When it comes to office romances, Indians say 'I don't'

When it comes to office romances, majority of Indians are still conservative and wouldn’t jeporadise their career for a fling.

According to a global poll conducted by Monster.com, only 9 percent of Indians would pursue an office romance despite believeing that it would harm their career.

Monster asked visitors to their site , “Do you think a dating a colleague would harm your career prospects and would you do it?” and received over 5,000 responses.

Here are the key findings:Some Say “Ooh La La” Some Say “Let’s Just Be Friends”

1. Respondents from the US were the most opposed to office romances. More than half (52%) believe office romances are harmful and would never consider dating a colleague. US also has the lowest rate of “not harmful and I would date a colleague” answers, at only 18%.

2. French respondents upheld their country’s reputation for l’amour: 72% think an office romance would harm their career but, if there was a mutual attraction, 49% would throw caution to the wind and pursue a colleague anyway (doubling the responses from Germany, a distant second place in reckless romanticism at 24%).

3. India was the most conservative as only 9 percent would pursue an office romance despite beliveing that it would harm their career.

Overall, respondents from EU countries are laid back about office romances- 35% believe they are harmless and would date a colleague, and only 24% are wary of office romances and would not consider one.

“The implications of dating a co-worker are best examined on a case-by-case basis. Thoroughly understanding a company’s policies and culture is imperative,” said Mary Ellen Slayter, Career Advice Expert for Monster.

“If you’re interested in pursuing a colleague, treading carefully is always the smart approach. An equally important factor is seniority. Dating between employees at the same company, when either one works for the other or is in a more senior position, can be very controversial and many companies prohibit it. No one should jeopardize a good job for a quick fling. But, if you develop a very special connection with a co-worker, remember that exploring other career options is easy; true love is hard to find.”

Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com - India/Middle East/ Southeast Asia added, “Indians are conservatives when it comes to emotions such as love. Career on the other hand makes a large part of a person’s social standing. Especially so for men! In view of that, classically an Indian chooses career over a casual fling but having said that there are examples of many Indians finding their soul mates at work.”

Findings further included the following:

• 39% of respondents answered “Yes harmful and I would never date a colleague”
• 19% of respondents answered “Yes harmful, but I would date a colleague anyway (especially if we were attracted to each other)”
• 15% of respondents answered “Not harmful, but I would never date a colleague”
• 27% of respondents answered “Not harmful and I would date a colleague