‘Work spouses’ can be marriage wreckers

IF your partner rings to say they’re staying late at the office, it may be because they’re enjoying the company of their ‘work spouse’ rather than finishing some vital task.

In fact, half of married Britons admit to having romantic feelings for a work spouse – and nearly one in ten have cheated with them, a survey has found.

Work spouses are the ‘best friends at work’ who help many of us to get through the daily grind. But in some cases such relationships are more than just about work.

Researchers for law firm Slater and Gordon spoke to more than 1,000 married individuals who said there was someone at work who they considered a work spouse.

Forty- nine per cent admitted they had romantic feelings for them. Twenty- one per cent said they kept these feelings from their partner. Nine per cent said they had kissed and eight per cent said they had had sex with their work spouse.

Many made up meetings and trips to spend time with a work spouse and 21 per cent said they spoke to them every night outside work. Kaleel Anwar of Slater and Gordon said the threat of the work spouse to marriages was not uncommon. ‘It may be perfectly platonic,’ he said. ‘But our research shows in many cases it is not.’