Have you ever noticed that when temperatures start dropping outside, things start heating up in the office?
If you’ve witnessed more of your co-workers hooking up during the chilly months, you’re not alone. While it’s no surprise that many first time — and often booze-fueled — kisses are shared between colleagues during company Christmas parties, this specific time of year plays a bigger role in workplace romance than we’d assume. In fact, according to Reboot Digital, romantic relationships between colleagues are much more likely to form in the wintertime.
Curious about what sparks an office romance, Reboot Digital interviewed 2,017 professionals about relationships and work. While they found that 26 percent of employers prefer that their staff keep things friendly rather than flirty, 46 percent of the survey participants admitted to dating a co-worker at some point in their careers. About 12 percent admitted to having dated a boss.
Unsurprisingly, about 38 percent answered that they kept their relationships secret. What may really come as a surprise, though, is that of those office workers who’ve dated a co-worker, the majority — 66 percent — stated their relationships began during winter. Who knew the cold could be so sexy?
The bad news is that 20 percent of work romances involved at least one person who was already married. Another six percent of survey participants answered that they’d lost their jobs because of an office relationship, while nine percent left their jobs because they couldn’t work things out with their exes.
(via IFL Science and Reboot Digital)