In the film “Bridget Jones’s Diary“, opening this weekend, book publishing publicist Bridget (Renée Zellweger) spends a lot of time mulling over her work-or rather, her cute boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). She gazes longingly at him through his glass partition, grabs his (and everyone else’s) attention with a short skirt. Someone should’ve warned her…love and work don’t mix.
These days, Bridget’s is a fairly typical scenario. When more than half your waking hours are spent on the job, it’s no surprise that the guy in the next cubicle you once thought was such a dork winds up looking pretty good at the end of the day. Your eyes meet over the water cooler, you flirt in the elevator, you joke about the boss’s bad haircut. A few drinks at happy hour and next thing you know, you’re stealing kisses by the copier, exchanging passionate emails and grabbing a quick — er, “lunch” in the break room. According to a study by the American Management Association, 80 percent of Americans have had one at some point in their career. Another survey from Money magazine claims a whopping 49 percent of office romantics either got married or at least had a long-term relationship.
So what about your interoffice fling? Did you find your soulmate, or are you still flying solo? Dish with us on the good, the bad and the ugly points of love on the job…we’ll post your stories (but don’t worry, like Bridget’s diary, your true identities can remain safely locked away if you prefer). E-mail shougland@la.hollywood.com and watch for the results soon!
