Recent revelations that former News of the World editors, Rebecca Brooks and Andy Coulson embarked on a six-year affair has proven that dipping your toe in the office ink is not always the best move.

In a recent survey, leading extra-marital affairs website, IllicitEncounters.com found that 37% of workers admitted they had dated a co-worker at some point in their career, with 17% saying they had done it more than twice.

Ava Cooper, spokesperson for IllicitEncounters.com explained: “It is easy to see why the number of employees getting together is increasing when you think about a number of factors. In the current economic climate, people are working longer hours than ever, spending more time in the office, giving them the chance to become closer to their colleagues.

“The reasons why many married people end up having affairs in the workplace is not just because they want to have a bit of mindless fun and that they’re bored with their spouses but many people become emotionally attached to those they are spending a lot of time with and seeing five days a week. They get to know each other very well on business trips, lunches or at regular meetings. Often those who get together can be dealing with the same stresses at the same time giving them common ground. It’s easy to see why so many married people fall into the trap of starting an affair with a colleague.

“However, the potential full out when an office affair goes wrong can be nothing short of nuclear. It is as ill advised and as dangerous as having an affair with your neighbour. So many things can go wrong and in many cases people can lose their jobs due to poor judgment in their choice of lover – it’s a like an accident waiting to happen.”

Illicit Encounters is the UK market leader with over 800,000 members, which is nearing 6% of the married population. The site offers married people online dating as the solution to the issue of affairs in the workplace.

Tribunals in recent years have been speckled with a large number of affairs at work that have turned ugly, resulting in bad press for the company and large costs to the business. In fact, many businesses have even enforced a strictly no affairs at work policy, which brought it’s way over from the US – named a morality code. IllicitEncounters.com has a huge number of members who have decided to go online as a result of the negative affects of conducting an affair in the workplace.

Ava Cooper added: “With both tablets and smartphones being encouraged in the workplace and with the recession causing people to work these longer hours, the growing trend of people seeking online encounters during office hours is likely to continue. It’s the secrecy, the naughtiness as well as the fact that they have no need to worry about their spouses catching them that will lead to this type of behaviour.”

People in the UK and Europe also work the longest hours, which has lead to an increase in extra-marital affairs in the workplace according to a 2012 study by Notatwork.co.uk. Results show that 82% of the 54% who have admitted having an office affair work over the UK average of 42.7 hours per week. When asked for the reasons behind the longer work hours, the answer that received the highest (45%) out of the five responses was that ‘the workload has increased in recent years due to redundancies within the workplace.’

Of all the professions listed, those in finance (31%), medicine (24%) and journalism (19%) worked the longest hours. The research, however, also revealed that those in the media industry, which was the fourth industry in the top ten, had had the most office-based affairs. The majority of those who embarked on an affair on a business trip were those in the finance sector, with 47% admitting to pursuing a colleague over a drink after entertaining clients.

Note to editors:

Of the 44.9 million adults usually resident in England & Wales in mid-2010, 48.2 per cent were married = 21,641,800 married people in UK

23.33% of married people don’t work with others (survey with OnePoll and Illicit Encounters taken by 4,000 married people in the UK). Thus 76.67% who work with others in the UK are married.

76.67% of 21,641,800 = 16,592,768 in the UK are married and work with others

7.137% women and 7.874% of men have cheated at work (39% of 18.3% and 31% of 25.4%)

= Almost 1.2million married women and over 1.3 million married men have cheated at work

IllicitEncounters.com, the UK’s largest dating site for married people, have seen a large increase in members joining and activity of existing members as they approach their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.

The zeros are fast becoming a time when people reassess their personal needs and begin to look for something extra in their life.

Spokesperson for IllicitEncounters.com, Ava Cooper, said: “Life’s mirror can hit you at anytime, but as we reach a milestone heading into another decade, it’s natural to suddenly review everything and relationships are often top of the list. The challenging aspects of a marriage that we continue to ignore, tend to resurface around landmark life events and birthdays, so it’s no surprise that we see a increase in new people signing up to the site as they reach a milestone birthday.”

This year IllicitEncounters.com has seen a 45% increase in activity of women and a 38% increase from men who are approaching their 40’s 50′ and 60’s, looking to rediscover romance and passion outside their existing relationship.

Faye, 50, from Somerset, who recently joined the site tells us: “I love my husband, and we have been married for nearly thirty years, but the romance died years ago. Turning 50 was a massive deal for me and I found myself wanting try new things. I want to get the most out of life before it’s too late. Since joining IllicitEncounters.com, I have finally got some romance back in my life and I feel better than ever.”

Ava Cooper continued: “Many members don’t want to rock the boat, meaning they often look to satisfy a part of themselves that the marriage no longer does. Illicit Encounters is safe, secure and everyone is understanding and in a similar situation.”

Percentage increase of members joining and activity at ages 40, 50 & 60

Age	Men	Women
40	39.00%	46.00%
50	42.00%	48.00%
60	34.00%	42.00%