What’s love got to do with it?

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Plenty if it also involves coworkers and your workplace. The latest workplace romance –I use that word lightly in this case – that is making headlines is David Letterman’s affair with a couple members of his staff. Then there’s Nevada Senator John Ensign’s scandal involving a married woman on his campaign staff.

With people working in close proximity on a daily basis, there’s always going to be the temptation to go beyond the casual working relationship. But a sexual relationship with a coworker that has equal standing is going to garner less attention and scorn than one that involves a relationship between a superior and a subordinate, which can be deemed sexual harassment - especially if the affair ends badly. If you insist on poking around the office for love or lust, be conscious of some rules that may make the affair less obvious and less problematic.

According to a Michelle Goodman piece:

But let's face it: A significant portion of the population dates their coworkers. A CareerBuilder survey of 8,000 U.S. employees conducted this year found that 40 percent of them had done so. What's more, 31 percent of those polled went on to marry their office paramour.

We're not just talking about dating one's teammates. Of those CareerBuilder polled, 42 percent got busy with their boss, with women dating up the corporate food chain quite a bit more than men.

So how do you manage these mutual interests?

The article continues:

If you and your superior (or underling) can't keep your hands off each other and workplace dating isn't against company policy, Forbes.com recommends drawing up a "cupid contract" -- something that says you're both consenting adults and well aware of the company's sexual harassment policies. Forbes.com even suggests that the senior employer in the relationship let HR in on this bit of romantic news and offer to "take the hit if the company decides the pair should no longer work together."

Love in the time of corporate cutbacks

Are there other rules that should be observed if an office affair gets legs? According to the following articles, there are certainly ways to make the affair less obvious:

Beware of the places you meet in public. Your colleagues are people, too, and may be surprised to find you in a dimly lit restaurant discussing more than the quarterly report. You know exactly what they are going to report come Monday morning.

Keep up your work. An office tryst can be a thrilling adventure, but keep your eyes on the prize: your paycheck. Don’t allow the romance to waylay your career. Sure, the relationship may be no one else's business but yours, but the fact is perception is reality. You are doing your career no help by being seen as a home-wrecker or the office player.

How to Keep Your Office Tryst on the DL

And to see the rules in pictures:

Getting romantically involved with an underling or supervisor can be a recipe for disaster. Need we spell out why? Such relationships cloud the ability to make objective decisions about promotions and raises, and they damage office morale. If the relationship goes bad, the supervisor opens himself up to a sexual harassment suit.

In Pictures: How To Succeed At Office Romance

If you find that avoiding the office romance is impossible, then at least use decorum and be aware of the consequences if it becomes public. While the Letterman and Ensign types can move on and grab employment elsewhere, the normal among us may have a more difficult time finding employment while carrying the office romance baggage. But on the other hand, love and lust may make working unpaid overtime a little more bearable……….