E-mail and texts 'boost office romances'

Electronic mail, voicemail and text messages have broken boundaries in the office and made it easier for people to flirt, a survey has found.
Researchers questioned 221 workers and found that 31 per cent had experienced "physical and emotional" intimacy with someone in the office. A further eight per cent said they had conducted a purely physical relationship with a colleague, while 21 per cent said they had enjoyed only an emotional one. Many said their relationship started via e-mail, a device that enabled them to conduct their affair in private.
The findings, based on interviews with workers aged between 21 and 40, are in “Intimacy”, a book by Andrew and Nada Kakabadse. "Typing messages which appear on screen is easier than making a direct comment face to face," they say. "A number of respondents view e-mail as a seductive tool, as messages can be more easily sent while ensuring for perceived higher levels of confidentiality. "But others in the study consider IT as a negative mode of communication and highlight the increased possibility of sexual harassment. "Being 'bombarded' with e-mails and voicemails, no face to face interaction, is reported as an equally harassing experience as personal confrontation."
Judi James, a workplace psychologist and author of the book Sex at Work, said she was not surprised by the findings. "We work very long hours which means that many of us are tied to the office," she said.
"This means that many of us end up finding our partners at work. This can be a good thing. It definitely makes work more fun." But she warned people to think long and hard before committing themselves to a colleague. "You have to think about what would happen if you broke up," she said.

Question 1 Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text
a. Some workers hadn’t managed a physical relationship.
b. People find it difficult to communicate personally.
c. There are no risks in e-relating.
d. The psychologist suggests that splitting up with a workmate could be hard to cope with.

Question 2 Answer these questions in your own words:
a. What advantages do workers see in e-relating?
b. Why wasn’t Judi James surprised about the results of the research?

Question 3 Find a word or phrase in the text that means the same as:
a. To make it possible for somebody (par 2)
b. Annoying or unpleasant behaviour towards someone that tales place regularly (par 3)
c. To make someone agree or promise to do something (par 5)

Question 4 Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning:
a. 31 per cent had experienced "physical and emotional" intimacy.
Physical and ………………………………………………………………………………………..
b. We work very long hours which means that many of us are tied to the office.
If we didn’t …………………………………………………………………………………………
c. This means that many of us end up finding our partners at work.
She claimed …………………………………………………………………………………………

Question 5 Write a short essay (120 to 150 words) on the following topic:
• What do you think about love relationships between classmates?


Self-Access Group CEP. Santander