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In the past, "the Baby Boomers kept office romance secret" amid fears of career damage or reprisal, says Helaine Olen, co-author with Stephanie Losee of "Office Mate," a book on the topic. Now, amid growing openness about sexuality and greater equality between the sexes, she says, singles "are saying, 'Why is anybody even bothering to keep this secret at all?"'
Office romance is coming out of the closet.
The workplace has become a place for courtship. Some 67% of employees say they see no need to hide their office relationships, up from 54% in 2005, says a CareerBuilder survey of 5,231 employees.
That doesn't mean all the old rules have changed. Affairs when one or both partners are married are still taboo. Nor is it OK to snuggle up behind the copier with your latest crush. Employers still expect even the most out-there workplace couples to behave professionally.
Dating your boss or subordinate is generally out of bounds, too.
Beyond that, though, employers realize that trying to stamp out office romance is like standing in front of a speeding train. "The office keeps coming up as No. 1" in surveys as the best place to meet a mate, leading bosses to conclude that they "have to be cool about it," says Janet Lever, a professor of sociology at California State University, Los Angeles, and a longtime researcher on office romance.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2010
