One in four involves a superior.

• Position: Office Romances - Brief article

What do Pres. Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Brad Pitt have in common?--all met their significant others at work. They are far from alone. According to a survey by CareerBuilder, Chicago, Ill., 37% of workers have dated a coworker, and 33% of those office romances have led to marriage.

Of those who have had an office romance, 23% have dated someone in a higher position than them --a more common occurrence for women than men (26% versus 20%). As if dating a superior was not risky enough, 17% of office romances involved at least one person who was married at the time. Are these employees breaking the rules? It is hard to say since 45% do not know whether their company has a dating policy in place.

To help ensure the situation stays professional, some are keeping their affairs hush-hush. One-third of workers who have had an office romance had to make sure their relationship remained a secret, which can be easier said than done. Of those who have had an office romance, 27% have run into coworkers while out with their office sweetheart (10% pretended they were not dating, while 17% admitted to it). Yet, even the most secretive of office romances...