'Offices are often the easiest places to meet and fall in love,' says one expert. Here's how to keep your career and relationship intact, plus some fun Valentine's Day stats.
Let's start with the newly released 2007 Office Romance Survey from Vault.com, in which 17% of respondents admit to having been caught trysting on the job - in the boardroom, the stairwell, the engineering lab, the office kitchen, the boss's office...Whew.
What's remarkable here is the enormous increase since last year, when only 2% of those polled had been surprised in flagrante delicto at work. The survey is mum on the intriguing question of whether there is actually a lot more canoodling going on, or whether the people involved have simply decided to fling caution to the wind.
Or consider what SnagAJob.com, an employment agency for hourly workers, discovered in an online poll with 800 respondents across the land: 72% of men, and 60% of women, are infatuated with a co-worker. Most (64%) intend to keep it a secret. Interestingly, men are more likely than women to reveal their feelings, according to this survey: 34% of women say they might spill the beans, while 40% of men say so.
Speaking of differences between the sexes, still another survey suggests that "men may be the office flirts, but women tend to establish more meaningful relationships" with the opposite sex. That's according to a Harris Interactive poll commissioned by Atlanta-based staffing firm Randstad USA: "Of the women surveyed, 53% have, or have had, an 'office spouse' in whom they confide about personal matters and relationship issues, compared to 42% of men." And 25% of men - more than twice the percentage of women (12%) - say they have "rated co-workers with terms like 'most datable' or 'best-looking'."
The Harris poll also shows some interesting variations among U.S. regions. West of the Mississippi, it seems, people flirt more with their colleagues (45%, versus 37% in the South, 34% in the Northeast, and just 32% in the Midwest), and are more inclined to date a co-worker on the sly (23% of Westerners say they've done this, versus 15% in the Northeast, Midwest, and South).
A word to the indiscreet: If you're in the habit of blabbing about your love life at the office, be advised that just 14% of people in the West and the Northeast are bothered by hearing "too much information" about it, while 18% in the Midwest and 17% in the South really wish you would hush up.
Of course, falling in love - or even just fooling around - at work isn't without its risks. "The important thing is to stay professional and keep romance in its place," says Andrea Nierenberg, head of a consulting firm called the Nierenberg Group. She offers these three essential tips:
Don't mix business and pleasure.
"Save romancing for breaks or after hours. Next time you come up with a cute nickname or amorous thought to share with your sweetheart during the workday, write it down in a notebook and save it for later." R-rated e-mails are always (no exceptions) a bad idea.
Know your company's policy on office romance.
Some companies, for example, don't allow one member of a couple to report to the other. Bear in mind that, as far as your employer is concerned, "your dream romance can turn into a nightmare harassment case. Be aware of the legal issues, and act appropriately."
Keep cuddling out of the copy room.
"People are rarely interested in watching their co-workers snuggle in the break room or fight between cubicles," notes Nierenberg. How true. "Colleagues will be much more likely to respect your relationship if you show discretion in how you behave around them."
"Offices are often the easiest places to meet and fall in love," Nierenberg says. "If you handle it carefully, you never know - yours might end up being one of the 22% of office romances that lead to marriage." And if not, well, at least you'll stay out of trouble.
   
intact: 完整无缺的
stats = statistics 统计数据
tryst: 约会；幽会
boardroom: 会议室
Whew: 吹哨声
poll: 参加民意测验
in flagrante delicto: 在现场
mum: 沉默的
intriguing: 引起兴趣的
canoodle: 亲吻拥抱
fling caution to the wind: 不顾一切
be infatuated with: 迷恋；热恋
spill the beans: （无意中）泄露秘密
commisioned by: 受......的委托
confide: 倾诉
datable: 可约会的
flirt: 调情
on the sly: 秘密地
the indiscreet: 轻率的人
blab: 泄露秘密
hush up: 肃静；安静
fool around: 吊儿郎当；鬼混
after hours: 工作完毕后；下班后
amorous: 含情脉脉的
R-rated: R级 (一定年龄以下的少儿除有家长和监护人陪同外不得观看的)
harassment: 折磨；烦恼
snuggle: 依偎
cubicle: 小房间；小书房
discretion: 谨慎
     
值得学习的词汇：
fling caution to the wind: 不顾一切；轻举妄动；例如：
Christmas is when we fling caution to the wind and spend to the limits our cash holdings. 圣诞节的时候我们不顾一切地消费直到把钱花光。
spill the beans: （无意中）泄露秘密；例如：
That Sue Ellen just can't keep her mouth shut! I invited her to our surprise party for Mary, and she went and spilled the beans to Mary.
那个Sue Ellen就是闭不上她那张嘴。我请她参加为玛丽举行的聚会，但是事先不要告诉玛丽。可是她却跑去告诉了玛丽。
on the sly: 秘密地；例如：
She's always eating cookies on the sly. 她经常偷偷吃甜饼。
after hours: 工作完毕后；下班后
They have turned the restaurant into an after hours nightclub. 他们把饭馆变成了下班后的夜总会。

值得学习的句型：
1、Interestingly, men are more likely than women to reveal their feelings, according to this survey: 34% of women say they might spill the beans, while 40% of men say so.
有趣的是，这些调查显示，男人比女人更容易泄露他们的感情。34%的女性说她们可能会泄露秘密，而40%的男性也这么说。
表达一件事情很有趣的时候，可以用Interestingly, ... 这样的句型；数据的前后对比可以用while来连接。

2、Speaking of differences between the sexes, ... 说到两性间的不同......
Speaking of 可以用来转移话题，衔接上下文，是一个相当好用的连接词。
3、...45%, versus 37% in the South, 34% in the Northeast, and just 32% in the Midwest...
这是用来列举数据的一个非常简洁的句型；versus表示对比

The important thing is to stay professional and keep romance in its place

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