If you don't have a date for February 14, your new Valentine may be just a cubicle away. Fifty-six percent of U.S. workers say they have dated a co-worker during their careers and 14 percent admitted to dating the boss. Thirty-one percent reported engaging in an office romance more than twice. The new CareerBuilder.com survey, "Office Romance," was conducted from January 6 to January 11, 2005 and included more than 1,300 workers.

Nearly one-in-four survey respondents said they dated someone higher up within their company. While the majority agreed that an office romance did not impact their performance at work or employment situation, 8 percent said the relationship helped them to progress in their careers.

Workers said they became personally involved with fellow employees while working together on assignments and socializing after punching out for the day. Twenty-two percent began dating after collaborating on projects with 15 percent stating the connection happened while working late. Thirteen percent cited a happy hour with co-workers as the starting point for a romantic relationship.

"When you spend several hours of your day working with someone, it's not unusual to see employees make a personal connection," said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com. "While the office is a popular place for meeting Mr. or Mrs. Right, it is important to take into consideration how becoming involved with a co-worker may affect your job or professional relationships. One-in-ten workers reported they left their jobs due to an office romance."

The majority of workers -- 75 percent -- feel that employees should be able to date anyone they wish to at work. However, given company politics around personal relationships within the organization and to avoid speculation around the water cooler, 46 percent of respondents said they kept their relationship with a co-worker a secret. Others were less guarded with one-in- ten reporting that they were caught kissing at work.

For more information on CareerBuilder.com surveys, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/Share/AboutUs/pr/

Survey Methodology

The new CareerBuilder.com survey, "Office Romance," was conducted from January 6 to January 11, 2005 of more than 1,300 workers. The e-mail methodology used to collect survey responses for this study involved selecting a random sample of comScore Networks panel members, with a relatively equal representation of men (47 percent) and women (53 percent). These Web Panel members were approached via an e-mail invitation, which asked them to participate in a short online survey. The results of this survey are statistically accurate to within +/- 2.68 percentage points (19 times out of 20).

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation's leading online job network with more than 15 million unique visitors and over 600,000 jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. , Tribune Company , and Knight Ridder, Inc. , the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the online career centers for more than 450 partners that reach national, local, industry, diversity and niche audiences. These include more than 130 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 30,000 of the nation's top employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 10 million-plus resumes, comprehensive screening tools and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/ .

   Media Contact:
   Jennifer Sullivan
   Director, Corporate Communications
   (773)527-1164
   jennifer.sullivan@careerbuilder.com

SOURCE: CareerBuilder.com