do you really care ..

The recent public revelations by a municipal bureaucrat about her inter-office romance with her second-in-command don’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s ever worked in an office.

Office romances, experts say, are a fact of life in a world where men and women work side by side many hours a week.

“Romances at work are inevitable, particularly with more women participating in the workforce and with people working long hours,” said Carol McKeen, associate professor at Queen’s University’s business school who teaches courses on gender issues and management.

“People don’t have as much time outside of work for social lives, and in fact work is the No. 1 place you find your life partner.”

In a 2005 U.S. survey by Vault Inc., 58 per cent of employees said they have been involved in an office romance. That number was up from 46 per cent in a report two years earlier. Vault is an on-line career information company. The survey was based on 610 responses from industries across the United States.