Category: Lifestyle Bosses need to include a "love tax" when sizing up their company's prospects because Britain's long hours culture is sparking so many office romances, new research suggests.

More relationships than ever are now beginning at work as the time we spend with colleagues of the opposite sex leads to a Sex In The City type lifestyle and "increased emotionality", claims psychologist Lisa Matthewman.

Dr Matthewman, who is researching sex in the workplace in detail, said: "Some office relationships can be beneficial to the company such as leading to happy employees whose productiveness increases.

The possible pitfalls can also include jealously, an abuse of power, poor team dynamics, reductions in productivity or breaches of confidentiality.

Dr Matthewman said: "In today's workplace organisations should think about the implications of sexual and romantic relationships at work by undertaking risk assessments to identify areas of business that might need protecting. I call it a 'love tax'.

"For instance, does the organisation condemn or condone office relationships? Is it a liberal or conservative environment? In the US they have even started getting employees to sign 'love contracts' which in effect bans them from making any sort of sexual discrimination claim."

Dr Matthewman, who is discussing her project at a British Psychological Society conference in Birmingham today, is interviewing over 1,000 people about their experiences of office romances.

She said: "They come from all walks of life including the academic professions, banking, retail, IT, HR - pretty much anything which provides a fertile breeding ground for relationships.

"We are spending so much of our time with colleagues now because of the long working hours in this country it is little surprise so many relationships develop. Liking people leads to loving them. Another factor is there are more women in the working environment than ever before."

Dr Matthewman, a senior lecturer in occupational psychology at Westminster University, is paying particular attention to the City of London which has been the scene of several high profile sex discrimination claims in recent years.

She said: "We are looking at the real life Sex In The City. Banks and other financial institutions are highly pressurised places to work which can sometimes result in relationships at work as people seek a release. People could only be letting off steam - but it can have unforeseen consequences."

She said: "These are people with a neurotic side with quite high stress levels and capable of being very jealous. They go in for short-lived and intense physical flings and there can be a lot of damage afterwards - particularly when there is a power imbalance between the parties."

Other personalities to be wary of include the "Casanovas" who are most likely to send flirty emails and see sex with colleagues as a chase game which continues until their prey surrenders and the "office predator" who is just looking for a fling with anyone he can get his hands on.

But "Eros lovers" are harmless couples who are romantic and could well end up getting married while there are also the "good friends" who see love blossom from shared interests and are also less likely to cause conflict and strife in the workplace.

Dr Matthewman said: "Work is a very common place for us to meet partners. We spend a lot of time in close proximity to people we work with and we're likely to have similar passions and interests. All those things facilitate attraction.

"Most of the problems stem from a power imbalance such as sex between a boss and a subordinate or when there is a conflict of interest when a couple are on the same team which effects the dynamics - particularly when there is a break-up and other colleagues start taking sides.

"You cannot ban sexuality in the workplace - it has been there since time began. But you can help it run smoother by having codes of conduct to guard against the potential impact.

"There has always been quite a lot of secrecy surrounding sex at work. The vast majority of staff are very unlikely to tell managers or the HR department about about their own or a colleague's relationship until it causes problems."

In 2004 a survey of 1,072 people showed 93 per cent had previously had romantic attachments at work - and three-in-ten had had sex in the workplace. But over one-in-three were unclear on company policy on intimate relationships.

Dr Matthewman said: "Policies should accept it does happen and encourage staff to be open. Issues can be dealt with professionally and legally - perhaps by putting those concerned in different teams or departments."

She added: "The research discusses the question of 'conflict of interests' at work with the aim of developing a framework to assist employers mange these issues and respond effectively.

"To do this we are looking at how romantic and sexual relationships form, how they evolve and what the consequences are of them for individuals, colleagues and the organisation.

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