Love in the office? Not in Britain!

Many British corporations are out to clip Cupid's wings. Companies are introducing 'love contracts' to keep employees from getting involved in office romance as these relationships are detrimental to staff productivity, said a CNN report.

A survey conducted in the United Kingdom recently shows that two-thirds of the employees within the British workplace have fallen prey to Cupid's darts. Considering the amount of time spent at work, the survey says, the findings are hardly surprising.

But British employers are worried that the blossoming of romance in the workplace affects employee productivity and are busy drafting and implementing a company policy on intimate staff relationships.

A recent survey of nearly 1,300 employers found that 20 per cent already have a policy on these lines, while a similar number of UK firms are planning to introduce such a plan, said the CNN report, quoting London law firm Fox Williams.

Romance clauses in some employee agreements can require workers to tell bosses if they become involved with a colleague, confirm the relationship is voluntary and keep managers informed if things change, said CNN.

A typical 'consensual relationship agreement' can include guidelines on how love-struck staff should behave, including the need to limit displays of affection and safeguard corporate secrets, the report said.

Some even require employees to agree not to sue the company if the relationship breaks down; others even ban flirting in the workplace.

Such employee agreements are not uncommon in the United States, but they are a relatively new trend in the UK.

A 2002 study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management said that one-fifth of American companies have a policy on office romance and over 80 per cent of human resource development bosses felt that office romances were 'dangerous.'

Thomson, a British holiday firm, last year warned its 12,000 employees that any office romance that led to favoritism or discrimination would trigger disciplinary action.

A survey of over 1,000 employees in various firms across Britain conducted by Human and Legal Resources, which advises on human capital, earlier this year found that 66 per cent of those surveyed had found romance in the office.

CNN said that some critics feel that such contracts make couples resort to secret affairs and subterfuge. A 2001 European survey of 1,000 workers conducted by the Italian Gestalt Institute also found that office flirting was good for relieving work anxiety, as well as stress and 'erotic charges' helped about 70 per cent of employees get through the day.