A Shocking Amount of You Are Hooking Up at the Office Holiday Party

At least one of these people might be hooking-up later. (Getty Images)

Have a secret crush on someone from the office? The holiday season — the office holiday party, specifically — may just be the perfect time to do something about it.

According to a U.K. survey of 2,000 adults conducted by lingerie retailer Ann Summers, over a third (39 percent) of people have had sex at their work Christmas party, while over half (54 percent) have admitted to kissing a coworker at the holiday fete. And the more senior your role in the office, the more likely you are to get up to no good: Of those surveyed, 65 percent of senior managers admitted to having sex at the work soiree, compared to just 28 percent of directors and 26 percent of junior staff members.

The survey results also detail interoffice friskiness proclivities by department, and those working in IT take the kissing cake with 76 percent admitting to having sex, kissing or just getting a wee bit too drunk during holiday festivities. Second place goes to our friends in legal, at 74 percent, followed by HR (cough, hypocrites, cough), transport and logistics, and finance, while those working in health and education reported the lowest levels of potentially embarrassing antics.

Related: You’ll Be Surprised How Many People Sleep With Their Exes (Or Maybe Not)

When it comes to location, the majority of respondents opted to perhaps wisely take the naughtiness outside to the parking lot. Next on the list, 21 percent headed to the boardroom to bone, while an acrobatic (and definitely not claustrophobic) 18 percent opted to get it on in a storage cupboard. A bold 16 percent took to the boss’s office!

If none of those locations appeal to you, fear not: The lingerie retailer has even provided a handy office floor plan to help you plot the perfect spot for a clandestine rendezvous. Um, thanks?

(Graphic courtesy Ann Summers)

Wherever the merry mischief may be taking place, of those who admitted to pushing the holiday party boundaries, 10 percent copped to kissing their boss (hopefully not because of any unfortunate harassment — we’ve got your back — or in a misguided attempt to get ahead, because — spoiler alert — that doesn’t usually end well).

An unfortunate nine percent of the self-reported interoffice snoggers said they had cheated on their partner, and while any number here could certainly be called too high, considering that estimates of modern infidelity list cheating among married men and women at rates of between 25 and 72 percent, it really could be worse.

Related: Science Reveals the 2 Main Reasons People Cheat

“Holiday parties, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your perspective, are usually pretty alcohol driven, so people are less inhibited and may make impulsive moves that they later regret,” psychiatrist and mental health and emotional wellness expert Gail Saltz, MD, told Yahoo Health. “Alcohol, a celebratory time, and loneliness during the holidays can combine, leaving people feeling like it’s a time when you are supposed to have a relationship, have romance, have someone to be with. All of which may also drive people towards hooking up with someone. But people have to realize that the office party is still the office.”

Dating or hooking up with colleagues could be so common simply because “it is hard to make time for dating, so it is hard to be building something with people other than those at work,” Saltz says. “This is obviously someone who has similar interests — they are in the field that you are in, someone you spend time with, someone you’re having regular conversation with, which may be more than you have time to do with other potentials.”

Issues arise when these interoffice escapades cut across power levels, Saltz explains, because, quite simply, “there’s a power imbalance. One person could be being taken advantage of, and not even be aware.” She also warns against pursuing romantic entanglements with colleagues who are in your close, day-to-day professional circle, as you will still have to work together day in and day out regardless of how the relationship turns out. (Think running into your ex on the street is awkward? Try sitting across from them at the conference table under harsh florescent lighting every morning.) And of course, one should always be aware of your organization’s rules and policies for employee fraternization, whatever they may be.

Beyond that, Saltz wouldn’t discourage romance with a coworker, calling it “a natural choice, and maybe a really good one. After all, it’s who you are likely to meet.”

And, good news for the romantics among us: All of these holiday party hookups are not just drunken one-night stands. According to another U.K. survey commissioned by mouthwash company CB12 First Class Breath, 1 in 7 women actually found lasting love at the office party, and 20 percent ended up in a long term relationship following a kiss with a colleague. Whether or not mistletoe was involved remains unconfirmed, but either way, we’ll take those odds.

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