WORK COLLEAGUES MAKE THE BEST LOVERS
Added: (Fri Jul 26 2002)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
26 July 2002
WORK COLLEAGUES MAKE THE BEST LOVERS
1 in 4 long term relationships start at work
Single men and woman looking for a long term partner need look no further than their own work place according to new research amongst 9000 adults across the UK by online recruiters Fish4jobs.
With British workers taking less holidays and working the longest hours in Europe, this new study reveals you are just as likely to meet your partner at work (25%) as meeting through friends/relatives (27%) or in a bar/club (21.5%).
According to Professor Robert Edelmann , "Longer working hours means the workplace provides the major opportunity for us to meet with others. As well as shared interest in work, people in the same environment often share other interests as well as certain personality characteristics."
It’s not just the type of work you do that has an impact on your opportunities to meet a long-term partner. The industry you work in has a profound impact on your potential to meet a partner, with theatre luvvies in the arts (60%) topping the list of industries for highest proportion of single workers. This is closely followed by entertainment (55%), architecture (48%) and hotel / restaurant industries (46%).
The single Bridget Joneses generation might consider changing jobs not only to further their career prospects, but also to improve their chances of finding a suitable long-term partner.
Fish4jobs chief executive Jonathan Turpin says, "If you are looking to meet your prospective partner at work you might want to consider switching industries. For example a PA in small solicitors office might find more opportunities for career promotion and opportunities to improve their social life by moving into a secretarial job in a large advertising agency."
The industry sectors with a high proportion of single men are the hotel & restaurant industry, banking, sales, retail and IT. While you are likely to find more than 4 in every 10 women to be single in administration, management consultancy, the arts and the legal sectors.
In addition to pinpointing the jobs where you’ve got the best chance of meeting a partner, Fish4jobs looked at the different situations most conducive to starting a relationship at work.
18.5% of office relationships begin over post work drinks, 18% start after working late together and 10% meet in the canteen or other communal areas. And don’t despair if your office isn’t packed with good-looking, available talent – 10% of relationships that start through work are with clients, customers or suppliers. More unusually, 1% of respondents even admitted to meeting their partner in the lift!
When it comes to telling other people at work about the relationship, most couples are somewhat reticent to do so with only 3% volunteering the information immediately. However, Fish4jobs research shows that so long as the company is supportive towards inter-work relationships you might as well come clean. 62% of couples said that colleagues spotted them or simply guessed what was going on.
Although work relationships are becoming more common, Professor Robert Edelmann advises caution on working too closely with your partner:
"It is probably better not to work too closely with your partner. Working in the same building can be convenient, working on the same task can be a source of conflicting emotions for all concerned"
ENDS
For further information, photography or an interviews, please contact:
Paul Smith
Cow Communications
Tel. 020 7360 6064
Email: Paul@cowpr.com
About Fish4
Fish4jobs is the UK’s leading online jobs search service with more jobs in more industry sectors than any other service, covering all regions of the UK.
The Fish4 web sites were set up by Northcliffe Newspapers Group, Newsquest Media Group, Trinity Mirror, Guardian Media Group Regional Newspapers and Regional Independent Media. They also provide services to and from nine additional subscriber newspaper groups.
Fish4.co.uk also provides a national gateway linking an unrivalled network of 177 regional sites featuring news, sport and additional local information.
NOTES TO EDITORS
High profile examples of couples that met through the job:
1. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman… and then Penelope Cruz!
2. Sophie Rhys-Jones and Prince Edward
3. William and Ffion Hague
4. Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee
5. Steve McFadden and Lucy Benjamin (‘Phil’ and ‘Lisa’ from Eastenders)
6. Rupert and Wendy Murdoch
7. The late King Hussein of Jordan and Queen Alia (she was an airline stewardess and briefly had the airline named after her)
8. Julia Roberts and Danny Moder
9. Birmingham City Boss Karren Brady and Paul Peschidillo – need to check spelling!
10. Ken Livingstone and Emma Beal
Fish4Jobs tips for surviving a relationship at work: