Ahhh … its Valentine’s Day and love is in the air. Or is it? While millions of Americans may still turn to the workplace to find love, the allure of office romance appears to be dwindling. Spherion’s latest Workplace Snapshot survey takes a closer look at love in the workplace, revealing some interesting trends when it comes to jeopardizing job security, company policies, success rates and secrecy.

Office romances will likely never go away given the sheer number of hours that workers put in at the office. That much time spent together can naturally evolve into something more than just a professional relationship. However, Spherion^® research has found that only 36% of U.S. workers would consider dating a coworker if they were single, a number that has steadily declined from 42% in 2005. If you find yourself wondering if the new member of your committee or department may be your soul mate, take these tips into consideration:

• Love vs. Career Jeopardy
  The fear that a workplace romance could jeopardize one’s career appears to be eroding alongside interest in doing so, the study finds. Only 30% of U.S. workers feel that openly dating a coworker would jeopardize their job security or advancement opportunities, down significantly from 41% in 2007. 

Regardless of where you fall on the issue, the prudent approach is to weigh the benefits against the risks of how an office romance might impact your career. Your current job may be just that – a job – that is less important to you than finding a life partner. Or, it may be an important stepping stone in your career path that you aren’t willing to risk.

• Taming Cupid’s Bow in the Workplace
  According to the survey, more than half of U.S. workers (57%) say their employer does not have a policy regarding workplace romances, and 14% say their employer does have such a policy. Twenty-nine percent of workers surveyed were not sure if their employer has a policy regarding workplace romances, down from 31% last year.

Make sure you investigate your employer’s policy (or lack thereof) regarding the issue. Perhaps more importantly, evaluate whether your company’s corporate climate is generally accepting or looks down upon such relationships. This can even differ greatly between individual business units, departments or managers.

• Cupid’s Bow “On the Down Low”
  When it comes to secrecy and office romance, of the 39% of workers who have had a workplace romance, 39% say it was conducted in the open, while 30% claimed they kept it a secret.

Whether you decide to keep your romance on the down low or make it public, always be sure to leave personal discussions, fights, or even flirting and affection out of the office space. Keep in mind that in today’s world of blogging, YouTube and Google, and even Instant Messaging (link to Ask Seymour), the line between public and private is increasingly blurred. Becoming a target of office gossip in the blogosphere or elsewhere has the very real potential of damaging your career advancement and job security.

• Cupid’s Success Rate at the Office
  Among those workers who have had a workplace romance, more than one-third (34%) say they dated for several months, 17% dated for several years, and nearly one quarter (22%) resulted in marriage.

Overall, dating a coworker will likely result in a long-term commitment due to the fact that relationships are already built on friendship, each person understands the other’s career pressures and responsibilities, and office couples generally have similar goals in life.

Cupid’s bow can certainly be hard to resist. But, if you’re considering an office romance, just bear in mind all of these issues before you take the plunge. You’ll be happy you did.