Office affairs – ‘Mature’ employees more likely to live dangerously

Office affairs – ‘Mature’ employees more likely to live dangerouslyWho ever said it’s the young ones who want to have all the fun? – According to results from a recent study, 35 – 44 year olds are far more likely to embark on steamy office relations than their younger colleagues.

Eyes meeting over the water cooler, lips locking in the stationary cupboard – office affairs always sound so utterly thrilling don’t they? Perhaps that is why a third of office workers have had an affair in the workplace, with 35 – 44 year olds more likely to do so than their younger colleagues.

The survey of 2,000 high flying IT, Law, Finance, Marketing and Management professionals was commissioned by Sony. The results revealed that contrary to popular belief that it is younger colleagues who engage in office affairs more frequently, in actual fact senior members of staff are five times more likely to have been fired for being romantically involved with another colleague than their 18 – 24 year old colleagues.

The bad behaviour of senior members of staff does not end there, the 35 – 44 year old age group were also three times more likely than their younger colleagues to have gone to a meeting whilst hung-over from the previous night, or in some cases whilst still under the influence of alcohol.

This age group was also found to be the worst for fuelling the rumour mill, with one in four respondent’s admitting to sparking a rumour about a colleague – a higher percentage than that of 18-24 year olds.

Despite the initial excitement and attraction of an office affair, many inevitably end badly and there are consequences to consider – being treated differently by your boss for instance, could make you the target of comments from colleagues.

If you are concerned about your office relations and have found your passion and enthusiasm for your job role has diminished, or that you are seeking excitement in the workplace in a bid to fill a void in another area of your life, it may be that you need to re-evaluate your career and life goals.

If you would to find out how a life coach could help you to do this, please visit our Career and Personal Development fact-sheets for more information.

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