Romance at work under the radar

CHICAGO, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Valentine's Day is a reminder that romances at work are flourishing, if under the radar, a U.S. employment research firm said Monday.

"The growth of social media and networking sites, including Facebook, Linked In and Twitter are helping co-workers find each other and interact under the radar," outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.

"Office romances are fraught with pitfalls that can impact workplace harmony, productivity, more and, in some cases, the bottom line if they end badly and a lawsuit is filed," Chief Executive Officer John Challenger noted.

In a statement, the firm said casually dating, hooking up and/or finding love in the workplace "is an issue that keeps many human resource executives up at night."

While workplace romances are generally discouraged, a 2007 survey conducted by the firm found 35 percent of employers had no formal policy regarding romance between co-workers.

"The survey revealed that while many companies discourage such relations, others simply maintain a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy," the outplacement firm said.