Workplace love: top jobs for co-worker romances

If you work long hours in the restaurant industry then you've got the best shot at finding romance with a co-worker, according to the findings of a survey by career website PayScale.

PayScale, which focuses on crunching numbers around salaries, benefits and compensation, found that there are some jobs that are more conducive to co-worker romance than others including food services managers, cooks and dispatchers.

"One of the most interesting trends we found from this report was those that were most likely to be involved in office romances are those who have a unique job schedule," says Katie Bardaro, lead economist at Seattle, Washington-based PayScale.

"It's not your typical 9 to 5 worker. It's more people who work third shift or second shift, or who have long hours or not available at night, so it's harder for them to have a social life outside of work."

Fifteen per cent of workers say they will give romance at work a shot, and for those that do, it’s most often with a co-worker they don’t work with regularly, shows the survey of 42,000 people that took place in December and January. PayScale released the findings earlier this month.

As well, Gen Y workers -- those aged 20 to 31 -- are three times as likely to have a random “hook up” with someone at work than Baby Boomers.

On the flip side, the jobs least likely to result in office romances include dental hygienists, clergy and office clerks.

Dating at work taboo?

In a separate survey released on Wednesday, one in five workers who had office romances ended up marrying their colleague. While the majority of relationships developed between peers, 25 per cent of workers who have dated someone at work said they have dated someone above them in the company hierarchy, says job site CareerBuilder.ca.

Fifteen 15 per cent admitted to dating their boss and men were more likely to date someone higher up at 29 per cent, compared to 21 per cent of women.

As well, social settings outside of the office (but still pretty much linked to work) is where workers most frequently connected on a romantic level. Happy hour after work (12 per cent), followed by love at first site (11 per cent), late night working (8 per cent), and running into each other outside of work (6 per cent) were among the most popular catalysts.

Are office romances taboo? Most workers who have had office romances said they were open about their dating situation, while 33 per cent say they had to keep the relationship under wraps, says CareerBuilder.

The CareerBuilder survey was conducted online in November and involved 424 workers in Canada.

Top jobs most likely to spark co-worker romance: PayScale

Food Service Managers	24.7 %
Cooks	17.6%
Dispatchers	17.1%
Advertising and Promotions Managers	14.1%
Claims Adjusters, Appraisers, Examiners, and Investigators	13.2%
Physicians and Surgeons	13.0%
Actors, Producers, and Directors	12.9%
Human Resources, Training, and Labor Relations Specialists	12.4%
Managers of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	12.2%
Computer and Information Systems Managers	11.8%