According to research by Fish4jobs, you are just as likely to meet your partner at work (25%) as meeting through friends/relatives (27%) or in a bar/club (21.5%).
The industry sectors with a high proportion of single men are the hotel & restaurant industry, banking, sales, retail and IT. While you are likely to find more than 4 in every 10 women to be single in administration, management consultancy, the arts and the legal sectors.
18.5% of office relationships begin over post work drinks, 18% start after working late together and 10% meet in the canteen or other communal areas. 10% of relationships that start through work are with clients, customers or suppliers. 1% of respondents said they had met their partner in the lift!
When it comes to telling other people at work about the relationship, most couples are somewhat reticent to do so with only 3% volunteering the information immediately. However, the research shows that so long as the company is supportive towards inter-work relationships you might as well come clean. 62% of couples said that colleagues spotted them or simply guessed what was going on.
Although work relationships are becoming more common, Professor Robert Edelmann advises caution on working too closely with your partner: “It is probably better not too work too closely with your partner. Working in the same building can be convenient, working on the same task can be a source of conflicting emotions for all concerned”.
