At a 2002 Christmas party for Australian Embassy staff in Moscow, Natalia Komarova, the embassy's Russian-born public diplomacy officer and Bruce Jones, a recently arrived political officer, met and immediately struck up a friendship.
Several months later, when friendship blossomed into romance, the pair reported their relationship immediately to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), as required by the code of conduct outlined in their employment contracts.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) was called to look into Komarova's background. "They had to make sure I was not a Russian spy," says Komarova, who is now public relations manager at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.
Office romances are not usually so dramatic in terms of policy requirements, not least because few organisations have guidelines to address the many potential issues that can emerge.
A survey conducted by psychologist Geoff Carter at Queensland's Griffith University, shows eight out of 10 employees between the ages of 18 and 40 have been involved in some sort of sexual encounter with a work colleague, and it's hardly surprising.
Increasing time demands being placed on staff – particularly since the global financial crisis – may have inadvertently turned the workplace into a social hub.
A time-use study by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that in 1992, people socialised outside of work for 77 minutes every day, but by 2008, that socialising time was down to just 10 minutes.
Not everyone's in love
Whether participants are famous or not, office liaisons generate controversy. "There can be perceptions of favouritism by other people in the office when a romance begins," says Dallas Burgess, an organisational psychologist from Sydney-based consultancy PeopleAdvantage.
A paper published in the Journal of Business Ethics, titled The Debate Over the Prohibition of Romance in the Workplace by Colin Boyd, a professor at Edwards Business School at the University of Saskatchewan, says organisations perceive two major threats from office romances.
"First, there is the possibility that if this workplace romance breaks down, then one partner's attempts at reconciliation may come to be perceived by the other former partner as harassment," Boyd says.
"The employer may be held responsible for not protecting that employee from such harassment. Second, if the relationship is between a superior and a subordinate, there is the possibility that one of the subordinate's co-workers might sue because of real or perceived favouritism arising from the relationship."
Such fears have led some organisations to issue consensual dating agreements when a romance surfaces.
Known as "love contracts" or "dating waivers" these agreements seek to confirm that the relationship is consensual, will not result in favouritism and that neither partner will take action against the organisation should the relationship break down.
Whether you're a boss, a staff member or one of the people in the relationship, don't be worried if a romance happens because it is going to happen an awful lot: a recent US survey showed about 40% of long-term relationships begin at work.
Those involved should opt for early disclosure rather than to try to keep it covert. The rumour mill is powerful and people read into body language and other signals. Anyone who thinks they can keep it covert is unlikely to be successful.
There's a problem when the relationship occurs between a boss and a subordinate – then it's necessary for one of the two parties to consider moving. Otherwise, third parties may believe or suspect that their rights or treatment may be affected negatively.
