When they were discussed by organizations, it was often by means of a memo outlining the policy against such liaisons among co-workers. Though the motivations behind such policies were not evil—mostly, it was a desire to avoid sexual harassment lawsuits emanating from one employee’s amorous pursuit of another—they also overlooked a real problem: a large percentage of couples first met in the workplace, and for many reasons, work is a great place to meet a future mate. In one 2011 survey of 3,900 workers, nearly 20 percent indicated they had dated co-workers at least twice in their working career, and about one-third of those who did ended up marrying a person they dated at work. What’s more—65 percent of those who date someone at work say they are open about it at work. Nathan Shaw and Maiko Sato met at a Cisco training program. For two years, they dated openly as fellow employees. When Nathan decided to propose to Maiko, he asked his boss to help with a ruse. During a fake test of teleconferencing equipment, Nathan’s proposal flashed on the screen. Maiko said yes, and they remain happily married and working at Cisco’s San Jose, CA, headquarters. To Stacie Taylor, who has been dating Cary Costello, a fellow employee of Zoot Enterprises (a Bozeman, Montana, technical services provider), for more than 3 years, finding a mate at work is logical. “People spend so much of their time working that it’s unavoidable,” she said. Cary
When they were discussed by organizations, it was often by means of a memo outlining the policy against such liaisons among co-workers. Though the motivations behind such policies were not evil—mostly, it was a desire to avoid sexual harassment lawsuits emanating from one employee’s amorous pursuit of another—they also overlooked a real problem: a large percentage of couples first met in the workplace, and for many reasons, work is a great place to meet a future mate. In one 2011 survey of 3,900 workers, nearly 20 percent indicated they had dated co-workers at least twice in their working career, and about one-third of those who did ended up marrying a person they dated at work. What’s more—65 percent of those who date someone at work say they are open about it at work. Nathan Shaw and Maiko Sato met at a Cisco training program. For two years, they dated openly as fellow employees. When Nathan decided to propose to Maiko, he asked his boss to help with a ruse. During a fake test of teleconferencing equipment, Nathan’s proposal flashed on the screen. Maiko said yes, and they remain happily married and working at Cisco’s San Jose, CA, headquarters. To Stacie Taylor, who has been dating Cary Costello, a fellow employee of Zoot Enterprises (a Bozeman, Montana, technical services provider), for more than 3 years, finding a mate at work is logical. “People spend so much of their time working that it’s unavoidable,” she said. Cary