Most Women First Cheat with Someone at Work
The misguided work crush: It's happened to all of us at some point or another. You're staying at the office later than usual to finish a major project, ordering takeout, and bonding over the fact that you now have no life when suddenly your super nerdy male coworker, who up until this point reminded you of Zack Galifianakis, starts looking more and more Bradley Cooper-esque. Hey, lack of sleep plus lack of social time with non-work people will do that to you.
By Natasha Burton
However, even a random, weird crush can turn into something more, according to a new study commissioned by cheating-dating site Victoria Milan: After surveying over 3,000 women, the results show that of the women out there who cheat on their partner or spouse, it's a coworker who causes them to succumb to temptation that very first time. What's more, nearly 30 percent report that they were unexpectedly inspired to cheat by a colleague or their boss in the first place (i.e. they developed some kind of work crush that got out of hand and weren't necessarily seeking out an affair).
Related: Is Your Guy Hooking Up at Work?
As we all know, dating with someone you work with can be tricky, and, clearly, cheating with a coworker is a far more complicated situation. But the reason many women hook up with someone they work with is surprisingly simple: That suddenly studly male colleague really "gets you," man.
"Affairs at work happen more often because the coworker seems to understand you better-and actually does a lot of time," says relationship expert Susan Trombetti, CEO of Exclusive Matchmaking. "Once you open up to the coworker about office-related issues, the lines of your relationship become blurred. He'll make you feel better, too, because he'll listen attentively without all the home distractions-after all, he has nothing better to do for the next eight hours and needs a work diversion sometimes. As you both start to share other life stresses-about your relationship, your arguments, and so on-then before you know it, boom, it's an emotional affair. Lots of times you don't even know how it happened."
Related: Will Your Guy Cheat on You?
Stopping an emotional affair has a lot to do with setting boundaries, Trombetti says. "Make sure you discuss your boyfriend or spouse issues only with your romantic partner. Resist the urge to trash talk your spouse, and be sure to keep your spouse's secrets. This eliminates any type of bonding which might take place that is other than professional. Don't lean on the coworker for emotional support."
And while going out for group happy hours with your team can be a great way to bond, don't do one-on-one cocktail outings with your work crush. Sure, it seems harmless at first to just grab a drink (or four), but once those rumblings of sexual attraction inevitably start, pretty soon you're going to have a hard time keeping yourself from fantasizing about the guy-i.e. wondering what it would be like to rip his clothes off during the morning meeting.
Read more at Cosmopolitan.com!
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