The staggering percentage of US workers who admit to having SEX with their colleague REVEALED

When it comes to figuring out the ideal place to find a partner, it’s likely that most will turn to dating apps, bars and blind dates – but as it turns out, romance has been blooming for many Americans in a rather more unconventional location: the office.

In fact, close to half of the US workforce has confessed to engaging in some form of amorous encounter with a co-worker at some point in their adult lives, according to a survey of 2,017 American conducted by sex toy brand Lovehoney.

The results suggest that connections forged in work environments are rather more susceptible to intimate stirrings than the norms of professionalism would have you think. 

For starters: a whopping 75 per cent of those surveyed owned up to having dirty thoughts about and/or acting on them with colleagues – in forms ranging from ‘flirty banter’ to ‘sex dream’ to ‘full-blown romance.’

Of the 2017 people who participated in the survey, a mere 17 individuals reported they’d ultimately tied the knot with the person they’d gotten involved with through their place of work

Overall, 907 out of the 2017 respondents – about 45 per cent – confessed to having what they’d consider ‘some sort of relationship’ that pushed the bounds of simple platonic professionalism with a co-worker.’

Nearly 20 per cent have had a ‘sexual relationship’ with a coworker while they were single; of single people who become caught up in more serious ‘romantic’ involvement, that figure drops slightly to just under 18 per cent.

Meanwhile, just under 12 per cent of respondents got involved in a ‘romantic’ or ‘sexual’ relationship with a colleague while they were dating someone else. 

For those who’d had a spouse outside of the office at the time, just under nine per cent had had both or either a ‘romantic’ or ‘sexual’ relationship with someone at work.

As for the cheaters of the bunch? Men outnumbered women by a solid margin.

Of those dating someone else at the time, 14 per cent were men; 10 per cent were women. And almost twice as many married men (12 per cent) as married women (seven per cent) had become involved in a workplace romance.

But not all the dalliances proved fleeting  – with a total of 17 respondents (a little under two per cent) reporting that they were ‘now married’ to the workplace-object of their affections, à la The Office’s legendary Jim and Pam love story.

Dr. Jessica O’Reilly, Lovehoney’s go-to sex and relationship expert, gave the rationale for how people can be so easily drawn into office romances.

While 93% of respondents were generally okay with the notion of romantic relationships forming in the workplace, the few who weren’t offered clear-cut reasons for their stance

As Lovehoney’s Dr. Jess O’Reilly explained of workplace romances: ‘As we draw fulfillment, excitement and joy from our daily work … romance often blossoms from these interactions’

‘Feelings of attachment can often align with and grow from comfort, shared experiences and familiarity, ‘ she said. 

‘It follows that, as we draw fulfillment, excitement and joy from our daily work – and the people we work with – that romance often blossoms from these interactions.’

She also emphasized the ‘practical side’ of how such relationships manifest, adding that, ‘Often, we have a lot in common with coworkers in terms of age, life stage, interests, et cetera. It makes sense that we can experience attraction (physical, relational or sexual) toward those with whom we work.’

More broadly, the vast majority of those surveyed were generally okay with the idea of dalliances between coworkers, with that number at 93 per cent. 

Those that weren’t offered clear-cut reasons for their stance, however. ‘You shouldn’t mix business with pleasure,’ expressed one; while another bemoaned, ‘It can make other coworkers uncomfortable’ 

As a third pleaded, ‘Work relationships are very challenging to navigate. Why bother? [There are] plenty of other ways to meet and engage with others.’