent of those surveyed — admit they’ve actually had sex at work. Of that daring bunch, 19% of them were even caught in the act.

Colleagues walking
It’s not uncommon for workmates to become, well, mate-mates. After all, a recent survey finds more than 2 in 5 people have taken part in office romances.

That could prove especially damning for the 34 percent of employees whose relationships involved another worker who was either married or engaged.

“Love, sex, relationships – they transcend the boundaries and norms, creating complexities of the social fabric. Don’t put yourself and your partner at risk by getting frisky at work,” says Fred Petrenko, a spokesman for EdenFantasys, in a statement.

While the vast majority of workers haven’t gotten it on in the office supply closet, many have dated or been involved with colleagues. Forty-four percent of respondents said they’d had a relationship with another worker. If you think an office romance would make it harder to focus on the job, then it’ll come as a surprise to learn 92 percent of these respondents said that their job satisfaction wound up improving because of the relationship. Even more incredibly, a quarter of workplace relationships ended in marriage for respondents.

Meanwhile, office flings don’t always end happily. The survey showed that 60 percent of office relationships end in breakups within a year, and 17 percent of respondents eventually lost their job.  That risk likely increases for the 1 in 10 Americans who foolishly admit to having sex with their boss. Interestingly, a third of those who’ve hooked up with a supervisor say they did so for a chance at upward mobility.

Whatever the case, there’s a reason the old adage that warns, “Don’t poop where you eat,” exists. Sometimes, you may be safer (and smarter) avoiding the flirtatious co-worker, rather than getting involved in something that could result in you losing both your job and your heart at the same time.

The survey was conducted in May 2018 by OnePoll.

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