Romance at Work
The other day, the Wall Street Journal (registration required) recently cited a survey by the American Management Association that noted an increase in office romance. Seems it's due to the fact that we're all spending more and more time at work. 67% of the respondents to the survey said they approved of dating at the office. And 30% said they had done so themselves. Needless to say, HR professional take somewhat of a more negative view of the subject - In a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, 81% of human-resources professionals said they consider workplace romances dangerous because they could lead to conflict within the organization. And 74% said they believed it could present a legal liability.
To respond to romance, some employers require "love contracts" (See Michael's post on George's Employment Blawg) which generally state that the two parties are engaged in a consensual relationship. The Journal also recommends coming clean (i.e. don't try to hide it when everyone knows about it), taking it outside (i.e. avoiding public displays of affection), and last, but certainly, not least, avoid dating the boss or a subordinate.