Friday Funny: Love Is In The Air

Posted by Heidi SchwartzNo dating coworkers allowed sign.

Romance in the workplace is not a new subject. It’s not necessarily the best subject either, at least according to a new survey from CareerBuilder. And yet, the mixture of business and pleasure happens with some degree of regularity. In fact, according to the survey, 37% of respondents have dated a co-worker (24% of those romances involved a superior).

While some workers have no problems mixing business with pleasure, others steer clear of getting involved with co-workers for a variety of reasons. When asked to name specific work-related traits that would make someone “undateable,” workers said:

  1. Doesn’t work on a consistent basis: 39%
  2. Has already dated someone else at work: 25%
  3. Travels extensively for work: 21%

When broken down by gender, women and men have differing opinions of what makes a colleague “undateable.” Women are much less likely than men to date someone who doesn’t work on a consistent basis (52% say they wouldn’t versus 28% of men), or has previously dated a co-worker (29% versus 21%).

So if the workplace is off limits for romance, how do hard working people find the right mate? A new dating app sets out to address this issue by showing which professions are best suited for each other.

For example, do opposites such as an accountant and an artist attract? Or do people prefer to date within their own job field? The Grade, the newly released dating app available on iTunes, analyzed their users’ matches and occupations to find out.

Data for dating various professions.

Here’s what The Grade discovered:

The Fashion Meets Finance Stereotype Is Real. Those in finance match with retailers the most often at a rate of 295% higher than the average person on mobile dating. Accountants also match with retailers 150% more often than average. (Perhaps number-crunchers are trying to seek out those with flexible schedules, or maybe fashionistas are just looking for someone to pay the shopping bills?)

No One Can Resist Firefighters. Firefighters have an extremely high “like” rate overall, getting “liked” the most by artists at 483% higher than average, followed by musicians who like firefighters 337% higher than average.

Creative Minds Flock Together. Artists match each other 525% more than average, musicians match with artists 360% more than average, and advertising/marketing match with musicians 165% more.

Introverted Jobs Clash With Social Jobs. Accountants and engineers have the worst chance with outgoing salespeople, with salespeople “liking” accountants back 75% below the average and “liking” engineers even less, often at 82% below the average.

So for those workers searching for love, it may just be a matter of looking in all the right places this Valentine’s Day!